I've been collaborating with Dr. Gary Kaplan from the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine in McLean, VA, to bring meditation to those who are working with chronic pain. In our first series we explored classic meditation techniques and tracked cortisol levels to determine whether a six-week meditation regime would lower the levels. The good news: Yes! I've yet to completely understand the 'statistically significant' numbers, but by all accounts, there was a measurable difference in how the participants felt. We're going one step further this fall with a series specifically on techniques for working with pain.
The evidence is in that mindfulness can dramatically make a difference when it comes to coping with pain, or as we say in the meditation business, 'unpleasant sensation.'
Here's an article that spells this out in greater detail.