Mind-Body Therapies to Counter the Opioid Crisis

Researchers have found that certain mind-body therapies can reduce pain among patients treated with prescription opioids. Lead author on the study, Eric Garland, director of the University of Utah’s Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, said the findings are critical for medical and behavioral health professionals working to determine the most effective treatments for pain.

Published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the study examined over 4,200 articles to identify randomized controlled trials on mind-body therapies for opioid-treated pain. Over 6,400 participants were studied, with researchers looking at the type of pain, the type of mind-body therapy used, its effect on the severity of pain, and the use/misuse of opioids.

The team found that meditation/mindfulness, hypnosis, therapeutic suggestion, and cognitive-behavioral therapy resulted in significant improvements in pain severity as well as in improvements in opioid use or misuse. However, two studies involving relaxation techniques resulted in greater opioid use.

A finding highlighted by the research team was that the mind-body therapies were equally effective at reducing both acute post-surgical pain and chronic pain. It was concluded that meditation/mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy hold the greatest potential for clinical use as these approaches are affordable and accessible.

According to Garland, it’s projected that by 2025, 82,000 Americans will die each year from opioid overdose. The new study suggests mind-body therapies might help alleviate the mounting crisis.