Skip to content

Meditation-based treatment yielding immediate relief for meditation-naïve migraineurs.

Makenzie E Tonelli, Amy B Wachholtz

Pain Management Nursing June 20, 2012 DOI: 10.1016/j.pmn.2012.04.002 (opens in new tab)

Read Full Text
Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed
Sample size 27
Population Adults with migraines, experiencing two to ten migraines per month, who were meditation-naive
Duration One 20-minute session
Topics Buddhism Meditation
Keywords Humans Stress, psychological Emotions Holistic nursing Adult Middle aged Female Migraine disorders
Key points A single 20-minute guided "loving kindness" meditation session was followed by a 33% reduction in self-reported migraine pain and a 43% reduction in emotional tension. The authors conclude that a single exposure to a brief meditative technique can reduce pain and tension, and suggest this offers implications for nursing practice.

Abstract

Meditation is gaining popularity as an effective means of managing and attenuating pain and has been particularly effective for migraines. Meditation additionally addresses the negative emotional states known to exist with migraines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of meditation as an immediate intervention for reducing migraine pain as well as alleviating emotional tension, examined herein as a negative affect hypothesized to be correlated with pain. Twenty-seven migraineurs, with two to ten migraines per month, reported migraine-related pain and emotional tension ratings on a Likert scale (ranging from 0 to 10) before and after exposure to a brief meditation-based treatment. All participants were meditation- naïve, and attended one 20-minute guided meditation session based on the Buddhist "loving kindness" approach. After the session, participants reported a 33% decrease in pain and a 43% decrease in emotional tension. The data suggest that a single exposure to a brief meditative technique can significantly reduce pain and tension, as well as offer several clinical implications. It can be concluded that single exposure to a meditative technique can significantly reduce pain and tension. The effectiveness and immediacy of this intervention offers several implications for nurses.

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 13

and 8 more in the library

Cites 4

Related reading

Explore topics

Buddhism Meditation