Whenever we suffer from lower back pain problems, we often consider medications and surgical procedures to solve them. Fortunately, there is another option for lessening the problems brought by the pains in the lower back area that does not need to consume medicines and even face several surgical instruments and leave scars that can also affect us. That is the power of meditation.
Some may think that meditation only works for those who need rest of mind and spirit, or another way to release stress and other negative “vibrations” from the body. In fact, various studies have been done to identify other benefits that can be gained in meditation, and one of these is its capacity to help a painful person lessen the pain he experiences. However, unlike medications and other procedures, meditation is a concept that is done to you, but something that you can do, and you must do, for yourself.
Halo health believes that a person with lower back pain does not have to become a meditation expert to achieve its benefits. Part of the conducted researches revealed that even a minimal amount of time devoted to simple meditation techniques already received a huge impact on the pains they are having.
Here are some of the study insights about mindful meditation especially concerning pain perception:
- Doing minimal meditation can give quick and substantial relief from pain.
One of the studies done demonstrated how its participants were relieved from lower back pains after a 20-minute meditation done for three consecutive days. Another study revealed that meditation has analgesic benefits, however, this is manifested after an intensive meditation training.
- Relieving pain through meditation has a long-lasting outcome.
There is also a study that discovered a reduction in pain perception even after doing the meditation, in contrast to those who were tested using some distraction techniques that only resulted in producing analgesic capacities but only during distraction. This reflects that there is an overall and longer lasting pain reduction in doing meditation.
- Mindful meditation is better than using distraction in relieving pain.
As part of the purpose of the study, the analgesic effect acquired from meditation were compared to those from distraction and relaxation techniques. Both of the three interventions lessened the participants’ pain, but it is with the meditation technique that has the overall analgesic effects and not just for the more painful sensations.
Breathing Exercises and Meditation to Ease Lower Back Pains
The control of breathing or the pranayama in yoga and the meditation technique are very essential in easing back pains. Both of the breathing exercises and meditation can help to link the mind and the body to relieve from lower back pains.
Some Yoga Breathing Exercises
Focusing on the rhythm and rate of your breathing can help ease the lower back pains because it helps your mind to concentrate only on how you breathe and not on the pain you are going through.
Most of the people have shallow breathing (short, uneven breaths). Yoga breathing exercises like abdominal breathing wherein you will be doing slower and smoother breaths can already help lessen the back pains.
Another breathing technique you can make is ensuring that your inhales and exhales are in equal counts while sitting or lying down.
Meditation as a Way to Lessen the Lower Back Pain
As mentioned, doing meditation is something that you should do for yourself, so you can help yourself be relaxed and check more about yourself through this. This can help you relax your stressed muscles. Generally, being more mindful of the things that you love and brings you comfort also helps you to prevent yourself from being focused on the pain, which lessens the intensity of the pain that you feel. Doing this cannot make you forget totally about the pain. Rather, it helps you cope up with the pain.
10-Step Meditation Techniques for Back Pains
This is a 20-minute meditation session, each of the steps to be done for about 2 minutes. there is no definite way to do it but to have a passive attitude while observing everything around you without trying anything to happen. This should be done in a quiet environment or any place without any minimal distraction even just through the course of the meditation.
- Breathe calmly- Slowly breathe in and breathe out, observing every breathing and make it deep, slow, and calm.
- Submissive Awareness- Be more aware of everything around you, noticing everything that is perceived by the senses.
- Scanning of the body- Observe your body without trying to change it. Start from the tip of your toes, focusing upward slowly.
- Discerning and receiving- Observe and accept every ounce of what is on your mind at the moment. Allow every thought to arise and move on to your system.
- Concentrate on breathing- Focus on how your breath. Be aware of how your body inhales and exhales the air in and out of your body.
- Repeat any part to the routine- Choose any step that you find meaningful and repeat it with each breath in, breath out. Let your mind wander, focus again on repeating on that particular phrase.
- Discerning and receiving
- Submissive awareness
- Calm breathing
- Simple stretches- As you open your eyes to finish the meditation, do some stretches. Have some reflection on the meditation experience?