Mindfulness Meditation in the Treatment of Chronic Pain.
Michael G Brandel, Christine Lin, Devon Hennel, Olga Khazen, Julie G Pilitsis, Sharona Ben-Haim
Neurosurgery clinics of North America July 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.nec.2022.02.005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Chronic pain Functional neuroimaging Neural network |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-based meditation reduces pain and engages specific neural mechanisms that may explain short-term and sustained pain relief. |
Abstract
Chronic pain is a leading cause of disability in the United States. Limited efficacy associated with pharmacologic management and surgical interventions in refractory patients has led to further exploration of cognitive and behavioral interventions as both an adjunctive and primary therapeutic modality. Mindfulness-based meditation has shown to be effective in reducing pain in randomized studies of chronic pain patients as well as models of experimentally induced pain in healthy participants. These studies have revealed specific neural mechanisms which may explain both short-term and sustained pain relief associated with mindfulness-based interventions.
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
Cited by 8
- Meditation: A Promising Approach for Alleviating Chronic Pain. Cureus November 22, 2023
- Pain, mindfulness, and placebo: a systematic review. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 2024
- Interventions combining mindfulness training with non-invasive brain stimulation and their impact on mental health outcomes: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS One 2023
- A Brief Mindfulness Intervention for Pain Management in Fibromyalgia: A Single-arm Open-Label Study. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience August 1, 2026
- Adding Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Mindfulness Meditation Abolishes Mindfulness-Induced Improvements in Emotion Regulation in Fibromyalgia: A Responder Analysis. Clinical Journal of Pain November 1, 2025
and 3 more in the library
Cites 23
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- Pain Attenuation through Mindfulness is Associated with Decreased Cognitive Control and Increased Sensory Processing in the Brain Cerebral Cortex December 15, 2011
- Mindfulness meditation training alters stress-related amygdala resting state functional connectivity: a randomized controlled trial Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience June 5, 2015
- Neurophysiological Mechanisms Supporting Mindfulness Meditation-Based Pain Relief: an Updated Review. Current Pain and Headache Reports August 17, 2020
and 18 more in the library