Is the Pain of Fibromyalgia Killing You?

The widespread pain of fibromyalgia is hard to treat, but a small clinical study published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics shows that meditation may deliver lasting benefits. For eight weks, 39 women with fibromyalgia attended weekly mindfulnes meditation classes, which focused on deepening mind-body awareness and cultivating acceptance of parts of their condition that they were unable to control. At the course's end - and at three-year follow-up - women in the meditation group coped better with fibromyalgia pain than those whose classes included relaxation training and exercise.

The meditation course partly focused on managing stressful situations, which National Fibromyalgia Association senior medical adviser Patrick Wood, M.D., considers important. "Fibromyalgia pain is often triggered by some sort of stressor," he says, "so learning to handle stress better can make a big difference in terms of symptom experience."

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