Living with constant pain can wear down both body and mind.
For women suffering from temporomandibular disorder (TMD)—a condition that affects the jaw joint and chewing muscles—everyday life can be a challenge.
The disorder often causes persistent pain in the jaw, temples, face, or ears, along with headaches and difficulty chewing.
Now, new research from the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil shows that practicing mindfulness meditation can help women with TMD reduce pain sensitivity and improve emotional well-being.
The study, published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, was conducted by researchers at USP’s Ribeirão Preto School of Nursing and the Center for Mindfulness and Integrative Therapies.
Led by Professor Edilaine Gherardi Donato, the team explored whether mindfulness—a practice of paying attention to the present moment with acceptance—could help ease chronic jaw pain and its emotional toll.
“Living with pain causes ongoing stress, both physical and mental,” said Gherardi-Donato. “When we use care strategies that connect the body and mind, we promote health and improve quality of life.”
TMD affects women two to three times more often than men and can persist for months, even when a person is resting.
Chronic cases often cause hyperalgesia, a heightened sensitivity to pain, which means even light pressure can trigger discomfort. The condition doesn’t just affect the jaw—it can cause pain throughout the body as the nervous system becomes overly alert.
To test mindfulness as a potential treatment, researchers followed 53 women aged 18 to 61 who had lived with chronic TMD pain.
Half of them joined an eight-week mindfulness program that included weekly two-hour group sessions, a four-hour outdoor workshop, and daily at-home practice using guided audio exercises. The other half served as a control group, receiving no new treatments during the same period.
The mindfulness sessions started with short five-minute meditations and gradually increased to 30 minutes per day. Participants practiced paying attention to breathing, body sensations, emotions, and daily activities—such as eating, brushing their teeth, or washing dishes—with full awareness.
After eight weeks, the women who practiced mindfulness reported less pain and stress, as well as a higher tolerance to pressure on painful areas. They also experienced fewer painful points across the face and body.
“The pain didn’t disappear, but it no longer dominated their thoughts,” said Gherardi-Donato. “They learned to notice pain without letting it take over, creating space for self-care and emotional balance.”
The study also found that mindfulness improved body awareness and emotional regulation, helping participants respond to discomfort with greater calm and perspective. Although anxiety and depression levels did not significantly change, overall mental resilience improved.
Mindfulness is a low-cost, accessible therapy already recognized by Brazil’s national public health system (SUS) since 2017. The researchers believe it should be offered more widely to people dealing with chronic pain.
“Mindfulness goes beyond physical relief,” Gherardi-Donato said. “It helps people reconnect with themselves, make conscious choices, and live each moment with awareness and compassion.”
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