Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults
CompletedPhase 3NCT00494845
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This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
Among mind-body therapies, there is evidence for an association between pain reduction and mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation provides a potentially safe, effective, nonpharmacologic, noninvasive, simple method for pain relief and increased function that could be used for the frailest older adult. Additionally, mindfulness meditation addresses the multiple dimensions that are affected by chronic pain. The primary objective of this study is to determine the impact of an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program on physical function and pain severity in community dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain. Using a randomized controlled experimental design, 80 community dwelling older adults ≥ age 65 with chronic low back pain will receive either (1) the MBSR program, or (2) an 8-week education program. Prior to initiating the program, immediately after the last program session, and 6 months later, the following parameters will be assessed: (1) pain severity, (2) disability/physical function, (3) objectively measured physical performance, (4) psychosocial function (including mood, self-efficacy, self-rated health, coping, stress, quality of life (QOL), mindfulness and pain-related fear), (5) sleep, (6) pain-related appetite reduction and, (7) time and frequency of meditation. All measures are self-report except for the physical performance measure.
Study details
- Official title
- Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults
- Conditions
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Mindfulness
- Behavioral: Control: Health Education Class
- Sponsor
- University of Pittsburgh
- Collaborators
- National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
- Start date
- 2007-07
- Primary completion
- 2008-06
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 65 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Total sites listed
- 0
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * 65 years of age or older * Have intact cognition (Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) \>23) * CLBP, defined as moderate pain occurring daily or almost every day for at least the previous three months * Speak English. Exclusion Criteria: * Do not meet the above inclusion criteria * Have previously participated in a mindfulness meditation program * Have serious underlying illness (like malignancy, infection, unexplained fever, weight loss or recent trauma) causing their pain, * Are non-ambulatory, or have severely impaired mobility (i.e., require the use of a walker): since measurement of physical performance in the proposed study includes timed chair rise, gait velocity, and standing balance, conditions other than back pain that could negatively impact these measures may confound our study results * Severe visual or hearing impairment: since this study will involve questionnaires and telephone evaluations, severe visual and/or hearing impairments may interfere with data collection * Significant pain in parts of the body other than the lower back or acute back pain: since we will be specifically evaluating chronic low back pain, we do not want to confound the outcome data with pain from other areas or with acute pain. Thus only subjects with chronic back pain severity that is greater than pain severity elsewhere in the body will be included * Acute or terminal illness: To insure weekly participation and a six month follow-up, subjects with an acute or terminal illness will be excluded from the study.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00494845