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The efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in acute pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Recent meta-analyses have shown mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to be effective for chronic pain, but no pooled estimates of the effect of MBIs on acute pain are available. This meta-analysis was conducted to fill that gap. A literature search was conducted in 4 databases. Articles were eligible if they reported on randomized controlled trials of MBIs for people with acute pain and one of the following outcomes: pain severity, pain threshold, pain tolerance, or pain-related distress. Two authors independently extracted the data, assessed risk of bias, and provided GRADE ratings. Twenty-two studies were included. There was no evidence of an effect of MBIs on the primary outcome of pain severity in clinical {Hedges' g = 0.52; (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.241 to 1.280)} or experimental settings (Hedges' g = 0.04; 95% CI [−0.161 to 0.247]). There was a beneficial effect of MBIs on pain tolerance (Hedges' g = 0.68; 95% CI [0.157-1.282]) and pain threshold (Hedges' g = 0.72; 95% CI [0.210-1.154]) in experimental studies. There was no evidence of an effect of MBIs compared to control for pain-related distress in clinical (Hedges' g = 0.16; 95% CI [−0.018 to 0.419]) or experimental settings (Hedges' g = 0.44; 95% CI [−0.164 to 0.419]). GRADE assessment indicated that except for pain tolerance, the data were of low or very low quality. There is moderate evidence that MBIs are efficacious in increasing pain tolerance and weak evidence for pain threshold. However, there is an absence of good-quality evidence for the efficacy of MBIs for reducing the pain severity or pain-related distress in either clinical or experimental settings.
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“Three reviews evaluated mindfulness interventions following injury, and all reviews reported no evidence for improvements in distress-related outcomes.4547”
From Impact of healthcare interventions on distress following acute musculoskeletal/orthopaedic injury: A scoping review of systematic reviews (2024) · cites this paper as [47]
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“The total duration of interventions ranged from 1 week to 12 months.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Shires, A., Sharpe, L., Davies, J. N., & Newton-John, T. R. O.
- Affiliations
- University of Technology Sydney (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Sharpe, Louise
- Venue
- Pain
- Published
- 2020-06-18
- Volume
- 161
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1698-1707
- ISSN
- 0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
- 1872-6623
- OpenAlex
- W3035847997
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 0.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Keywords
- mindfulness-based interventions, acute pain, pain intensity, pain tolerance, pain threshold, pain-related distress, mindfulness meditation, pain management
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Pain Threshold, Acute Pain, Mindfulness
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