Individuals dealing with various types of pain might want to explore an alternative or complementary method to conventional pain relief methods. Just ten minutes of mindfulness meditation could be used as an alternative to painkillers, suggests research by Leeds Beckett University

The results of this study demonstrate the potential of mindfulness meditation as an effective non-pharmacological pain management strategy. Those who choose non-drug therapy or who might develop painkiller side effects or dependencies may find this especially helpful. In addition, integrating mindfulness into daily activities may help with pain management in the short term as well as long-term advantages for general health by fostering stress reduction, relaxation, and increased resilience and mental clarity.

The study’s findings indicate that a single, ten-minute mindfulness meditation session led by a less experienced therapist can enhance pain threshold and tolerance while lowering anxiety related to pain.

What is mindfulness meditation?

Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Using breathing techniques, guided imagery, and other techniques to calm the body and mind and lessen stress are all part of the mindfulness practice.

Impact of 10 minutes meditation on cold-pressor task

Twenty-four healthy university-aged students—12 men and 12 women—were employed in the study, which was conducted by Leeds Beckett University’s School of Clinical and Applied Sciences. Two groups—one for meditation, the other for control—were randomly assigned to them.

The participants were given a cold-pressor task that involved subjecting their hand to warm water for two minutes, then taking it out and quickly submerging it in ice water for as long as they could stand it. The participants were only allowed to remove the hand from the job when the pain became intolerable.

After ten minutes of silent sitting (control group) or ten minutes of meditation, they repeated the cold-pressor challenge.

Next, information was gathered for five groups of patients: those with anxiety related to pain, pain threshold, pain tolerance, pain severity, and pain unpleasantness.

Decrease in anxiety towards pain and increase in pain tolerance

Prior to intervention The control and meditation groups’ numbers were similar, but after a ten-minute meditation session, the meditation group’s members reported much lower levels of anxiety related to pain and significantly higher levels of pain threshold and pain tolerance.

Dr. Osama Tashani, Senior Research Fellow in Pain Studies, discussed the study’s findings and stated: “These results do demonstrate the potential benefits of a brief mindfulness meditation intervention for pain relief, but more research is necessary to investigate this in a more clinical setting on patients with chronic pain.” The affordability and practicality of mindfulness meditation may also make it a good addition to the toolkit of pain management treatments.

“The mindfulness mediation was led by a researcher who was a novice; so, in theory clinicians could administer this with little training needed. It’s based on traditional Buddhist teachings which focus attention and awareness on your breathing.”

Story Source:

Materials provided by Leeds Beckett University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Page citation:

Leeds Beckett University. “Meditation could be a cheaper alternative to traditional pain medication, study suggests.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 June 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170612094633.htm>.

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