Mind-Body Approaches to Pain Relief
If you have children, chances are good that when they get sick or injured you put on a favorite video, kiss their wound, rub their backs, play a game or allow some extra screen time. Distraction and hands-on techniques like touch and massage are mainstays of non-drug pain relief for kids and teens. And with good reason.
Pain medication may work differently in younger people, and some medicines such as aspirin can actually harm young patients. Hospitals use mind-body techniques to relieve pain in children undergoing tests, cancer treatments and more. What do these pain relief methods have in common? All of them shift the focus off pain, calm the mind and relax the body.
What Works for Kids Can Work for You
We care for our children well, but we don’t always do the same for ourselves, especially when things are stressful. Yet adults also benefit from mind-body methods of pain relief. This article describes specific mind-body practices to help you give yourself the same TLC you give your kids.
Meditation and Mindfulness
In traditional meditation, you may sit or lie down, repeat calming words, or focus on your breath or a mental image. The US military uses meditation training to teach troops to remain calm and centered in stressful situations. A 2016 study funded in part by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) found that mindfulness meditation helped control pain even without tapping into the natural opiates we produce in our brains. Combining mindfulness with pain medication and approaches that use the brain’s natural painkillers might be even more effective than either technique on its own.
Moving Meditation
Tai chi, yoga and qi gong are ancient styles of movement-based meditation. Instead of sitting still, you learn a series of movements and poses, often done with a group. Tai chi, which includes breath control and meditation, developed from the older discipline of qi gong. Studies have shown that it benefits many conditions. For example:
A 2013 review of 7 separate research studies and nearly 350 people found that practicing tai chi for 12 weeks helped relieve arthritis pain and improve knee function.
A 2018 study of 226 adults with fibromyalgia found that tai chi twice a week made symptoms less severe. After 6 months, people in the tai chi group felt better than in a group that did aerobic exercise, and fewer of them dropped out of the tai chi program.
Qi gong may help several types of muscle pain and a severe condition called complex regional pain syndrome type 1.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is the state of deep concentration, practiced with a certified hypnotherapist or an app or recording, can help treat addictions such as smoking and disorders such as anxiety. It also helps relieve chronic pain and cancer pain in children and is a promising treatment for chronic pain in adults. It is also helpful to reduce pain and complications after surgery. The related technique of self-hypnosis can help your body produce its natural “relaxation response.” When researchers studied more than 200 women having breast biopsies, they found that those who received either self-hypnosis with an audio program or caring attention from a research assistant experienced less pain and anxiety than women who did not get mind-body therapies.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
In cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, you talk with a counselor in person or online. They help you identify thoughts that can worsen your pain or your distress about having a painful condition. Then, they help you change those thoughts and feelings. The U.S. military has used CBT extensively to help veterans with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. And it works.
Other Mind-Body Treatments for Pain
Guided imagery is used extensively to help kids get through difficult or painful treatments. It is based on your mind’s ability to vividly imagine an experience, which distracts you from the pain. If you have ever been asked to “go to your happy place,” you have used a simple form of guided imagery. Guided imagery has been shown to help fibromyalgia, cancer pain and irritable bowel syndrome.
Progressive Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and releasing each muscle group from head to toe, with the goal of teaching patients what it feels like to fully relax. It has been used to treat migraine for nearly 50 years and help with many other conditions, including neck pain and pain from temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) or jaw pain. YouTube has several introductions to this technique, which has been extensively used to help children relieve pain or prepare for procedures.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback uses electronic devices to help patients “see” or “hear” their physical responses. Patients can then use techniques such as deep breathing and relaxation to change the device’s output, such as a tone or beep. Biofeedback can be used to treat involuntary responses, including blood pressure and heart rate. This technique can also help reduce muscle tension, tension headache or migraine, and chronic pain. A large study of patients with chronic pain and medically unexplained symptoms found biofeedback was effective at reducing pain and inflammation.
Mending the Mind, Healing the Body
Mind-body medicine is an important part of pain relief. Because kids and teens can be more sensitive to medications, you may know these strategies better from caring for your family than taking care of yourself. While it’s all too easy to grab a pain pill and just keep going, learning some simple mind-body techniques adds strategies to your arsenal and can have benefits beyond alleviating your headache or knee pain. More resources are available in this patient tool, including how to choose a mind-body pain control method to try.
There are many options to shift your focus, calm your mind and relax your body – and those offered here can turn down or eliminate pain. Of course, be sure to consulate your primary care provider before making any serious health decisions to ensure you're supported.