Impact of a Mindfulness‐Based Intervention on Pain and Psychological Factors in Women With Chronic Painful Temporomandibular Disorders

Background Psychosocial factors influence the perception of TMD signs and symptoms. Regular mindfulness practice supports their management through emotional and cognitive self‐regulation, modulating the TMD‐related pain experience. Objective To analyse the influence of a mindfulness‐based intervention on pain, cognitions, behaviour and emotions reported by women with TMD‐related chronic pain. Methods Eighty‐four women, aged between 18 and 61 years, with chronic TMD (diagnosed according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders, DC/TMD), were randomised into an intervention group (IG) or a control group (CG). The intervention group underwent an 8‐week mindfulness practice programme, consisting of weekly 2‐h sessions and one immersion session lasting 4 h. The entire programme consisted of nine meetings. The control group did not receive any intervention during the same period. All participants underwent clinical pain assessments and completed self‐administered questionnaires before and after the intervention period. These questionnaires addressed cognitive, behavioural and emotional variables. Evaluators were blinded to the group allocations of the participants. Simple linear regression was used for the main statistical analyses, with significance established at p < 0.05. Results Fifty‐three women completed the study (IG = 30; CG = 23). The intervention had a positive influence on the following variables: number of pain points, pain pressure threshold (PPT), stress, catastrophic thoughts and facets of mindfulness, including ‘observe’, ‘distract’, ‘non‐react’ and overall mindfulness levels (all analyses at p < 0.05). Conclusion This unique trial, in which the mindfulness‐based intervention was compared against a control (no treatment), showed that mindfulness can contribute to the sensory, cognitive, behavioural and emotional management of pain‐related TMD. The improvement in pain, therefore, was probably influenced by the regulation of psychological aspects related to it.