[Study] Mindfulness Can Help Veterans Ease Pain

 

Mindfulness meditation may help combat veterans with traumatic brain injury manage their chronic pain, according to a small but promising pilot study published in the journal Military Behavioral Health.

 

An estimated 44 percent of U.S. combat veterans and 26 percent of Americans in general suffer from chronic pain, a condition in which pain persists for longer than 12 weeks and in some cases for a lifetime.

 

The pilot study’s results seem to be very promising and it seems that the military will have an effective and economical tool to help treat soldiers who return from the field with lifelong pain, says Thomas Nassif, a researcher at the Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center and professorial lecturer at American University.

 

 

What’s more, this mindfulness therapy could apply to civilians with pain problems, providing another way to supplement traditional therapies like pain medication, psychological counseling and surgeries or implants.

 

Meditation resulted in a 20 percent decrease in pain…

 

Nassif tested a particular mindfulness meditation program called Integrative Restoration Yoga Nidra, or iRest, which focuses on breathing exercises, guided imagery and progressive relaxation. Because of the promising results, iRest is already offered as an “educational class” (NOT official therapy) at VA medical centers and other active-duty military facilities.

 

(Video produced by Warriors at Ease, Robin Carnes​, and Christopher Giddinge. Directed and Produced by Samantha Jade Adamson.)

~ Published by Integrative Restorative Institute

 

Nassif’s pilot is the first time it has been tested for its effect on chronic pain. Past research has shown that iRest can help decrease PTSD symptoms and emotional reactivity in vets, but these studies did not have case control groups, he noted.

 

The participants in Nassif’s study were all male combat veterans of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and Bosnia. They had all experienced traumatic brain injury during their service and returned to the U.S. with chronic pain. In order to isolate the effects of the meditation, the researchers excluded all men who already seemed to be self-medicating on some level: those who drank a certain amount of alcohol, had used illicit drugs in the past month, relied on prescription medications known to alleviate pain or who were already regular meditators.

 

That left nine people, who formed two groups. Four of the men spent two months doing at least two hour-long meditations every week, and the five case controls did not participate in the meditation program until after the experiment was over.

 

After the two month meditation experiment was over, Nassif asked the men to re-assess their pain, where it hurt and how much it hurt. He found that the vets who had meditated reported an at least 20 percent reduction in pain intensity and pain interference, which means whether or not pain can disrupt sleep, mood and activity levels. The control group that didn’t meditate did not report any pain improvement.

 

You can’t change pain, but you can change the way you react…

 

You can’t avoid being in pain but you can focus on it from a “nonjudgemental perspective.”

 

 

 

It’s thought that slowly changing a person’s perception of their pain reduces the mental and emotional burden he has to bear, which in turn could help increase their coping skills and minimize the pain’s effect on day-to-day life, explains Nassif. This success could, over time, develop into a sense of empowerment over their pain.

 

Theory:

“Mindfulness meditation encourages patients to not practice avoidance so much as sustain their attention on painful sensations without judgment and without bringing up any unpleasant cognitions, thoughts or emotions that might accompany these painful sensations,” said Nassif. “The sensations may still be there, but they wont be as bothersome, and we consider that self-management an important process through which mindfulness meditation can help veterans manage their pain better.”

 

The program is a promising approach to pain control that empowers people to establish a better quality of life for themselves.

 

Mindfulness meditation is not seen as a complete replacement for things like pain medication or therapy. Instead, it could provide veterans with one more option to help cope with their pain — especially those who are concerned about the long-term side effects of certain pain medications, or those who find that the pain medications have stopped working for them.

 

According to Nassif, mindfulness meditation is a tool that may help make the pain more tolerable and may provide some healing, at least on a mental, spiritual or quality-of-life level.

 

If you are ready to start healing from your trauma and get back to living the life you once knew-a life free from fear, anxiety, and sleepless nights-this book will help you find your way:

 

 

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Testimonials  (originally published by Integrated Restoration Institute)

 

“I am currently the Clinical Director for an Intensive Outpatient Program that treats Wounded Warriors with the invisible wounds of traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder after multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade and more. The Warriors are able to regain their grounding and move forward in their recovery and reintegration into continued active duty service or return to the community.” John Golden, Captain US Public Health Service (USPHS) Military Treatment Facility

 

“I have been doing this yoga nidra now for about 3 years and I have gotten to a point now that I don’t have to take any medication for my blood pressure. And I don’t take anything for sleeping, so it has made a big improvement.” Tom Rusneck Vietnam Veteran

 

“Instead of feeling like there is something wrong with us, iRest makes us feel like there is something right with us.” Gilbert M. Iraq War Veteran

 

“I truly believe that iRest helps to save my life every day. It has given me the hope and strength I needed to reconnect myself to the world again.” U.S. Marine Iraq War Veteran (3 deployments.)

 

 

==> Click Here For Richard Miller’s  Meditations (Audio CD’s)

 

 

Adapted from original article:  A Military Pilot Study Shows How Mindfulness Can Help Ease Pain