Mindfulness meditation for the treatment of chronic low back pain in older adults: A randomized controlled pilot study ☆

Abstract

The objectives of this pilot study were to assess the feasibility of recruitment and adherence to an eight-session mindfulness meditation program for community-dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and to develop initial estimates of treatment effects. It was designed as a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Participants were 37 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older with CLBP of moderate intensity occurring daily or almost every day. Participants were randomized to an 8-week mindfulness-based meditation program or to a wait-list control group. Baseline, 8-week and 3-month follow-up measures of pain, physical function, attention, and quality of life were assessed. Eighty-nine older adults were screened and 37 found to be eligible and randomized within a 6-month period. The mean age of the sample was 74.9 years, 21/37 (57%) of participants were female and 33/37 (89%) were white. At the end of the intervention 30/37 (81%) participants completed 8-week assessments. Average class attendance of the intervention arm was 6.7 out of 8. They meditated an average of 4.3 days a week and the average minutes per day was 31.6. Compared to the control group, the intervention group displayed significant improvement in the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire Total Score and Activities Engagement subscale (P = . 008, P = .004) and SF-36 Physical Function (P = .03). An 8-week mindfulness-based meditation program is feasible for older adults with CLBP. The program may lead to improvement in pain acceptance and physical function.

“I Felt Like a New Person.” The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Older Adults With Chronic Pain: Qualitative Narrative Analysis of Diary Entries

“…The mean number of participants who handed in a diary every week (one page per week) was 18 (range [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. The first three weeks 26, 22, and 23 participants, respectively, handed in a diary.…”

Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review

“…The median short-term follow-up time was eight weeks (range 4-12 weeks). Figure 3.3 shows a positive effect of meditation on pain from 0-12 weeks in 17 studies (Brown and Jones, 2013;Cash et al, 2015;Cathcart et al, 2014;Esmer et al, 2010;Morone, Greco, and Weiner, 2008;Omidi and Zargar, 2014;Plews-Ogan et al, 2005;Teixeira, 2010;Wells et al, 2014;Zautra et al, 2008;Parra-Delgado and LatorrePostigo, 2013;Rahmani and Talepasand, 2015;Gaylord et al, 2011;Ljotsson, Falk, et al, 2010), which was statistically significant in five studies Omidi and Zargar, 2014;Wells et al, 2014;Rahmani and Talepasand, 2015;Gaylord et al, 2011). The pooled analysis of all 24 RCTs showed a significant positive effect (SMD 0.27; CI 0.04, 0.50; 24 RCTs; I 2 64.6%).…”

“…Seven studies obtained a "good" quality rating Fogarty et al, 2015;Ljotsson, Falk, et al, 2010;Parra-Delgado and Latorre-Postigo, 2013;Zautra et al, 2008). Ten studies were judged to be of fair quality, primarily due to being unclear in some aspects of the methods (Cash et al, 2015;Davis and Zautra, 2013;Day et al, 2014;Dowd et al, 2015;Gaylord et al, 2011;la Cour and Petersen, 2015;Morone, Greco, and Weiner, 2008;Wells et al, 2014). Eleven studies were judged to be poor; eight of these were primarily due to issues with completeness of reporting outcome data, such as inadequate or missing ITT analysis or less than 80-percent follow-up Brown and Jones, 2013;Cathcart et al, 2014;Esmer et al, 2010;Meize-Grochowski et al, 2015;Morone et al, 2009;Omidi and Zargar, 2014;PlewsOgan et al, 2005).…”

“…Pain scales and comparators varied from study to study (Astin et al, 2000;Brown and Jones, 2013;Cash et al, 2015;Cathcart et al, 2014;Davis and Zautra, 2013;Day et al, 2014;Dowd et al, 2015;Esmer et al, 2010;la Cour and Petersen, 2015;Meize-Grochowski et al, 2015;Morone, Greco, and Weiner, 2008;Morone et al, 2009;Omidi and Zargar, 2014;Plews-Ogan et al, 2005;Teixeira, 2010;Wells et al, 2014;Zautra et al, 2008;Parra-Delgado and Latorre-Postigo, 2013;Rahmani and Talepasand, 2015;Gaylord et al, 2011;Ljotsson, Falk, et al, 2010). The median follow-up time was 12 weeks, with a range of four to 60 weeks.…”

“…A meta-regression found that treatment effects did not differ significantly when TAU was used as a comparator versus all other comparators. Among the eight RCTs that compared mindfulness meditation to a passive control (either intervention or a waitlist for the primary intervention) (Cash et al, 2015;Cathcart et al, 2014;Day et al, 2014;la Cour and Petersen, 2015;Meize-Grochowski et al, 2015;Morone, Greco, and Weiner, 2008;Rahmani and Talepasand, 2015), one showed a significant effect of meditation on pain (Rahmani and Talepasand, 2015). The pooled effect (displayed in Figure 3.6) was not significant (SMD 0.28; CI −0.46, 1.02; 8 RCTs; I 2 76.5%); considerable heterogeneity was detected.…”