Mindful breathing significantly reduces pain intensity among people with cancer
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Key takeaways:
- Adults with cancer who completed a 20-minute mindful breathing session experienced lower pain intensity and unpleasantness.
- The breathing intervention also reduced anxiety.
A 20-minute mindful breathing session rapidly reduced pain intensity and anxiety among people with cancer, according to results of a randomized controlled study.
All participants assigned mindful breathing responded to the intervention, and none experienced adverse events.
“This brief and accessible intervention offers a complementary approach to traditional pharmacological strategies,” Seng Beng Tan, MBBS, MRCP, consultant in palliative medicine at Subang Jaya Medical Center in Malaysia, and colleagues wrote.
Background and methods
An estimated 30% to 50% of individuals with cancer report at least moderate pain, according to study background.
Common treatments include medications (eg, opioids, anticonvulsants or antidepressants), physical and psychosocial therapies, and integrative medicine strategies such as acupuncture and massage.
Prior studies showed mindfulness programs can decrease pain and improve well-being; however, much of that research explored structured programs that take about 8 weeks to complete.
Tan and colleagues explored the efficacy of a 20-minute mindful breathing session for adults with any type of cancer hospitalized at University of Malaya Medical Center between Sept. 1, 2001, and Dec. 3, 2022.
Study participants had to have pain scores of at least 4 out of 10 on the Numeric Rating Scale.
Researchers assigned 21 patients (mean age, 63.1 years; 66.7% women) to mindful breathing therapy. Trained research assistants conducted the sessions, which emphasized four components: identification of the in-breath and out-breath, following the entire length of the breath, bringing the mind back to the body and, finally, relaxing the body.
The other 19 study participants (mean age, 63.5 years; 57.9% men) underwent a 20-minute supportive listening session, during which the same research assistants asked patients structured questions about their illness and listened to responses without interruption.
Pain intensity and unpleasantness scores, measured with the Numeric Rating Scale, served as the primary endpoint. Anxiety and depression, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), served as the secondary endpoint.
Results and next steps
Results showed greater reduction in pain intensity (1.38 vs. 0.47; P = .015) and pain unpleasantness (2.05 vs. 0.63; P = .001) in the mindful breathing group.
The mindful breathing cohort also had a larger decrease in total HADS score (3.24 vs. 0.79; P = .005). However, further analyses revealed a statistically significant reduction in HADS anxiety score (2.62 vs. 0.37; P = 0.000) but no significant reduction in depression score.
Researchers acknowledged study limitations, including the single-institution design, small sample size and self-reporting of pain symptoms.
Future studies could explore differential effects of mindful breathing based on cancer type and disease stage, Tan and colleagues wrote.
“Comparative effectiveness research, examining the integration of brief mindfulness exercises with other pain management strategies, is warranted,” researchers wrote. “Additionally, investigating the optimal frequency and duration of such interventions would guide their practical implementation.
“In light of pain being inherently subjective, there is a prospective avenue for investigating patient-specific attributes that may serve as predictors of efficacy in mindfulness-based interventions,” they added. “Such an inquiry holds promise for fostering a more personalized paradigm in the realm of pain management.”
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