A recent study has found that just 20 minutes of mindful breathing can significantly reduce pain intensity and anxiety. This simple technique, involving focused concentration on the breath, offers potential relief for millions of cancer patients with inadequate pain control despite advances in conventional treatments.
Reducing Cancer Pain Intensity
The potential applications of mindfulness in pain management are particularly relevant in cancer care. Pain affects an estimated 30 to 40 percent of cancer patients worldwide due to factors including tumor pressure, nerve damage directly caused by a tumor, and treatment side effects.
The study, though small in scale, involved 40 patients with various types of cancer who reported pain levels of four or higher on a 10-point scale. Researchers randomly assigned participants to one of two groups: 21 received guided mindful breathing sessions, while the remaining 19 participated in supportive listening sessions with a physician.
Researchers found that mindful breathing not only complements conventional pain relief methods in cancer treatment but may also offer new options for patients living with moderate to severe pain from other causes.
“The 20-minute mindful breathing sessions demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and anxiety compared with the control group,” the researchers wrote in the study published in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.
The findings point to the possibility of including brief mindfulness techniques in routine cancer care to enhance pain management and improve overall health.
“The 100 percent response rate and lack of adverse events further support the safety and feasibility of this approach,” Dr. Tan Seng Beng, the study author and a consultant palliative medicine physician at Subang Jaya Medical Center in Malaysia, told The Epoch Times.
Four 5-Minute Steps to Pain Relief
The mindful breathing intervention was structured into four five-minute steps:
- Identifying the in-breath and out-breath
- Following the breath
- Refocusing attention on the body
- Progressive relaxation
Participants in the control group engaged in discussions about their illness experiences using semi-structured questions.
Researchers measured participants’ pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and mood using standardized scales before and after the interventions.
The results showed that the mindful breathing group experienced a statistically significant reduction in both pain intensity and pain unpleasantness compared to the supportive listening group. The mindful group also reported a greater decrease in anxiety levels.
The study authors noted in a press release that while further research is needed to consolidate their findings, their research contributes valuable insights into “a feasible and accessible non-pharmacological approach to enhance pain management in cancer care.”
However, Beng stressed that mindful breathing practice is not a replacement for conventional pain relief options. “It is not a replacement for painkillers, but a useful addition while waiting for painkillers to act or when painkillers are not working so well,” he said.
A New Approach to Pain Relief
The study demonstrated how a short, guided, mindful breathing exercise can rapidly reduce cancer pain, Beng said. A brief period of mindfulness exercise can quickly relieve cancer pain, similar to fast-acting painkillers used for “breakthrough cancer pain,” he added.
While the study specifically focused on cancer pain, existing research supports mindfulness for non-cancer pain as well, he noted.
A randomized control trial published in 2023 showed this technique’s effectiveness in relieving stress and anxiety among university students, adding to a growing body of evidence supporting mindfulness practices for pain management.
In 2015, a study investigated the impact of mindfulness on pain perception. Brain imaging of participants who received mindfulness treatment revealed decreased activation in areas responsible for processing pain signals. Some participants were able to reduce or even eliminate their use of pain medications through daily mindfulness practice.