Mindful-based dance movement therapy for depression and anxiety reduction for chronic back pain patients

Psychological approaches and body-mind therapies are recognized as important contributors to chronic pain patient’s multidisciplinary rehabilitation. The Mindfulness based Dance movement therapy (MBDMT) intervention is a purposefully organized therapeutic process where, through the use of creative activities, the development of mindfulness skills, the relationship between body and mind is explored and self-regulation is targetted. The objective of the study - assess the primary outcome results of the MBDMT intervention for chronic back pain patients. It also asked the question: Does MBDMT short-term intervention reduces pain, depression and anxiety for chronic back pain patients. 38 participants (n=38) were randomly assigned to experimental (n=16) or waiting list control group (n=22), age 25-61 years old. Inclusion criteria were: chronic back pain longer then 3 months; anxiety and/or depression >5 points. The experimental group received 10 sessions of MBDMT twice a week, while the control group continued their rehabilitation plan as usual (TAU). Instruments included: Pain Numeric Rating Scale – NRS, Jensen, Karoly, & Braver, 1986; Patient Health questionnaire (PHQ-9, Kroenke & Spitzer, 2002) and General Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7, Spitzer et al., 2006). These were used at baseline, post-intervention and follow up (12 weeks after the intervention). There was statistically significant reduction of pain intensity and depression scores in favor of MBDMT group at post-intervention measures, but no significant changes in anxiety scores. The follow-up scores will also be presented. The results may be closely linked with the length of the intervention and the break of Covid-19 and limited to the small sample size. They do however, suggest for the need for a powered Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) that can offer more conclusive results.