Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Ann Behav Med. 2017 Apr;51(2):199-213. doi: 10.1007/s12160-016-9844-2.

Abstract

Background: Chronic pain patients increasingly seek treatment through mindfulness meditation.

Purpose: This study aims to synthesize evidence on efficacy and safety of mindfulness meditation interventions for the treatment of chronic pain in adults.

Method: We conducted a systematic review on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with meta-analyses using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method for random-effects models. Quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Outcomes included pain, depression, quality of life, and analgesic use.

Results: Thirty-eight RCTs met inclusion criteria; seven reported on safety. We found low-quality evidence that mindfulness meditation is associated with a small decrease in pain compared with all types of controls in 30 RCTs. Statistically significant effects were also found for depression symptoms and quality of life.

Conclusions: While mindfulness meditation improves pain and depression symptoms and quality of life, additional well-designed, rigorous, and large-scale RCTs are needed to decisively provide estimates of the efficacy of mindfulness meditation for chronic pain.

Keywords: Chronic pain; Meditation; Mindfulness; Systematic review.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Chronic Pain / psychology
  • Chronic Pain / therapy*
  • Humans
  • Meditation / methods*
  • Meditation / psychology
  • Mindfulness / methods*
  • Pain Management / methods*
  • Quality of Life
  • Treatment Outcome