Meditation for adults with non-specific low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Larissa O Soares; Giovanni E Ferreira; Leonardo O P Costa; Leandro C Nogueira; Ney Meziat-Filho; Felipe J J Reis

doi:10.1515/sjpain-2021-0096

Meditation for adults with non-specific low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Scand J Pain. 2021 Sep 13;22(1):26-39. doi: 10.1515/sjpain-2021-0096. Print 2022 Jan 27.

Authors

Larissa O Soares¹, Giovanni E Ferreira^{2

3}, Leonardo O P Costa⁴, Leandro C Nogueira^{1

5}, Ney Meziat-Filho⁵, Felipe J J Reis^{1

6

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Physical Therapy Department, Instituto Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
² Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney and Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia.
³ Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ Masters and Doctoral Programs in Physical Therapy, Universidade Cidade de São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
⁵ Postgraduate Progam in Rehabilitation Sciences, Centro Universitário Augusto Motta (UNISUAM), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁶ Postgraduate Progam in Clinical Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁷ Physical Therapy Department , Instituto Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁸ Pain in Motion Research Group, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.

PMID: 34516731
DOI: 10.1515/sjpain-2021-0096

Abstract

Objectives: We aim to determine the effectiveness of meditation for adults with non-specific low back pain.

Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, PEDro, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO databases for randomized controlled trials that investigated the effectiveness of meditation in adults with non-specific low back pain. Two reviewers rated risk of bias using the PEDro scale and the certainty of the evidence using the GRADE approach. Primary outcomes were pain intensity and disability.

Results: We included eight trials with a total of 1,234 participants. Moderate-certainty evidence shows that meditation is better than usual care for disability at short-term (SMD = -0.22; 95% CI = -0.42 to -0.02). We also found that meditation is better than usual care for pain intensity at long-term (SMD = -0.28; 95% CI = -0.54 to -0.02). There is no significant difference for pain intensity between meditation and minimal intervention or usual care at short and intermediate-term. We did not find differences between meditation and minimal intervention for disability at intermediate-term or usual care in any follow-up period.

Conclusions: We found small effect sizes and moderate-certainty evidence that meditation is slightly better than minimal intervention in the short-term for disability. Low-certainty of evidence suggests that meditation is slightly better than usual care for pain in the long-term. Meditation appears to be safe with most trials reporting no serious adverse events.

Keywords: chronic low back pain; meditation; pain; review.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Bias
Humans
Low Back Pain* / therapy
Meditation*
Pain Measurement