Loving-kindness meditation for chronic low back pain: results from a pilot trial.
OBJECTIVE
Loving-kindness meditation has been used for centuries in the Buddhist tradition to develop love and transform anger into compassion. This pilot study tested an 8-week loving-kindness program for chronic low back pain patients.


METHODS
Patients (N = 43) were randomly assigned to the intervention or standard care. Standardized measures assessed patients' pain, anger, and psychological distress.


RESULTS
Post and follow-up analyses showed significant improvements in pain and psychological distress in the loving-kindness group, but no changes in the usual care group. Multilevel analyses of daily data showed that more loving-kindness practice on a given day was related to lower pain that day and lower anger the next day.


CONCLUSIONS
Preliminary results suggest that the loving-kindness program can be beneficial in reducing pain, anger, and psychological distress in patients with persistent low back pain.


CONCLUSIONS
Clinicians may find loving-kindness meditation helpful in the treatment of patients with persistent pain.
Carson
James W
JW
Duke University Medical Center, USA.
Keefe
Francis J
FJ
Lynch
Thomas R
TR
Carson
Kimberly M
KM
Goli
Veeraindar
V
Fras
Anne Marie
AM
Thorp
Steven R
SR
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000786:Anger; D001294:Attitude to Health; D018939:Holistic Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D019122:Meditation; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D010865:Pilot Projects; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors