Session Information
Session Title: Research Spotlight: Pain and Spine Medicine
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Disclosures: Augustine C. Lee, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Objective: Previous studies suggest that Tai chi mind-body treatment results in similar or greater improvement in pain symptoms than aerobic exercise. However, the underlying mechanisms remain less defined. Mindfulness, a psychological state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, may play a major role in distinguishing Tai Chi exercise from traditional Aerobic Exercise (AE). We evaluate whether mindfulness mediates pain improvement from Tai Chi intervention compared with AE intervention in fibromyalgia.
Design: Secondary analysis of a single-blind randomized controlled trialSetting : Urban academic medical centerParticipants : 177 adults (mean age 52 years, BMI 30 kg/m2, 93% female, 59% white) with fibromyalgia (1990 or 2010 American College of Rheumatology criteria)
Interventions: Either AE (twice per week for 24 weeks) or 1 of 4 Tai Chi intervention groups (once or twice weekly for 12 or 24 weeks)
Main Outcome Measures: Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and NRS pain severity (item 12 of the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) before and after intervention. Repeated measures analyses were used to compare between group mean differences and Baron and Kenny methods were used to evaluate mediating role of change in FFMQ on change in pain severity from either intervention.
Results: Pain severity (between group mean difference [95% Confidence Interval]: 2.00 [0.96,3.04]) and mindfulness (7.22 [1.35,13.09]) improved significantly more from Tai Chi than AE when comparing similar treatment duration and frequency; similar results with a trend towards significance were found when comparing AE with all Tai Chi groups combined (p=0.02 and 0.05). Baron and Kenny criteria were not met for the mediation analyses.Conclusions: Tai Chi intervention resulted in similar or greater improvements in pain severity compared with AE. Mindfulness may not be a substantial component of the underlying therapeutic mechanism of Tai Chi interventions among patients with fibromyalgia.
Level of Evidence: Level I
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Lee AC, Wang C, Price LL, Bannuru R. Mindfulness as a Mediator of Pain Reduction After Tai Chi Exercise Intervention Among Adults with Fibromyalgia [abstract]. PM R. 2021; 13(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/mindfulness-as-a-mediator-of-pain-reduction-after-tai-chi-exercise-intervention-among-adults-with-fibromyalgia/. Accessed October 8, 2024.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2021
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/mindfulness-as-a-mediator-of-pain-reduction-after-tai-chi-exercise-intervention-among-adults-with-fibromyalgia/