Despite recent study results that show meditation can help relieve pain, it may be too early to recommend meditation as treatment for pain patients, according to an LA Times news report.
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center research findings, which were published in The Journal of Neuroscience, showed meditation novices reported feeling less pain after meditation training. MRI scans supported their reports, mirroring previous research that meditation may be able to reduce pain.
However, a closer look at the Wake Forest study shows the research may fall short, according to the news report. Although all test subjects reported feeling less pain after meditation training, there was wide variability in pain reduction, with some subjects reporting an 11 percent pain reduction and other reporting a 93 percent pain reduction. The study also featured a small sample size of 15 test subjects, and the inflicted pain (burning sensation for a few minutes) is not comparable to other types of pain, such as cancer pain, according to the news report.
Read the news report about meditation relieving pain.
Read other coverage about pain management:
- University Researcher: Pharmacies, Not Physicians, Are Source of Pill Mill Problem
- Study: Knee Joint Pain Influences Muscle Function
- SPR Therapeutics Prepares to Launch Pain Relief Device
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center research findings, which were published in The Journal of Neuroscience, showed meditation novices reported feeling less pain after meditation training. MRI scans supported their reports, mirroring previous research that meditation may be able to reduce pain.
However, a closer look at the Wake Forest study shows the research may fall short, according to the news report. Although all test subjects reported feeling less pain after meditation training, there was wide variability in pain reduction, with some subjects reporting an 11 percent pain reduction and other reporting a 93 percent pain reduction. The study also featured a small sample size of 15 test subjects, and the inflicted pain (burning sensation for a few minutes) is not comparable to other types of pain, such as cancer pain, according to the news report.
Read the news report about meditation relieving pain.
Read other coverage about pain management:
- University Researcher: Pharmacies, Not Physicians, Are Source of Pill Mill Problem
- Study: Knee Joint Pain Influences Muscle Function
- SPR Therapeutics Prepares to Launch Pain Relief Device