TY - JOUR
PY - 2024//
TI - Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an online meditation intervention in young adults with concussion history
JO - Journal of sport rehabilitation
A1 - Callahan, Christine E.
A1 - Donnelly, Kyla Z.
A1 - Gaylord, Susan A.
A1 - Faurot, Keturah R.
A1 - DeFreese, J. D.
A1 - Kiefer, Adam W.
A1 - Register-Mihalik, Johna K.
SP - ePub
EP - ePub
VL - ePub
IS - ePub
N2 - CONTEXT: Mindfulness interventions (yoga, meditation) in traumatic brain injury populations show promising improvements in injury outcomes. However, most studies include all injury severities and use in-person, general programming lacking accessibility and specificity to the nuance of concussion. Therefore, this study investigated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an online, concussion-focused meditation intervention among young adults with a concussion history.
DESIGN: Unblinded, single-arm, pilot intervention.
METHODS: Fifteen young adults aged 18 to 30 with a concussion history within the past 5 years completed 10 to 20 minutes per day of online, guided meditations for 6 weeks. Feasibility was assessed using the Feasibility of Intervention Measure. Concussion symptoms were measured using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire, perceived stress the Perceived Stress Scale-10, and mindfulness the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics described the study sample and determined intervention adherence and feasibility. Paired sample t tests were used to examine preintervention/postintervention changes in concussion symptoms, perceived stress, and mindfulness, with descriptive statistics further detailing significant t tests.
RESULTS: Fifteen participants were enrolled, and 12 completed the intervention. The majority completed 5+ days per week of the meditations, and Feasibility of Intervention Measure (17.4 [1.8]) scores indicated high feasibility. Concussion symptom severity significantly decreased after completing the meditation intervention (11.3 [10.3]) compared with before the intervention (24.5 [17.2]; t[11] = 3.0, P =.01). The number of concussion symptoms reported as worse than before their concussion significantly decreased after completing the meditation intervention (2.7 [3.9]) compared with before the intervention (8.0 [5.7]; t[11] = 3.7, P =.004). Postintervention, 83.33% (n = 10) reported lower concussion symptom severity, and 75.00% (n = 9) reported less concussion symptoms as a mild, moderate, or severe problem (ie, worse than before injury).
CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest positive adherence and feasibility of the meditation intervention, with the majority reporting concussion symptom improvement postintervention. Future research is necessary to expand these pilot findings into a large trial investigating concussion-specific meditation programming.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1056-6716 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jsr.2023-0329 ID - ref1 ER -