• Hilary A Tindle, Peter Wolsko, Roger B Davis, David M Eisenberg, Russell S Phillips, and Ellen P McCarthy.
• Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. hilary_tindle@hms.harvard.edu
• Complement Ther Med. 2005 Sep 1; 13 (3): 155-64.

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of mind body therapy use and correlates of use among adults with prolonged musculoskeletal pain, a group for whom mind body therapies are recommended.DesignThe U.S. 1999 National Health Interview Survey. Prolonged musculoskeletal pain was defined as any soft tissue, joint, or bony pain for at least 1 month. Analyses used SUDAAN and reflect national estimates.Main Outcome MeasuresUse of mind body medicine (relaxation techniques, imagery, biofeedback, and hypnosis) and prayer in the previous year.ResultsRespondents (n=6079) with musculoskeletal pain were almost twice as likely as those without (n=24,722) to use mind body medicine (9% versus 5%, respectively, p<.0001) and prayer (20% versus 12%, respectively, p<.0001). After adjustment, men were less likely than women to use mind body medicine (odds ratio 0.55 [0.43-0.71]) and prayer (odds ratio 0.56 [0.48-0.66]). Those who had a high school education were less likely than those with training beyond high school to use mind body medicine (odds ratio 0.36 [0.28-0.47]) and prayer (odds ratio 0.61 [0.52-0.71]).ConclusionsMind body therapies are not used commonly by adults with prolonged musculoskeletal pain. Understanding barriers to their use may facilitate wider application in this population.

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