Mindfulness-Based Meditation to Fight Chronic Lower Back Pains than Painkillers

The mindfulness-based technique will find relief with a form of meditation. It involves yoga, body awareness, and focus. People who did this technique showed improvements compared to cognitive behavioral therapy, which also help relieve back pains.

According to Dr. Madhav Goyal, cowriter of an editorial paper of the study said, "This new study is exciting, because here's a technique that doesn't involve taking any pharmaceutical agents, and doesn't involve the side effects of pharmaceutical agents." Goyal came from Jogn Hopkins University School of Medicine, according to The New York Times.

Goyal says that he sees patients with chronic lower back pain who experienced the frustration when they run out of treatments. "It may not be for everybody. But for people who want to do something where they're using their own mind to help themselves, it can feel very empowering," he added.

According to 61 percent of participants, when they experienced the meditation training they see some improvements within 6 months after the training program. Others are saying that they improved using cognitive behavioral treatment.

Daniel Cherkin from Health Research Institute in Seattle said, "There are no panaceas here. No treatment for nonspecific back pain has been found to make a whole lot of difference for many people." Cherkin also said that some treatment can help some people because they won't work well with others.

According to National Public radio, Cherkin said: "A lot of treatments that are recommended by high-quality guidelines are not covered by insurance or even licensed in some states. Some of the least effective and sometimes harmful and expensive treatments are readily available and are covered by insurance."

Journals like JAMA are endorsing meditation as a helpful treatment for chronic lower back pain. Mindfulness training and cognitive behavioral therapy may not easy to find due to some insurers are not capable of handling it.

At the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Center for Mindfulness they offer 31-hour on-site course which developed a mindfulness-based treatment, cost $545 to $725. The online video course cost for $197, while cognitive behavioral therapy sessions may run from $120 to $200 each.