Nov. 10, 2009 Living with pain is stressful, but a surprisingly
short investment of time in mental training can help you cope. A
new study examining the perception of pain and the effects of
various mental training techniques has found that relatively
short and simple mindfulness meditation training can have a
significant positive effect on pain management. Though pain
research during the past decade has shown that extensive
meditation training can have a positive effect in reducing a
person's awareness and sensitivity to pain, the effort, time
commitment, and financial obligations required has made the
treatment not practical for many patients. Now, a new study by
researchers at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
shows that a single hour of training spread out over a three day
period can produce the same kind of analgesic effect. The
research appears in an article by UNC Charlotte psychologists
Fadel Zeidan, Nakia S. Gordon, Junaid Merchant and Paula
Goolkasian, in the current issue of The Journal