Intervention effects of subconscious cultivation in mindfulness-based physical education teaching and training on pain perception and psychological resilience in advanced cancer patients

To explore the intervention effects and psychological mechanisms of subconscious cultivation in mindfulness-based physical education training on pain perception and psychological resilience in late-stage cancer patients.

Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial design was adopted, with 128 late-stage cancer patients randomly allocated to intervention and control groups at a 1:1 ratio. The intervention group received 8 weeks of mindfulness-based physical education training combined with subconscious cultivation techniques, while the control group received routine health education and general physical activities. The Brief Pain Inventory, Resilience Scale for Adults, Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Subconscious Awareness Scale, and EEG biofeedback technology were used to assess intervention effects. Data collection included three time points: baseline, postintervention, and follow-up.

Results: The intervention group’s pain intensity scores decreased from baseline 6.42 ± 1.58 to 4.73 ± 1.42, an improvement of 26.3% (p < 0.001); pain interference scores improved by 32.5% (p < 0.001). Psychological resilience total scores increased from 98.35 ± 18.26 to 124.67 ± 19.85, an improvement of 25.1% (p < 0.001), with all dimensions showing improvements exceeding 20%. EEG monitoring showed α-wave power density increased by 68.4% and θ-wave power density increased by 66.2% (both p < 0.001). Mediation analysis indicated that subconscious state improvement played a significant mediating role between the intervention program and psychological resilience enhancement (mediation effect = 0.423, accounting for 48.7% of the total effect). Pain catastrophizing decreased by 33.4%, pain acceptance increased by 50.8%, and cognitive reappraisal ability improved by 32.1% (all p < 0.001). Total emotion regulation difficulties improved by 33.2%, and 87.5% of patients reported being able to spontaneously initiate mindful coping strategies. The control group showed improvements of less than 8% across all indicators. Intervention effects remained stable during the follow-up period.

Conclusion: Mindfulness-based physical education training combined with subconscious cultivation techniques can significantly improve pain perception and psychological resilience levels in late-stage cancer patients. Subconscious cultivation plays an important mediating role in psychological resilience enhancement, with subconscious regulation of cognitive reappraisal ability and subconscious integration of emotion regulation strategies being key psychological mechanisms. This intervention model provides new theoretical basis and practical solutions for psychological rehabilitation of cancer patients.