Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as Treatment for Chronic Back Pain - an Observational Study with Assessment of Thalamocortical Dysrhythmia.

Background: A pilot study of an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on a sample of low back pain patients was conducted in order to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention as well as changes in an EEG pattern called thalamocortical dysrhythmia which is associated with chronic pain.

Patients And Methods: 22 patients with chronic low back pain participated in an MBSR program. Effect sizes were measured for psychological functioning, pain severity, and quality of life.

Pain ratings, psychological functioning and quantitative EEG in a controlled study of chronic back pain patients.

Objectives: Several recent studies report the presence of a specific EEG pattern named Thalamocortical Dysrhythmia (TCD) in patients with severe chronic neurogenic pain. This is of major interest since so far no neuroscientific indicator of chronic pain could be identified. We investigated whether a TCD-like pattern could be found in patients with moderate chronic back pain, and we compared patients with neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain components.