What a meditation comparison can and cannot tell us
A small randomized trial found no pain advantage for online loving-kindness training over muscle relaxation in healthy adults.
A PLOS One trial published September 16, and covered by PsyPost on November 5, compares four weeks of online loving-kindness meditation with progressive muscle relaxation. Its final sample included 69 healthy adults.
Reading the comparison carefully
Participants followed recorded sessions and completed a remotely supervised wall-sit task to assess acute pain. Neither group showed reduced subjective pain or improved pain tolerance over time. Progressive muscle relaxation performed better on perceived social support, contrary to the researchers’ expectation that loving-kindness would have the advantage.
The comparison is specific. It concerns a brief online program, healthy volunteers and one experimental pain task. Data were collected during the early COVID-19 pandemic, when social restrictions may have affected both connection and stress. It does not establish what happens in a clinical pain population or in longer, in-person teaching.
For teachers, the useful lesson is to read the population, comparison and setting alongside the headline. A null result contributes to the evidence without settling every question about a practice.
Sources
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