 n order to help treat chronic
pain pa- tients, a Texas Tech Medical Center psychologist has developed
an effective pain/stress management program which combines both meditation
and yoga exercises in conjunction with medical and psychological treatment.
Those participants who used meditation practices to self-regulate pain found
remarkable results: an average of 85.5 percent reported an improvement in
pain management skills.
 The meditation program, now in its
seventh year, was designed and led by Pat Randolph, Ph.D., director of Psychological
Services in the Pain Center at Texas Tech Medical Center.
Focused on patients with chronic
pain, pain which usually lasts six months or longer, Randolph has designed
the meditation class to teach mindfulness or "staying in the moment"
awareness.
According to Randolph, the program
is based on Theravada Buddhism, an ancient Eastern doctrine which assumes
that suffering and stress is part of life, but which can be relieved through
an awareness and "letting go" of expectations.
"Sometimes pain is so overwhelming
that it's like a big wave in the ocean that crests over your head and, for
a while, you just hang on for dear life until the wave passes," Randolph
explained. "When people realize that they're stuck with their pain
and it's something they have to manage, then they are more open to psychological
interventions."
In Western culture, people generally
cope with pain through distraction or anesthesia. "However, this process
is only effective for a while," adds Randolph. "Eventually your
resistance to pain actually wears out."
Among the 67 patients in his study
who used meditation to self-regulate pain, Ran-dolph found that 78 percent
reported an improvement in subjective mood; 80 percent said their ability
to handle stress improved; and 86 percent recorded a higher awareness of
internal thought and feeling states. And 98 percent indicated that they
had gained "something of lasting value" from the program.
"It's based on Eastern meditative
practices, but it's devoid of religious underpinnings," Randolph added.
"In fact, in a related study, almost 90 percent of participants indicated
that the practice of meditation was "moderately" to "highly
consistent" with their present spiritual beliefs, most of which were
of the Christian faith."  | 
ttuhsc.edu.