Introduction

Starting from the Vedas (sacred text of the Hindus) of India and Nepal to the present day trendy yoga classes, meditation at its root has been viewed as a practice that promotes relaxation. Nonetheless, throughout history meditation has become a practice associated with negative connotations. For example, Western society throughout history has defined meditation as a religious practice found in Hinduism and Buddhism, and was widely banned from practice for it was seen as sacrilege to the church (although there is a form of Christian meditation that is seen more as prayer and reflection on God). Fortunately, meditation has become accepted as more of a spiritual practice; more about inducing a mode of consciousness that can be practiced in or out of religion. However, we can find the same judgments and precautions still being disseminated about the practice. With that being said, most Americans associate meditation with esoteric images of mantras, monks in temples, prana, ki, and qi (I don’t expect you to know these terms; more for facetious purposes); and are skeptical as to if meditation offers any benefit whatsoever. Yes, for quite some time, the medical community has also been skeptical; there is becoming new evidence that meditation may benefit patients, especially chronic pain patients. Thus, what I would like to do is give you evidence-based research on how meditating may reduce chronic pain symptoms. After reading this, if you think it would help; great! If not, then I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to be open-minded and learning about this practice. Whether you try meditation or not, please consult your doctor before doing so.

Defining Mindful Meditation

Nowadays, when most people think of meditation they are thinking of “secular” meditation, or more nicely said, mindful meditation. Mindful meditation can help center someone’s conscious by controlling their breathing and present thoughts. The practice focuses on being present; being in the moment while allowing thoughts to come and go while you focus on the in and out of your own breath. Sounds easy, right? We’ll get into some steps for you to try after your doctor has permitted them.

Study Found Meditation Reduced Stress-Related Pain Symptoms

This study found that patients whom underwent a rigorous three-day meditation program showed an increase in brain activity. What was astounding is that the meditation affects areas of the brain that govern how we contextualize what’s happening in the environment (the orbitofrontal cortex), our cognitive control, and emotional regulation (anterior cingulate cortex). This finding is evidence of a reduction in overall stress and anxiety. Also, this study found a reduction in IL-6 levels, which basically means there was a reduction in overall inflammation. This study concluded that meditation could have amazing effects on the brain. Meditation can even have the ability to alter the way you think by providing a coping mechanism for stress.

Study Found Meditation Reduced Pain Ratings

A clinical study carried out by the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in 2016, found that meditation reduced pain ratings of patients by 24% versus the control group. But what they found to be an incredible find was that meditation uses different pathways for pain relief than the pathways opioid-painkillers use. Thus the neural pathways pharmaceuticals use are not affected/damaged.

Study Found Meditation Reduced Chronic Pain By Increasing Sleep Quality

A randomized clinical trial published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2015, found that a practice known as mindful awareness practices (MAP) resulted in immediate improvements in the sleep quality in the study population. Overall, they showed that patients in the MAP group had less insomnia, fatigue, and depression. As you know, getting a good night’s rest is crucial for those with chronic pain; for example, sleep deprivation in chronic pain patients can greatly increase pain sensitivity, which leads to a destructive cycle of additional sleepless nights and increasingly intense pain episodes. Thus this study is pioneering the way for methods of meditation that increases one’s chance for a full night of sleep.

Study Found Meditation & Exercise Reduce Depression

As we I have talked about in previous articles, there is a strong correlation between depression and pain. Please see my post on Depression & Chronic Pain: 5 Tips On Removing Thoughts Of Isolation. I won’t get into the specifics of this study; yet they found that exercise and mindful meditation reduced depressive symptoms by a whopping 40% over a two-month period.

Another study, a meta-analysis, found a statistically significant effect that meditation had on reducing depression and improving a chronic pain patient’s overall quality of life.

Chronic pain is a serious issue in the U.S. and according to the Institute of Medicine; approximately 100 million people in the U.S. suffer from some chronic pain condition. Meditation may have the power to give these patients the ability to identify their pain and find some relief. Fortunately, the medical community is discovering that mindful meditation may have a plethora of benefits for those with chronic pain. Another study is finding ways how internet-based meditation programs may be just as effective at reducing pain symptoms! The evidence is strong that meditation may benefit chronic pain patients by indirectly or directly reducing pain symptoms. However, much more research will clearly be needed to figure out who might benefit from meditation as a treatment method–or at least as an adjunct–for chronic pain. For some people it may not work, and some may still need other forms of therapy, with or without medication. But if we can try, as the CDC and others are pushing hard for now, to widen our array of tools in pain management, and not use opioids as a go-to method, then we’ll be in much better shape. Again, please do your own research and talk to your doctor about your findings.

Have you tried meditation for pain relief? How successful has it been? Please let me know! Dr Sheba Shah

Tags: meditation, evidence based, research, chronic pain, pain management, mental health

References:

1. Alderman B., Olson R., Brush R., Shors T.  MAP training: combining meditation and aerobic exercise reduces depression and rumination while enhancing synchronized brain activity. Translation Psychiatry Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program, Department of Psychology, Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA. 5 December 2015
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