THE BEST MEDITATIONS AGAINST PAIN

Pain can greatly affect your daily life and it is only natural that you want to resolve these symptoms as soon as possible. Possibly, you can use medication to combat the pain, for example paracetamol or ibuprofen. Yet there are also many people who prefer not to use such painkillers and instead want to relieve their pain using natural methods. Meditation can be a good option for this. In this article, we will therefore explain what the best meditations against pain are and why they can work at all.

Why can meditations work against pain?

Pain is not only a physical sensation, but also a mental experience. Our brain plays a crucial role in how we perceive pain. Meditation can affect that perception by triggering changes in brain regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex, insula and prefrontal cortex. These areas are all involved in pain processing. Researchers at Harvard Medical School found with this study that eight weeks of mindfulness meditation results in structural changes in brain regions involved in pain. So by meditating regularly, you can literally train your brain to deal with pain differently.

What are the best meditations for pain?

Now that you know why it can help to meditate against pain, it is of course also important to know which meditations are suitable for this. Read on quickly!

1. Mindfulness meditation/MBSR

We start, of course, with mindfulness meditation, which, according to Harvard Medical School, can work well. This is also called MBSR, or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. This meditation technique has been widely researched by scientists and seems to work well against pain. According to this research, MBSR could , for example, result in fewer symptoms in people suffering from chronic lower back pain. However, the results are not very clear and concrete, so this is something that needs further research. According to this study, MBSR will not reduce the severity of pain, but it can help people cope better with chronic pain.

2. Body scan

The body scan is a guided meditation in which you focus your attention step by step on different parts of your body. This technique is often taught as part of MBSR, but is also effective on its own. So you can also use body scan meditation separately from MBSR. This study from the Journal of Behavioral Medicine suggests that you can reduce your chronic pain this way. Possibly this is because the body scan helps change your relationship with pain. You learn to observe it without judgement, instead of avoiding or suppressing pain.

3. Metta

Metta, which is also called loving-kindness meditation, focuses on cultivating feelings of kindness and compassion, first for yourself, then for others. Although these meditations are not primarily aimed at pain relief, research shows that they can have an indirect positive effect. Metta is generally used mainly to treat depressive feelings and the like, but this study from 2022 suggests that this meditation technique can also provide pain relief. Metta could help because you repeat phrases such as "May I be free from pain" or "May I be happy and healthy" while focusing loving attention on yourself.

4. Visualisation

In visualisation meditation, you use mental images to ease pain. For example, think of a warm glow flowing through your body or a cool mist touching painful areas. By doing this, you could potentially relieve or even combat pain. This is also suggested by this scientific research by Marianne Wetendorff Noergaard. Visualisation in particular seems to be able to help regulate pain perception. Here, you use your imagination to create an alternate reality in which pain seems less present.

5. Breathing meditation

Breathing meditation focuses your attention entirely on your breathing, but you probably expected that, so Breathwork is simple but can be very powerful. It lowers stress hormones such as cortisol and promotes relaxation, both of which are important factors in pain relief. This experimental study by Volker Busch suggests that the way you breathe can have a lot of impact on pain processing. So breathing meditation can contribute to this. Because you focus on your breathing, you may react less to pain signals.

While many studies suggest that meditation can help with pain relief, it is important to stress that the effects are not the same in everyone and are not always guaranteed to occur. Scientific studies often show that meditation *may* be supportive in managing pain, but it is not a proven panacea that completely eliminates pain. Results are often moderate and vary by person, type of pain and context. It is therefore good to see meditation as a complementary option within a broader approach, and not as a replacement for regular medical treatments or therapies.

Disclaimer: While meditation can be a valuable tool for pain relief, it is not a substitute for medical treatment. In case of persistent or severe pain, always consult a doctor or medical specialist. This article is informative and intended to supplement, not replace, professional advice.