Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Pain

Mindfulness-Based Interventions can be appropriately introduced at various stages in the pain management trajectory.

Mindfulness-Based Interventions – Evidence Rating: Low Quality

Evidence describing mindfulness-based interventions for pain comes from systematic reviews citing low quality evidence. These reviews draw from randomized control trials that sampled populations including back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, arthritic conditions, and cancer pain. The quality of the included studies was limited by heterogeneity of the interventions (including dosage and delivery format), small sample sizes, lack of blinding, and lack of long-term outcomes. Real-world studies of MBIs have mostly investigated patient-level factors that affect its use, and additional research is needed to better understand for whom MBIs are most efficacious, as well as provider- and system-level barriers to its use.

Evidence-based Scale

Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) can vary significantly in the timing of initiation and duration of treatment to help manage chronic pain. It may be useful to introduce MBIs early in the pain trajectory to help newly diagnosed individuals mitigate psychological distress or patterns of pain catastrophizing. The duration of treatment can be time-limited or continuous as deemed appropriate by both individuals and providers. Evidence on the effectiveness of MBIs is often derived from time-limited courses of MBI exposure, such as eight weeks of two-hour-long mindfulness-based stress reduction sessions.