Effectiveness of focused meditation for patients with chronic low back pain-A randomized controlled clinical trial

- Focused meditation and exercise relieve chronic low back pain to a comparable extent.
- Perceived stress is better improved by meditation than exercise.
- Adherence with meditation is limited and should be improved in future trials.

ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week meditation program (focused meditation) in patients with chronic low-back pain.DesignA randomized clinical trial was conducted on 68 patients (55 years;75% female) with chronic low-back pain who scored >40 mm on a 100 mm Visual-Analogue-Scale. Subjects were allocated to an 8-week meditation program (focused meditation) with weekly 75 min classes or to a self-care exercise program with a wait-list offer for meditation. Both groups were instructed to practice at home. Outcomes were assessed baseline and after 4 and 8 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the change in mean back pain at rest after 8 weeks. Secondary outcomes included function, pain-related bothersomeness, perceived stress, quality-of-life (QOL), and psychological outcomes.ResultsTwelve (meditation) and 4 (exercise) patients were lost to follow-up. The primary outcome, pain at rest after 8 weeks, was reduced from 59.3 ± 13.9 mm to 40.8 ± 21.8 mm with meditation vs. 52.9 ± 11.8 mm to 37.3 ± 18.2 mm with exercise (adjusted group difference: −1.4 (95%CI:11.6;8.8;p = n.s.) Perceived stress was significantly more reduced with meditation (p = 0.011). No significant treatment effects were found for other secondary outcomes as pain-related bothersomeness, function, quality-of-life and psychological scores, although the meditation group consistently showed non-significant better improvements compared to the exercise group.ConclusionsFocused meditation and self-care exercise lead to comparable, symptomatic improvements in patients with chronic low back pain. Future studies should include longer-term follow-ups and develop guided meditation programs to support compliance.