The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on the Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Pain Perception in Females with Obstructed Labour-Induced Chronic Low Back Pain

Objectives The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on the severity of depression, anxiety, stress, and the perception of low back pain after childbirth.  Methods This was a quasi-experimental research with a pre-test, post-test and a control group and one-month follow-up design. The statistical population included all females with chronic postpartum low back pain in Tehran City, Iran. Forty of them were selected by convenience sampling method and were assigned into the experimental (20) and control (20) groups. The study instruments included Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Ossouri's low back pain scale. The samples were followed-up one month after conducting the intervention. A mindfulness training program based on stress reduction was carried out in 8 120-minute sessions once a week for the experimental group. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS.  Results The study findings suggested a significant difference between the mean post-test scores of the experimental and control groups. Thus, mindfulness training on chronic low back pain perception had a significant effect at P<0.01. Additionally, mindfulness training had a significant effect on reducing depression, anxiety, and stress.  Conclusion Mindfulness exercises are associated with increasing the awareness of the thoughts, feelings, and senses of the patients and their admission. Moreover, these techniques reduced their level of depression, anxiety, stress, and lower chronic back pain perception. Therefore, they can help in designing better healthcare programs for therapists, counselors, and psychologists.