"Hidden gains"? Measuring the impact of mindfulness-based interventions for people with mild traumatic brain injury: a scoping review.
Brenda C Lovette, Millan R Kanaya, Sarah M Bannon and 2 others
PMID 36003005WHAT IT FOUND
Mindfulness-based interventions for mild traumatic brain injury show significant improvements in coping, somatic symptoms, and emotional health.
However, studies rarely measure physical function, sleep, or pain catastrophizing. Qualitative reports suggest benefits in daily life and sleep that quantitative tests missed.
Key findings
01Coping, somatic symptoms, emotional symptoms, and stress response were the domains with the most frequent statistically significant improvements.
02No studies included direct quantitative assessment of physical function or disability.
03Qualitative results described improvements in sleep and daily life functioning that were not captured by the quantitative measures used.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The review did not assess the quality of the included studies. Studies included participants with varying severities of TBI, not just mild TBI. Most studies relied on self-report measures, which are susceptible to bias. Only English-language articles were included, potentially missing culturally relevant practices.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume mindfulness improves physical function or sleep based on this review. These domains were largely unmeasured or measured only qualitatively. The 'positive' direction refers to psychological and somatic symptom reduction, not necessarily functional physical recovery.