Mindful-based dance movement therapy for emotion regulation skills development on patients with chronic low back pain

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a global problem with implementations for mindful–based methods in rehabilitation improving emotion regulation skills (ERS) and decreasing pain. Mindful–Based Dance Movement Therapy (MBDMT) is a therapeutic intervention developed to improve mindfulness, self – regulation and adaptive ERS. Objective: to determine if MBDMT improves ERS and helps to decrease pain in patients with CLBP. Following questions are: do MBDMT in a group setting helps to improve ERS and to decrease pain in patients with CLBP in short term? Is there a correlation between ERS and pain in patients with CLBP? A randomized controlled trial was done. Thirty four patients were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 13, received MBDMT twice a week, 10x) and control (n = 21, didn’t receive MBDMT) groups, aged 25 – 61. Inclusion criteria: low back pain intensity at least 1 (NRS) more than 3 months; age 25 – 65 years; ERSQ-27 total < 4; diagnosed with: low back pain; spondylosis; lumbosacral intervertebral disc disorders. Exclusion criteria: acute or subacute pain; cancer; trauma of central nervous system; pregnancy; dance-movement therapy contraindications. Instruments: Emotion - Regulation Skills Questionnaire - ERSQ-27, Berking & Znoj, 2008; Pain Numeric Rating Scale – NRS, Jensen, Karoly, & Braver, 1986. For both groups ERS where measured before and after MBDMT, pain - twice a week. Findings showed improvement of ERS in experimental group, compared to control (U = 55,00, p = 0,003), decrease in pain for experimental group (p = 0,048) and a correlation between ERSQ-27 scale “tolerance” with pain intensity (rs = 0,697, p = 0,021). There are tendencies for MBDMT to improve ERS and to decrease pain intensity and there exists a correlation between emotion tolerance and pain intensity for patients with CLBP, but there is a need for future research with more significant results.