Meditation Eases Distress for People with Rheumatic Diseases
People with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD), including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, gout, psoriatic arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, osteoporosis, lupus and others, often suffer with pain and anxiety related to their condition. Mindfulness-based meditation programs have grown in popularity for chronic pain conditions. A group of researchers who presented their findings at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology (June 2021) evaluated the effectiveness of these programs. A total of 324 people with an RMD completed assessments at the start of the study and were randomly assigned to either a three-week or eight-week online mindfulness training program. Participants in both programs had similar improvements on measures of anxiety and depression after eight weeks. The researchers concluded that participation in a mindfulness training program, whether brief or full length, improved symptoms of emotional distress.
