Mindfulness, breathing and visualisation are effective in pain control and management and are now commonly used as part of a treatment programme for chronic pain and conditions.
Relaxed Breathing
This technique is very useful for reducing muscle tension and gaining control over the pain. Read the instructions through before practicing. There is no limit to how often you can use this technique. It does take some time to practice and become skilled at this exercise so at least once per day breathing should be used.
- Lie or sit comfortably in a warm and relaxed environment
- Close your eyes
- Take a breath in, expanding the lower ribcage (you can place your hands gently on the lower ribcage to feel the rise and fall) and breathe out. The breath should be gradual and controlled.
- As you breathe out allow the shoulders and neck to be relaxed.
- Continue for 5-10 minutes. The time can be increased as you become more skilled.
Visualisation
When we visualise a place or movement we are actually using the brain. The response will be similar to actually being there or actually moving and therefore this is a very useful technique for relaxation, encouraging positive thoughts and feelings and controlling pain. Essentially the brain cannot dissociate between actually being somewhere and visualising being there, a factor that can be used advantageously.
- Lie or sit comfortably
- Close your eyes
- Start with a few breaths as described above
- As you relax into the breathing pattern, introduce an image of a place a person that evokes a good feeling (this feeling is underpinned by chemical release in the nervous system, including endorphins that are natural opiates).
- Focus on being in the chosen place and when thought pop into your mind, notice them and try to let them go. By not reacting and re-focusing on the breath or the visualisation you will gain control over these thoughts.
- Continue for 5-10 minutes to begin and gradually increase the time as you improve your skill.
Combining the visualisation with breathing is a powerful tool in pain control and pain management.
Awareness meditation exercise
Lie or sit comfortably in a quiet room or space. Start by focusing upon your breathing, feeling the in & out breath and the rise and fall of the chest. You may wish to gently place you hands upon the base of the ribcage to note this movement.
Take you attention to a body region that is troubling you from pain or tightness. Simply observe what is going on there without responding (we often respond to a feeling of pain or tightness by trying to work out where it is and what it means, leading to further tightening and pain). Note the quality of the tissues.
Initially you can maintain your observation whilst continuing to breath for a few minutes, gradually increasing the time like any exercise. This is a skill to learn. Quietening the mind is a way of reducing the excitability of the nervous system that is often sensitised in pain states. In reducing this excitability the body and brain can be far more accepting of movements and exercises thereby enhancing the rehabilitation process. During the awareness task unrelated thoughts can pop into your mind. Letting these thoughts go without responding can give you control over the subsequent bodily manifestations (tensing muscles, pain, feelings of anxiety).
Gain control over the mind and replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts allows you to increase your control over your own physiology. Neuroscience tells us that thoughts and feelings are underpinned by neural activity and chemical release. Therefore you are governing your chemical releases throughout the nervous system with subsequent effect upon the tissues and your health.
Combining a visualisation or positive thought with awareness in an affected body region can be an effective way of controlling symptoms.
Please contact Specialist Pain Physio for more information