Mind-Body Therapies Help Chronic Pain
Tuesday September 18, 2007
Although mind-body therapies such as yoga, hypnosis, and tai chi are primarily thought to help with stress reduction, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have found that they can also help with pain management. After reviewing 20 clinical trials involving eight mind-body therapies, they found the following:
- Biofeedback was found to help improve chronic low back pain, headache, and rhematologic pain (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis)
- Guided imagery was found to help with osteoarthritis pain and improve movement and mobility
- Mindfulness meditation and hypnosis were seen as helpful for low back pain
- Progressive muscle relaxation may help reduce headaches
- Tai chi and qi gong improved arthritis pain and joint pain and stiffness. In one study, tai chi reduced falls by nearly 48 percent.
- Yoga was seen as helpful for arthritis pain and joint pain and stiffness. One study found it helped improve hip extension and stride length, and another study found an improvement in hand pain and joint tenderness.
Comments
I’ve found lessons in the Alexander Technique to be a big help with chronic low back and neck pain. Their main website is very helpful: http://alexandertechnique.com
Thanks for posting this article. I healed myself from several chronic illnesses and severe chronic pain by using mind/body methods. I would love for people to be more aware of alternative therapies. It seems pharmaceuticals are being WAY over prescribed and they have long term health effects. Thanks for posting this GREAT article. Jenny http://healpain.blogspot.com