Mindfulness meditation for women with chronic pelvic pain: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common condition that can be difficult to treat. Mindfulness meditation improves outcomes in patients with cancer pain, low back pain and migraine headaches. This study evaluates feasibility and efficacy of mindfulness for patients with CPP.

STUDY DESIGN

Women with CPP were enrolled in an 8-week mindfulness program. Pre-assessments and post-assessments included daily pain scores, the Short Form-36 Health Status Inventory, Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Score and the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology.

RESULTS

Twelve out of 22 enrolled subjects completed the program and had significant improvement in daily maximum pain scores (p = 0.02), physical function (p = 0.01), mental health (p = 0.01) and social function (p = 0.02). The mindfulness scores improved significantly in all measures (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Data from this pilot study show the feasibility of mindfulness meditation in women with CPP. Initial pilot data suggest that quality of life and mindfulness outcomes may improve with mindfulness meditation and justify further investigation with a randomized, controlled trial.