Concurrent changes in psychological distress and pain thresholds following brief mindfulness: an exploratory phenotyping study of chronic pain

BackgroundClinical trials of brief mindfulness interventions (BMIs) for chronic pain frequently report small average effect sizes, which may mask substantial heterogeneity in treatment responses. Rather than testing general efficacy, this exploratory study investigated whether a BMI is associated with concurrently coupled psychological and sensory improvements within individuals, potentially reflecting top-down nociceptive modulation.MethodsFifty female outpatients with chronic pain completed a