A study led by University of Ottawa researchers provides empirical evidence that mindfulness has a profound effect on the brains of women suffering from neuropathic pain associated with breast cancer treatment. The researchers showed that mind-based stress reduction (MBSR) helps reverse neuropathic pain.
Their results could make a difference in the lives of many women. In Canada, more than a quarter of a million women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer – the most diagnosed cancer among women worldwide – by 2020. In addition to the psychological effects of at breast cancer, approximately 20 to 50 percent of survivors report chronic neuropathic pain after treatment.
We spoke to the lead author Dr. Andra Smith, Professor at the Ottawa School of Psychology, to learn more about the latest findings published in the journal Mind of mind.
Why did you and your team decide to take a mental check to develop pain-related problems?
“Neuropathic pain is a very common side effect of chemotherapy and other breast cancer treatments. Pain killers do not always work and quality of life, mental abilities, and overall well-being can be reduced as a result of the Because of these negative effects and the complexity of the treatment for this type of pain after breast cancer treatment, it is important to provide treatment and management options.
We’ve heard a lot about mindfulness over the last few years, about how it helps people to relax and feel better. If mindfulness, a non-medication tool, can be used to help with neuropathic pain, women will feel better and may not experience such excruciating pain.
Pain is a subjective experience and the mind is often dismissed as a “yellow word.” But our research provides reasonable, empirical evidence of a significant psychological impact on the brains of these women. “
How was the research done?
“We studied the impact of an 8-week mindfulness-based weight reduction (MBSR) program on emotional recovery among a sample of breast cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain. We used modern brain imaging at Ottawa Hospital, on their 3D MRI scanner and collected data on white subject health, brain activity during word processing related to emotional pain and during a state of rest.
Women with neuropathic pain were designed before and after an MBSR program, or routine treatment. Pain, quality of life, and imaging were compared between the two groups and within the MBSR group before and after MBSR. “
What did you find?
“We have seen significant reductions in brain activity following mind-based stress reduction in areas related to pain, emotional regulation, and cognitive processing. Both pain and pain intervention, for the MBSR group, were significantly reduced after the 8-week training.
Our results show a significant improvement in brain health as well as pain perception.
There are many descriptive accounts of how this or that made a person “feel better” but the really interesting results here are that we can see that there are real changes in the brain and the way in which their response to pain. “
Why is it important?
“This research offers hope for a non-invasive approach to reducing the stress of chronic neuropathic pain in women after breast cancer treatment.
Pain is something that people fear, and many people run into major secondary problems because of their pain medication use, including drug abuse and mental health issues. Mindfulness has a neurophysiologic effect that can alter a person’s perception of pain.
This research demonstrates the availability of diagnostic treatment options. Used properly, the information we have published can improve health outcomes for those involved and can reduce health costs, as well as some of the problems associated with it – in particular those related to mental health. “
Who worked on this research?
“Dr. Patricia Poulin, at Ottawa Hospital, was a lead clinical investigator with her research team Heather Romanow, Yaad Shergill, Emily Tennant, and Eve-Ling Khoo. This included the recruitment of women and her all clinical evaluations.
My lab did the scanning part of the study, including my team of images of Dr. Taylor Hatchard, Ola Mioduszewski and Dr. Lydia Fang.
The data were collected over two years, from 2017 to 2019, funded by both Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grants and Canadian breast cancer Foundation grants. We have published three articles on our research in the last four months. The latest, “Reducing Emotional Reactivity in Breast Cancer Survivors with Chronic Neuropathic Pain after Mental-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): An FMRI Pilot Study” was published in November 2020 in the journal Mind of mind. “
Source:
Magazine Reference:
Hatchard, T., et al. (2020) Decreased emotional activity in breast cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain after mental stress reduction (MBSR): A fMRI Pilot Study. Mind of mind. doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01546-9.