Mindfulness Meditation Effects on Poststroke Spasticity: A Feasibility Study.
Melanie Wathugala, David Saldana, Julia M Juliano, Jennifer Chan, Sook-Lei Liew
Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine 2019 DOI: 10.1177/2515690x19855941 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Feasibility study, pre/post repeated measures design Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Chronic stroke survivors with spasticity |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Duration | 2-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Muscle spasticity Feasibility studies Quality of life Middle aged Female Stroke Rehabilitation |
| Key points | The authors report that a 2-week home-based mindfulness meditation program was feasible for chronic stroke survivors with spasticity, with participants meditating on average 12.5 of 15 days and no adverse effects. Exploratory analyses suggest improvements in elbow and wrist spasticity and in some quality-of-life measures, though the authors caution these preliminary findings require larger controlled research. |
Abstract
This study examined the feasibility of an adapted 2-week mindfulness meditation protocol for chronic stroke survivors. In addition, preliminary effects of this adapted intervention on spasticity and quality of life in individuals after stroke were explored. Ten chronic stroke survivors with spasticity listened to 2 weeks of short mindfulness meditation recordings, adapted from Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course, in a pre/post repeated measures design. Measures of spasticity, quality of life, mindfulness, and anxiety, along with qualitative data from participants' daily journals, were assessed. On average, participants reported meditating 12.5 days of the full 15 days (mean 12.5 days, SD 0.94, range 8-15 days). Seven of the 10 participants wrote comments in their journals. In addition, there were no adverse effects due to the intervention. Exploratory preliminary analyses also showed statistically significant improvements in spasticity in both the elbow (P = .032) and wrist (P = .023) after 2 weeks of meditation, along with improvements in quality of life measures for Energy (P = .013), Personality (P = .026), and Work/Productivity (P = .032). This feasibility study suggests that individuals with spasticity following stroke are able to adhere to a 2-week home-based mindfulness meditation program. In addition, preliminary results also suggest that this adapted, short mindfulness meditation program might be a promising approach for individuals with spasticity following stroke. Future research should expand on these preliminary findings with a larger sample size and control group.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- A short-term mindfulness and auricular acupressure program for preoperative sleep fragmentation in patients with spinal metastases: a retrospective quasi-experimental study. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2026
- Feasibility of a meditation intervention for stroke survivors and informal caregivers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychology January 12, 2023
- Feasibility, Acceptability, and Efficacy of Mindfulness Training in People With Upper Motor Neuron Disorders: A Systematic Review. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation December 2022
- Nursing Implications of Mindfulness-Informed Interventions for Stroke Survivors and Their Families. Stroke November 2022
- Meditative and Mindfulness-Focused Interventions in Neurology: Principles, Science, and Patient Selection. Seminars in neurology April 1, 2022
and 2 more in the library
Cites 10
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) improves long-term mental fatigue after stroke or traumatic brain injury Brain Injury July 13, 2012
- Feasibility of an online mindfulness-based program for patients with melanoma: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials April 13, 2018
- Acceptability of mindfulness from the perspective of stroke survivors and caregivers: a qualitative study. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 2018
- The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Psychological Distress and Cognitive Functioning in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: a Pilot Study. Mindfulness 2017
- Audio recordings of mindfulness-based stress reduction training to improve cancer patients' mood and quality of life--a pilot feasibility study. Supportive Care in Cancer June 2012
and 5 more in the library