Do Mindfulness-Based Interventions Reduce Pain Intensity? A Critical Review of the Literature.

Background. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) emphasizing a nonjudgmental attitude toward present moment experience are widely used for chronic pain patients. Although changing or con-trolling pain is not an explicit aim of MBIs, recent experimental studies suggest that mindfulness practice may lead to changes in pain tolerance and pain intensity ratings. Objective. The objective of this review is to investi-gate the specific effect of MBIs on pain intensity. Methods. A literature search was conducted using the databases PUBMED and PsyclNFO for relevant articles published from 1960 to December 2010. We additionally conducted a manual search of refer-ences from the retrieved articles. Only studies pro-viding detailed results on change in pain intensity ratings were included. Results. Sixteen studies were included in this review (eight uncontrolled and eight controlled trials). In most studies (10 of 16), there was significantly decreased pain intensity in the MBI group. Findings were more consistently positive for samples limited to clinical pain (9 of 11). In addition, most controlled trials (6 of 8) reveal higher reductions in pain inten-sity for MBIs compared with control groups. Results from follow-up assessments reveal that reductions in pain intensity were generally well maintained. Conclusions. Findings suggest that MBIs decrease the intensity of pain for chronic pain patients. We discuss implications for understanding mecha-nisms of change in MBIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]