Researchers wanted to understand how different mind-body treatments might help people with chronic pain. They re-analyzed data from a previous study of 328 US Veterans with chronic pain. The Veterans had received one of three treatments: clinical hypnosis, mindfulness meditation training, or pain education classes. The study did not report on the safety of these treatments.
The analysis looked for factors that might explain why these treatments could work. They found that across all three treatments, Veterans who reported being more willing to tolerate their pain, who engaged more in activities they valued despite pain, and who worried less about their pain (a process called catastrophizing) tended to have less pain intensity and less interference from pain in their lives. For those who received clinical hypnosis, having a good connection with their therapist (called a working alliance) was also linked to better pain reduction.
It's important to be careful with these results. This was a secondary look at data from one study, not a new experiment designed to test these specific ideas. The researchers themselves say more studies are needed to confirm if these factors truly help explain how the treatments work. The findings are specific to Veterans and may not apply to everyone with chronic pain. For now, this research suggests that focusing on thoughts about pain, staying active in meaningful ways, and building a good relationship with a therapist might be helpful areas to explore in chronic pain treatment, but these are not yet proven strategies.