The effects of combined respiratory-gated auricular vagal afferent nerve stimulation and mindfulness meditation for chronic low back pain: a pilot study
Author: Samantha M Meints1, Ronald G Garcia2, Zev Schuman-Olivier3, Michael Datko3,4, Gaelle Desbordes4, Marise Cornelius1, Robert R Edwards1, Vitaly Napadow1,4
Affiliation:
1 Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
2 Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
3 Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
4 Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Conference/Journal: Pain Med
Date published: 2022 Feb 11
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1093/pm/pnac025. , Word Count: 232
Objective:
Respiratory-gated Auricular Vagal Afferent Nerve stimulation (RAVANS) is a safe nonpharmacological approach to managing chronic pain. The purpose of the current study was to examine (1) the feasibility and acceptability of RAVANS, combined with mindful meditation (MM) for chronic low back pain (CLBP), (2) the potential synergy of MM+RAVANS on improving pain, and (3) possible moderators of the influence of MM+RAVANS on pain.
Design:
Pilot feasibility and acceptability study.
Setting:
Pain management center at large academic medical center.
Subjects:
Nineteen adults with CLBP and previous MM training.
Methods:
Participants attended two sessions during which they completed quantitative sensory testing (QST), rated pain severity, and completed a MM+stimulation session. Participants received RAVANS during one visit and sham stimulation during the other, randomized in order. Following intervention, participants repeated QST.
Results:
MM+RAVANS was well tolerated, acceptable, and feasible to provide relief for CLBP. Both MM+stimulation sessions resulted in improved back pain severity, punctate pain ratings, and pressure pain threshold. Individuals with greater negative affect showed greater back pain improvement from MM+RAVANS while those with greater mindfulness showed greater back pain improvement from MM+sham.
Conclusions:
Results suggest that for CLBP patients with prior MM training, the analgesic effects of MM may have overshadowed effects of RAVANS given the brief single session MM+RAVANS intervention. However, those with greater negative affect may benefit from combined MM+RAVANS.
PMID: 35148407 DOI: 10.1093/pm/pnac025
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