Recovery Michigan

They return to the United States with multiple types of trauma, and suffer from one of the highest rates of chronic pain of any population in the United States. They are U.S. veterans. A major challenge for health care providers is how to help them alleviate pain that will last a lifetime. Now, a new study suggests veterans may be empowered to help themselves with the practice of meditation.

A small pilot study conducted at the Washington, D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center reveals that veterans who practiced meditation reported a 20 percent reduction in pain intensity (how bad pain hurts or feels), as well as pain interference, how pain interferes with everyday aspects of life, such as sleep, mood, and activity level. The reductions were consistent across several methods by which doctors commonly measure pain in patients.

"Meditation allows a person to accept pain and to respond to pain with less stress and emotional reactivity. Our theory is that this process increases coping skills, which in turn can help veterans to self-manage their chronic pain," said Thomas Nassif, Ph.D., a professorial lecturer in American University's Department of Health Studies, researcher at the D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and lead author of the new study published in Military Behavioral Health.