Part Of the Process, or Adverse Event? Considering the Benefits and Potential Risks of Mindfulness-based Interventions for Migraine.
Toby Dresdner, Elizabeth K. Seng
Current Pain and Headache Reports September 16, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s11916-025-01415-x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Headache Mechanism Stress |
| Key findings | There is little published information on adverse events in mindfulness-based interventions for migraine, and patients with migraine may be at elevated risk of experiencing such events. |
Abstract
This goal of this paper is to identify the need to report adverse events (AEs) in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for migraine and highlight conceptual issues related to their reporting. This paper reviews the benefits and AEs in MBIs broadly and considers their application to a migraine population. Due to a lack of standardized protocol for measuring and reporting, there is little published information on AEs in MBIs for migraine. Several recent trials have reported individual cases of AEs, including one instance of posttraumatic re-experiencing. The increasing popularity of MBIs in the treatment of chronic pain conditions, including migraine, makes it necessary for providers to understand which AEs occur. Patients with migraine may be at an elevated risk of experiencing AEs in MBIs.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 29
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- Prevalence of meditation-related adverse effects in a population-based sample in the United States Psychotherapy Research June 2, 2021
- Mindfulness in migraine: A narrative review Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics January 14, 2020
- Current Understanding of the Neural Mechanisms of Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder Current behavioral neuroscience reports February 12, 2018
and 24 more in the library