A 13-Weeks Mindfulness Based Pain Management Program Improves Psychological Distress in Patients with Chronic Pain Compared with Waiting List Controls.
Tonny Elmose Andersen, Henrik Bjarke Vægter
Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH 2016 DOI: 10.2174/1745017901612010049 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 70 |
| Population | Patients with chronic non-malignant pain |
| Duration | 13 weeks |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Chronic pain Pain catastrophizing Psychological distress |
| Key findings | A 13-week cognitive behavioural therapy program with integrated mindfulness meditation reduced depression, anxiety, and pain catastrophizing compared with a waiting-list control. Increases in mindfulness and acceptance were associated with reduced psychological distress, except depression was linked only to mindfulness. The authors argue that cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness target different mechanisms, and that acceptance may not be a strict prerequisite for coping with pain-related distress. |
Abstract
Eradication of pain is seldom an option in chronic pain management. Hence, mindfulness meditation has become popular in pain management. This pilot study compared the effect of a 13-weeks cognitive behavioural therapy program with integrated mindfulness meditation (CBTm) in patients with chronic non-malignant pain with a control condition. It was hypothesised that the CBTm program would reduce pain intensity and psychological distress compared to the control condition and that level of mindfulness and acceptance both would be associated with the reduction in pain intensity and psychological distress. A case-control design was used and data were collected from a convenience sample of 70 patients with chronic non-malignant pain. Fifty patients were consecutively recruited to the CBTm intervention and 20 patients matched waiting list controls. Assessments of clinical pain and psychological distress were performed in both groups at baseline and after 13 weeks. The CBTm program reduced depression, anxiety and pain-catastrophizing compared with the control group. Increased level of mindfulness and acceptance were associated with change in psychological distress with the exception of depression, which was only associated with change in level of mindfulness. Surprisingly, changes in level of mindfulness did not correlate with changes in acceptance. The results indicate that different mechanisms are targeted with cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness. The finding that changes in level of mindfulness did not correlate with changes in acceptance may indicate that acceptance is not a strict prerequisite for coping with pain related distress.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Mindfulness e dor nos distúrbios osteomusculares: uma experiência com auxiliares e técnicos de enfermagem September 12, 2017
- Mindfulness-based pain management for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain: a randomized controlled trial Frontiers in Medicine September 28, 2026
- Effectiveness of Mindfulness-acceptance-commitment based approach for Rumination, Cognitive Flexibility and Sports Performance of Elite Players of Beach Soccer: A Randomized Controlled Trial with 2-months Follow-up. Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH 2023
- The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation in Managing Chronic Pain: A Mini-Review Journal of Yoga and Physiotherapy April 16, 2019
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