Factors associated with the use of mind body therapies among United States adults with musculoskeletal pain.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of mind body therapy use and correlates of use among adults with prolonged musculoskeletal pain, a group for whom mind body therapies are recommended.


METHODS
The U.S. 1999 National Health Interview Survey. Prolonged musculoskeletal pain was defined as any soft tissue, joint, or bony pain for at least 1 month. Analyses used SUDAAN and reflect national estimates.


METHODS
Use of mind body medicine (relaxation techniques, imagery, biofeedback, and hypnosis) and prayer in the previous year.


RESULTS
Respondents (n=6079) with musculoskeletal pain were almost twice as likely as those without (n=24,722) to use mind body medicine (9% versus 5%, respectively, p<.0001) and prayer (20% versus 12%, respectively, p<.0001). After adjustment, men were less likely than women to use mind body medicine (odds ratio 0.55 [0.43-0.71]) and prayer (odds ratio 0.56 [0.48-0.66]). Those who had a high school education were less likely than those with training beyond high school to use mind body medicine (odds ratio 0.36 [0.28-0.47]) and prayer (odds ratio 0.61 [0.52-0.71]).


CONCLUSIONS
Mind body therapies are not used commonly by adults with prolonged musculoskeletal pain. Understanding barriers to their use may facilitate wider application in this population.
Tindle
Hilary A
HA
Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. hilary_tindle@hms.harvard.edu
Wolsko
Peter
P
Davis
Roger B
RB
Eisenberg
David M
DM
Phillips
Russell S
RS
McCarthy
Ellen P
EP
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D059408:Pain Management; D012067:Religion; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States