Waiting for pain: effect of a mindfulness intervention during a wait situation on pain intensity

Research has shown substantial evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in the management of chronic pain. Less evidence is available whether a one-time mindfulness intervention may also be helpful in alleviating acute procedural pain. While anticipating a potentially painful procedure, people may worry about the upcoming pain. We investigated whether the time spent in a waiting room prior to an appointment could be used for a brief mindfulness intervention.

The sample consisted of 93 female students. Experimental pain was induced with a pressure pain algometer. Subjective pain ratings were recorded with a numerical rating scale in a 3 × 2 mixed design with the factors condition (mindfulness, worry, control) and measurement time (baseline, post). A situation corresponding to a waiting room in primary care was created. Participants received an audio recording of a mindfulness meditation, a worry instruction, or an instruction to wait. In addition, participants answered the state version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (State) at both measurement times.

3 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA showed no main effect for the within-subjects factor "measurement time" F(1, 89) = 0.11, p = .74, no main effect for the between-subjects factor "condition" F(2, 89) = .24; p = .98, and no interaction effect of "measurement time×condition" F(2, 89) = 2.53, p = .09. Analyses showed that worrying led to an increase in perceived pain intensity [t(31) = 1.74, p = .046 (one-tailed), d = 0.31]. No further effects were observed. State mindfulness in the mindfulness condition increased between the measurement times [t(29) = 2.00, p = .03 (one-tailed), d = 0.37].

Mindfulness increased through the induction; it did not affect perceived pain intensity. In the worry condition, perceived pain intensity increased, which is in accordance with research on detrimental effects of worry. Regarding the aim of the study, the experiment showed that a one-shot mindfulness intervention was able to promote state mindfulness, but not decrease perceived pain intensity. Future research should investigate whether mindfulness has more impact on the affective component of the pain, rather than on its sensory component.