The Beatles did it, and according to recent research by Duke experts, those who suffer from chronic pain or want to reduce stress-related health problems should too. There is growing sentiment in the medical field that meditation is just as effective a tool for alleviating the symptoms of stress and pain-related diseases as conventional practices.
Duke researchers have recently won a number of government-sponsored grants, allowing them to clinically investigate the merits of various forms of meditation as medical tools.
"The studies are a long way from being completed, so we are not at the point where we can report on the results of them yet. [But] the results that have been gotten are similar to other [widely accepted] relaxation methods such as muscle relaxation," said Dr. Jim Carson, a clinical associate of medical psychiatry at Duke and former monk of the yogic tradition in India.
Several medical studies are currently under way, rigorously testing the effectiveness of meditation through randomized clinical trials. Such research involves investigating the use of meditation to lower blood pressure, cope with substance abuse and ease the pain of men with prostate cancer and patients with osteoarthritis.
"There has been a lot of research on the effects of meditation.... But part of the problem is that those studies have never been replicated--and in science, the most important thing is replicating to make sure that you don't get any false positive findings," said Dr. James Lane, associate research professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine. "So, that's what we're trying to do--to try to independently replicate the findings that have already been published."
The recent rise in nationally funded support for meditation studies at Duke by accredited institutions, such as the National Institute of Health and the Society of Behavioral Medicine, reflects a growing trend toward the use of less invasive treatment methods for pain and stress.
"That [trend] is certainly saying that the future really is headed toward interventions that are the least invasive, and that are also effective behavioral techniques, which really do work," said Dr. Christopher Edwards, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and assistant clinical professor of medicine.
Edwards, who also directs the Duke Pain and Palliative Care Program, said that about 60 percent of the program's pain disorder patients are referred for behavioral techniques such as meditation training. Mindfulness meditation, for example, defined by Carson as a "moment to moment, nonjudgmental, non-reactive awareness of ones' experiences" is already being practiced in over 200 medical centers across the nation.
Critics of the use of meditation, who harbor reservations about its medical legitimacy, still exist, but are largely overwhelmed by advocates championing the future of the use of integrative medicine for pain and stress management.
"There are people who are still against [the medical use of meditation], but it's typically because they are not that familiar with the methods and are concerned that this is something that is unscientific," Carson said.
He added that such objections are becoming increasingly rare and are weakened by growing medical support.
"I certainly am pleased with the degree to which behavioral and psychologically-based techniques are integrated within the medical practice," Edwards said. "Ultimately the goal is to see the disease as it is actually lived by patients. You can't just attend to your patients' biology when they also have pain, and comprehensive treatment approaches really must integrate attention to the psychological, social and behavioral factors of disease."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.