Aging Successfully With Pain

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. This experimental study is designed as a randomized, education controlled clinical trial of a mind-body program for older adults with chronic low back pain. A sample of 300 independent, community-dwelling adults 65 years of age and older will be recruited. After determining eligibility, study participants will give written informed consent and will be randomized to either the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program or the health education control program. Participants in the mind-body group will receive the intervention of eight weekly 90-minute mindfulness meditation sessions that are modeled on the MBSR program. Controls will receive an 8-week health education program based on the 10 Keys(TM) to Healthy Aging. After completion of the 8-week program, participants in both programs will be asked to return for 12 monthly booster sessions. Prior to initiating the program, immediately after the last program session, and 6 & 12 months later, the following parameters will be assessed: (1) physical function, (2) pain severity, (3) neuropsychological performance, (4) measures of mindfulness, (5) demographic factors, and (6) biomedical factors.

Inclusion criteria

• 65 years or older
• Have intact cognition (Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) >24)
• 65 years of age or older.
• Have functional limitations due to their low back, defined as a score of at least 12 on the Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire.
• 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.
• Have 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 and data validity. For example, the Mini-Mental Status Exam has never been validated in those with severe visual or hearing disturbance.
• Have pain in other parts of the body that is more severe than their low back pain, [defined as pain other than in the lower back that occurs daily or almost every day and is of at least moderate intensity] or acute back pain: since we will be specifically evaluating chronic low back pain, we do not want to confound the outcome data with [significant pain] from other areas or with acute pain. Thus only participants with chronic low back pain severity that is greater than pain severity elsewhere in the body will be included.
• Have acute or terminal illness: To insure weekly participation and a twelve month follow-up, participants with an acute or terminal illness will be excluded from the study.
• Have moderate to severe depression, defined as a Geriatric Depression Scale score of 21 and above: since active depression may affect the psychological outcomes of the study and may affect compliance with participation in the intervention and control programs.
• Do not have access to a telephone: since monthly assessments will be done over the telephone.