Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

Meditation as a Useful Chance for Chronic Pain Decrease

Stefano Coaccioli, Giustino Varrassi, Rosaria del Giorno, Maria Caterina Pace, Pasquale Sansone, Daniela Angelucci, Antonella Paladini, Fiorenzo Moscatelli, Antonietta Messina, Vincenzo Monda, Giovanni Messina, Marcellino Monda and Caterina Aurilio

Study background: The aim of this study was the investigation the role of meditation in a cohort of Italy resident subjects coming from Thailand, following only complementary medicine.
Methods: The cohort of subjects has been examined (60 subjects) by the visual analogue scale (VAS) scale for pain measurement. The subjects have been divided in two groups: experts (>10 years) and Lower experts in meditation (<3 years). All the subjects were affected by chronic pain due to osteoarthritis of the knees and low back pain.
Results: 28 subjects with chronic pain reported a mean basal VAS of 5.1 ± 1.8. After 5 consecutive days of meditation, the expert in meditation reported a significant pain decreasing (p<0.01) (VAS 3.0 ± 0.5) compared to the basal evaluation, while the lower experts in meditation reported a not significant decreasing of pain.
Conclusions: Meditation is nowadays a practice that should be highly recommended within a nonpharmacological approach for chronic pain therapy. This study it is further evidence that meditation might be a valuable strategy for chronic pain patients.