Mindfulness in the treatment of chronic pain and improvement in the quality of life of both oncological and non-oncological patients

Abstract

Pain, which accompanies almost every third Pole, is an ever greater medical, psychological and social challenge. Relieving pain, and chronic one in particular, is now becoming one of the most important tasks for contemporary health care systems. It involves searching for efficacious therapeutic methods, not only with respect to pharmacotherapy, but also psychotherapy, physiotherapy, surgery, and a combination of those forms of treatment. Mindfulness is one of the newest modalities of cognitive behavioural therapy, and as a method that supports pharmacological pain management, it appears to be an interesting and efficacious way of reducing subjective pain experience in both oncological and non-oncological patients. It may also have a positive impact on the quality of life, reducing disease-related depressive symptoms and anxiety. Current study results encourage us to continue research in the field, and to further assess the efficacy of mindfulness trainings in different realms of medicine.