Vets taught to meditate say their chronic pain lessened

They don’t call it mental health for nothing — wounded warriors can dramatically reduce pain with simple meditation, a new study reveals.

Pain dropped by 20% among veterans who used the ancient calming technique, according to research conducted at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington on Iraq and Afghanistan vets.

"Participants (said) their pain interfered less with their functioning in their daily activities, their mood, ability to sleep," says Thomas Nassif, a lecturer in health studies at American University.

Nassif taught the vets to use the 75-minute sessions to focus on being in the moment, releasing negative emotions and deep breathing.

This partiuclar type of meditation among military vets dates to 2006, and is in use at VA facilities in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Tennessee. But this is the first study to confirm its effectiveness.

Chronic pain is a major issue for the 2.6 million who have served since 2001, according to the Veterans Health Administration.