Pain Management Strategies

The body often goes through pain primarily due to diseases or accidents. Whatever the cause of the pain is, you need to learn how to employ focus and deep breathing so as to relax the body and manage the pain. At first attempting to relax while in pain can be challenging but you have to remember that relaxing the muscle tension is imperative. You will need to remove attention from pain. This brief overview looks into coping techniques for chronic pain.

Most Effective Pain Management Strategies

Research shows that the mind can alter sensations to a significant extent. If you direct your attention on another part of your body that is not in pain and develop sensation in that part, you will see you will take your mind away from the pain. Imagine you are in a dark room or shut your eyes and relax. Begin to slow down the rate of breathing. Try to breathe deeply using the chest for about 2 to 3 minutes. Try putting yourself in a relaxed or reclining position in a very dark room. Try to shut your eyes or focus on a point.

Dissociation

This strategy involves mentally separating the part of the body that is in pain from other regions of the body. You can try to imagine the mind and body as separate. A good example is to imagine the sore leg is sitting on a chair across the room and you are seated on the other edge of the chamber.

Sensory splitting

This strategy requires you to divide different sensations such as pain, needles, burning or pins. If your lower back feels hot, focus on the heat sensation rather than pain.

Mental anesthesia

The technique requires you to mentally picture an anesthetic injection being administered to the painful part of the body. Proceed to imagine a cooling, soothing ice pack being placed on the painful part.

Mental analgesia

Form a mental image of a strong painkiller being administered to the painful area. You can also imagine your brain producing massive amounts of endorphins, which are the pain relieving substances in the body, then picture them flowing into the sensitive area.

Employing pain management strategies is a very effective way of coping with pain. However, it is paramount for one to seek medical care as the problem in the body will need to be resolved permanently. Managing pain could not be easier.