Meditation for chronic pain backed by nursing - Research Paper Example

In this regard, the current discourse aims to determine what nursing research says about using meditation to manage chronic pain; and, according to the role of nursing, one seeks to determine if this modality is effective in treating chronic pain. Nursing Research on Meditation to Manage Chronic Pain The research article written by Chiesa and Serretti (2011) and entitled “Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review of the Evidence” proffered pertinent issues relative to using mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques to alleviate chronic pain.

As disclosed, “MBSR is a standardized group-based meditation program conceived in the late 1970s from the effort to integrate Buddhist mindfulness meditation with contemporary Western clinical and psychological practice” (Chiesa & Serretti, 2011, p. 83). The authors initially described techniques commonly applied in MBSR that focuses on body scan, sitting meditation, and yoga (Chiesa & Serretti, 2011). The findings revealed inconclusive evidence regarding the effectiveness of using MBIs as an intervention for chronic pain and to allegedly reduce related depression that ensues from the pain experience.

In another study written by Morone, Lynch, Greco, Tindle, and Weiner (2008), the authors sought the participation of 27 older adults reportedly complaining of low back chronic pain. Through the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), in conjunction with diverse methods that aim to reduce pain, such as “distraction, increased body awareness leading to behavior change, better pain coping, and direct pain reduction through meditation” (Morone, Lynch, Greco, Tindle, & Weiner, 2008, p. 841), participants have noted in their respective diaries, significant improvement in managing pain, in well-being, in sleeping, and in attention-related activities.

Finally, in the study conducted by Tul, Unruh, and Dick (2011), the authors specifically aimed to determine how yoga, a form of meditation, serves as a means to address chronic pain. As specifically revealed, “the yoga program offered its participants a new way of engaging with their body resulting in heightened re?ection and self-awareness that enabled most participants to feel more control over their pain” (Tul, Unruh, & Dick, 2011, p. 440). As such, the meditative strategy accorded through yoga enabled the participants to refocus on more positive methods for relaxation that allowed them to channel their energies to meditation techniques rather than be fixated in the chronic pain.

The research article written by Chiesa and Serretti (2011) actually included, through a tabular representation, the summary of previous studies conducted on the subject of using meditation as a means to alleviate chronic pain. The summary disclosed that 10 conclusive studies had focused on MBIs but generated different results, as above noted. As clearly founded, “there is not yet suf?cient evidence to determine whether MBIs could be more ef?cacious than nonspeci?c interventions such as support and educational control groups for the reduction of pain and depressive symptoms in patients with chronic pain” (Chiesa & Serretti, 2011, p. 91). Meditation as Modality to Treat Chronic Pain As Seen through the Role of Nursing From the diverse results that were disclosed and which