Meditative analgesia: the current state of the field.

A review of experimental pain studies on meditation over the past six years finds that focused attention (FA) practices are generally not effective for reducing pain, while open monitoring (OM) techniques can influence both sensory and affective pain ratings, depending on the tradition and whether practitioners are meditating. The neural pattern during OM suggests meditators actively focus on noxious stimulation while inhibiting other mental processes, consistent with mindfulness. A preliminary model for mindfulness-based pain modulation is presented, and the potential analgesic effect of compassion meditation is discussed.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Since the first demonstrations that mindfulness-based therapies could have a positive influence on chronic pain patients, numerous studies have been conducted with healthy individuals in an attempt to understand meditative analgesia. This review focuses explicitly on experimental pain studies of meditation and attempts to draw preliminary conclusions based on the work completed in this new field over the past 6 years. Dividing meditative practices into the broad categories of focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) techniques allowed several patterns to emerge. The majority of evidence for FA practices suggests they are not particularly effective in reducing pain. OM, on the other hand, seems to influence both sensory and affective pain ratings depending on the tradition or on whether the practitioners were meditating. The neural pattern underlying pain modulation during OM suggests meditators actively focus on the noxious stimulation while inhibiting other mental processes, consistent with descriptions of mindfulness. A preliminary model is presented for explaining the influence of mindfulness practice on pain. Finally, the potential analgesic effect of the currently unexplored technique of compassion meditation is discussed.