Mind Over Matter: Effective Chronic Pain Control Techniques
October 26, 2007
by: Sylvia Marten
Chronic pain is not a simple sensation, but rather chronic pain is strongly influenced by the ways in which the brain processes the pain signals. Importantly, chronic pain can provoke strong emotional reactions, such as fear, anxiety or even terror, depending on what the individual believes about the pain signals.
If there is any good news with chronic pain, it is that to a certain extent the brain can learn how to manage the sensation of pain. Ideally, use of chronic pain management techniques outlined here can help people dealing with chronic pain feel more in control of their situation and less dependent on pain medications.
First, for chronic pain coping techniques to work, you need to relax your body through focus and deep breathing. Learning to relax takes practice (especially when you are in a great deal of pain), but hopefully the payoff is worth it.
Coping techniques for chronic pain begin with controlled deep breathing, as follows:
- Try putting yourself in a relaxed, reclining position in a dark room. Either shut your eyes or focus on a point.
- Then slow down your breathing. Breathe deeply, using your chest.
- After you feel yourself relaxing, you can begin to use imagery techniques.
Several chronic pain control techniques that are effective include:
Altered focus.
Very powerful. This technique involves focusing your attention on any specific non-painful part of the body (hand, foot, etc.) and altering sensation in that part of the body. For example, imagine your hand warming up. This will take the mind away from focusing on the source of your pain.
Mental anesthesia.
Also very powerful. This technique is done by imagining an injection of numbing anesthetic (like the Novocain a dentist uses) into your area of pain. Similarly, you may then wish to imagine a soothing and cooling ice pack being placed onto the area of pain.
Mental analgesia.
Building on the mental anesthesia concept, this technique involves imagining an injection of a strong pain killer, such as morphine, into the painful area. Along the same lines, you can focus on imagining your brain producing massive amounts of endorphins, your body's natural pain relieving hormones, and having them flood into to the painful parts of your body.
Transfer.
Use your mind to produce altered sensations, such as heat, cold, anesthetic, in a non-painful hand, and then place the hand on the painful area. Envision transferring this pleasant, altered sensation into the painful area.
Pain movement.
Mentally move your pain from one area of your body to another, anywhere you think the pain will be easier for you to handle. If you can't take another minute of your leg pain, for example, mentally move the pain up from your leg and into your low back. If you want, then more your pain out of your body and into the air.
Some of these techniques are probably best learned with the help of a professional, and it usually takes practice for these techniques to become effective in helping alleviate chronic pain. It is often advisable to work on pain coping strategies for about 30 minutes 3 times a week. With practice, you will find that your powers over the pain will increase, and it will take less mental energy to achieve more pain relief.
Good luck, and I hope these help.
Based on the Spine-health.com articles by Andrew Block, PhD: Chronic Pain Coping Techniques - Pain Management and 11 Chronic Pain Control Techniques
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