How to Use Meditation for Pain Management
Whether you're recovering from surgery, suffer from migraines or want to dull that nagging ache in your lower back, meditation, or deeply focused thinking, is thought by many to be an excellent way to help treat your pain. In recent years, doctors have begun to recognize meditation's important psychological effects on patients seeking pain relief or pain management.
Things You'll Need:
Private, quiet space in which to meditate
Computer with an Internet connection
Manage Pain Using Meditation
1
Consult a medical doctor or practitioner of holistic medicine to discuss your symptoms. Treat your pain primarily using conventional methods.
2
Know that pain is a psychological process as much as a physical process. Meditation assists pain management because it helps the mind control or, in some cases, even defeat the psychological factors involved with the onset of chronic pain.
3
Stretch before you begin to meditate. This will improve blood flow throughout the body and will heighten the efficacy of your meditation session.
4
Relax. Breathe rhythmically. Using meditation for pain management is primarily achieved through improving energy flow through your body.
5
Focus on a single object. The object can be almost anything, but small, hand-held foods such as raisins or peanuts work well. Smell the object. Notice its textures and physical properties. If edible, first simply taste it. Then, swallow it. Feel it enter your stomach.
6
Notice if you felt a reduction in your pain when you focused your mind on a singularity. If not, try focusing on the single object for a greater period of time.
7
Repeat as necessary, whenever your pain flares up or anytime you want to relax. Observe and appreciate the calm mental state you achieve through meditation.
8
Use the calm mental state you reach when meditating in your day-to-day life if you're hit with a bout of pain and you're not immediately able to meditate. Bring it into your mind, relax and breathe deeply.
9
Read about the science of pain management through meditation on MedicineNet (see Resources below) to gain a deeper understanding of the connection meditation and pain relief.
Tips & Warnings
Specially-composed music helps many people concentrate and relax while meditating (see Resources below). You can also use meditation balls or meditation stones to aid your relaxation. Costs are not generally prohibitive.
Wear loose, nonrestrictive clothing when meditating.
Meditation should not be the only method used to treat chronic or severe pain. Always check with a medical doctor if you have a persistent condition, and use meditation for pain management as a supplementary treatment.
Before you start any alternative medical technique, be aware that many have not been scientifically evaluated. Often, only limited information is available about their safety and effectiveness. Each state and each discipline has its own rules about how alternative medicine practitioners can be professionally licensed. If you decide to visit a one, choose one licensed by a recognized national organization. Consult your primary health care provider about your decision first. Keep your doctor informed about the alternative medical technique you undertake.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2031426_use-meditation-pain.html
Whether you're recovering from surgery, suffer from migraines or want to dull that nagging ache in your lower back, meditation, or deeply focused thinking, is thought by many to be an excellent way to help treat your pain. In recent years, doctors have begun to recognize meditation's important psychological effects on patients seeking pain relief or pain management.
Things You'll Need:
Private, quiet space in which to meditate
Computer with an Internet connection
Manage Pain Using Meditation
1
Consult a medical doctor or practitioner of holistic medicine to discuss your symptoms. Treat your pain primarily using conventional methods.
2
Know that pain is a psychological process as much as a physical process. Meditation assists pain management because it helps the mind control or, in some cases, even defeat the psychological factors involved with the onset of chronic pain.
3
Stretch before you begin to meditate. This will improve blood flow throughout the body and will heighten the efficacy of your meditation session.
4
Relax. Breathe rhythmically. Using meditation for pain management is primarily achieved through improving energy flow through your body.
5
Focus on a single object. The object can be almost anything, but small, hand-held foods such as raisins or peanuts work well. Smell the object. Notice its textures and physical properties. If edible, first simply taste it. Then, swallow it. Feel it enter your stomach.
6
Notice if you felt a reduction in your pain when you focused your mind on a singularity. If not, try focusing on the single object for a greater period of time.
7
Repeat as necessary, whenever your pain flares up or anytime you want to relax. Observe and appreciate the calm mental state you achieve through meditation.
8
Use the calm mental state you reach when meditating in your day-to-day life if you're hit with a bout of pain and you're not immediately able to meditate. Bring it into your mind, relax and breathe deeply.
9
Read about the science of pain management through meditation on MedicineNet (see Resources below) to gain a deeper understanding of the connection meditation and pain relief.
Tips & Warnings
Specially-composed music helps many people concentrate and relax while meditating (see Resources below). You can also use meditation balls or meditation stones to aid your relaxation. Costs are not generally prohibitive.
Wear loose, nonrestrictive clothing when meditating.
Meditation should not be the only method used to treat chronic or severe pain. Always check with a medical doctor if you have a persistent condition, and use meditation for pain management as a supplementary treatment.
Before you start any alternative medical technique, be aware that many have not been scientifically evaluated. Often, only limited information is available about their safety and effectiveness. Each state and each discipline has its own rules about how alternative medicine practitioners can be professionally licensed. If you decide to visit a one, choose one licensed by a recognized national organization. Consult your primary health care provider about your decision first. Keep your doctor informed about the alternative medical technique you undertake.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2031426_use-meditation-pain.html
