Meditation as a useful chance for chronic pain decrease

Study background: The aim of this study was the investigation the role of meditation in a cohort of Italy resident subjects coming from Thailand, following only complementary medicine. Methods: The cohort of subjects has been examined (60 subjects) by the visual analogue scale (VAS) scale for pain measurement. The subjects have been divided in two groups: experts (>10 years) and Lower experts in meditation (<3 years). All the subjects were affected by chronic pain due to osteoarthritis of the knees and low back pain. Results: 28 subjects with chronic pain reported a mean basal VAS of 5.1 ± 1.8. After 5 consecutive days of meditation, the expert in meditation reported a significant pain decreasing (p<0.01) (VAS 3.0 ± 0.5) compared to the basal evaluation, while the lower experts in meditation reported a not significant decreasing of pain. Conclusions: Meditation is nowadays a practice that should be highly recommended within a nonpharmacological approach for chronic pain.