The discomfort associated with physical pain is an aspect of life that affects everyone to a greater or lesser extent: often those who are very active or try to test the limits of their abilities. If we’re not diagnosed with any chronic condition, the pain is probably not a problem that keeps us awake at night: we simply acknowledge its existence.
But doesn’t this impair the comfort of life? Are there any non-drug tools to alleviate pain?
Practice mindfulness, train your body
Scientific research proves that regular practice of mindfulness, which has recently gained popularity, gives us the ability to change the perception of pain, and change the mental attitude to this unpleasant phenomenon.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the ability to focus awareness on the present moment, the ability to gently discipline one's own mind and resist the natural inclination to reflect on or plan things; it’s about staying more often in the present, being “here and now”. Scientists have demonstrated that this discipline reduces the inclination to negative thoughts and helps us notice and appreciate good things in our lives.
How does mindfulness affect the way we feel pain?
In the second half of the 1970s, in the United States, professor of neurobiology Jon Kabat-Zinn, together with a team of scientists, started research on the impact of practicing secular meditation, or mindfulness, on the level of experienced chronic physical pain and stress.
The subjects were people after limb amputations, suffering from severe phantom pains, affected by oncological diseases, and those who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder. After eight weeks of practicing mindfulness-based exercises, researchers noted an improvement in the quality of life of all subjects in relation to the analysed aspects.
Those who struggled with pain noted a change in its perceived severity – it resulted from the fact that during eight weeks of training, they learned to shift their attention to other aspects of life, apart from pain, which previously influenced how those people assessed the quality of their lives.
The subjects began to:
- note that their daily experiences also included matters other than pain;
- pay more attention to social contacts;
- focus on satisfying events that – much to their surprise – they saw happen every day despite their physical suffering.
This change in the perception of one's own pain was made possible by focus exercises, which are key to mindfulness techniques. Each of the study participants assessed the level of their perceived pain as lower than before starting regular mindfulness training.
Did you know that you feel pain already when you expect it?
Richard J. Davidson with his research team made an observation that meditators are better at coping with physical pain than non-meditators. This happens not only when we experience pain, but also in situations when we expect it, e.g. we have an appointment for a medical procedure which we know is going to hurt.
In such situations, we can feel the anticipatory suffering that appears when we realise that we are about to experience pain. Anticipatory suffering can be as severe and stressful as physical pain itself.
In turn, after experiencing the unpleasant medical procedure, the body needs time to recover. The memory of what we have just experienced, and how unpleasant it was, can still cause a lot of discomfort (comparable to continued feeling of physical pain).
This means that even if the actual surgical pain lasted five minutes, we may experience it not for those five minutes, but for much longer due to initial anticipation and anxiety through to the feeling of actual pain and then by remembering this hard time.
How does this all relate to meditation?
Those who practice meditation experience much less anticipatory suffering (in anticipation of pain) and recover much faster after their pain experience.
Therefore, it can be observed that the duration of the physical pain they feel is close to the actual time it hurt, without the discomfort associated with the anticipation of pain and a long recovery from the pain experience.
If you often experience pain related to effort, fatigue or sedentary work – try meditation training!
Reduce pain – choose self-awareness
Another study looking at how mindfulness affects the level of perceived physical pain, examined 20 athletes aged 21–36, who had injuries preventing their participation in sport for at least three months.
The participants were divided into two groups – a group using mindfulness meditation in 90-minute sessions once per week for eight weeks, and a control group that did not practice mindfulness. The study demonstrated an increased pain tolerance in the group using the mindfulness meditation, and an overall improvement in mood and reduced stress levels.
Thus, research shows that mindfulness techniques used to treat patients with chronic pain disorders can:
- help reduce the perception of pain;
- alleviate mobility problems;
- increase positive mood;
- reduce overuse of painkillers.
Meditation – why practice it?
The results of those studies can be of great help, not only for people who experience chronic pain, but also for those who have the habit of responding to occasional pain by resorting to commonly available painkillers, which – as doctors alarm – are abused by the society as a whole.
They can also be another compelling reason for those still undecided to take advantage of the benefits of regular mindfulness practice. It can benefit us not only by reducing the discomfort associated with feeling physical pain, but also in terms of overall improvement in our well-being and health. Give yourself a new skill – practice mindfulness for better well-being.
Download the Focusly app and enjoy the premium version for 30 days for free!
Focusly gives you access to expert materials supporting the regeneration of the body and the mind like breathing exercises, mindfulness training and meditation. Reach for the expertise and practice daily to get in shape from the start!