  We present a mean field solution of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain
with nearest (J_1) and next to nearest neighbor (J_2) interactions. This
solution provides a way to estimate the effects of frustration. We calculate
the temperature-dependent spin-wave velocity, v_s(T) and discuss the
possibility to determine the magnitude of frustration J_2/J_1 present in quasi
1D compounds from measurements of v_s(T). We compute the thermodynamic
susceptibility at finite temperatures and compare it with the observed
susceptibility of the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO_3. We also use the method to
study the two-magnon Raman continuum observed in CuGeO_3 above the spin-Peierls
transition.
