When you're in severe pain, advice like taking a deep breath doesn't help much. And what else can help, except painkillers? However, according to recent research by scientists, there is actually a method that provides real pain relief, and it's not a placebo at all. However, to use this method, you need to undergo some preparation. If you haven't guessed yet, we're talking about meditation. As it turns out, it helps with chronic pain, and more effectively than a placebo.
Scientists have explained how to cope with pain without medication. Photo source: ammedica.ru
What is mindfulness meditation
Meditation originated in Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and was used exclusively as part of spiritual and religious practice. However, since it entered Western culture, it has undergone some changes and has become exclusively secular. This applies, for example, to mindfulness meditation, or mindfulness – training in presence in the present moment using meditative techniques.
The essence of this method is to become aware of the sensations that occur here and now. That is, a person concentrates his attention only on these sensations, trying to detach himself from the surrounding world. This concept arose in the 70s in the USA, and is currently very popular. According to experts, it is at the intersection of neuropsychology and classical meditation.
Mindfulness meditation was developed as a means of combating depression. Photo source: posta-magazine.ru
It should be said that mindfulness meditation was originally developed as a means of combating stress, anxiety, depression and pain. In the last few decades, meditation has been the subject of clinical studies. Many of them have shown its positive effect on mental and even physical health. In particular, scientists have found that meditation does reduce pain.
However, until recently it was unclear how effective it is in helping with pain, and whether its effect is similar to that of a placebo.
How meditation helps get rid of pain
To find out how mindfulness meditation affects pain perception, neurobiologists from the University of California, San Diego, tried to decipher individual pain signals in the human brain. They recruited 115 volunteers for their study, who were divided into two groups. One group of volunteers was taught mindfulness meditation. To do this, the participants in the experiment received four lessons from experienced instructors. Each lesson lasted no more than 20 minutes, meaning that they spent a total of 80 minutes on training.
Meditation is more effective than placebo. Photo source: blog.meditopia.com
During this time, the volunteers learned to focus on the changing rhythms of their breathing, as well as to be aware of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The second group was divided into two parts. Some people were taught a fictitious meditation, which consisted of deep, measured breathing, and others were given a placebo – a Vaseline cream that supposedly reduced pain. In fact, the cream had no pain-relieving effect.
During the study, scientists touched the back of the right shin of all volunteers with a heated probe. It did not burn the skin, but caused painful sensations. Before and after the experiment, the scientists scanned the volunteers' brains using MRI and also asked them to independently assess the degree of pain on a scale from 0 to 10.
The study of MRI images allowed scientists to identify several pain signatures associated with its intensity, emotional experience, and psychosocial factors, such as pain expectation. The experiment showed that meditation really does reduce pain. Moreover, as mentioned above, its effect is not associated with the placebo effect, since it is based on completely different mechanisms. The authors of the study report this in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Meditation can be effective in treating chronic pain. Photo source: temed.ru
How meditation can help in treating chronic pain
It has long been assumed that the placebo effect intersects with the brain mechanisms associated with meditation. However, this was a misconception, and mindfulness meditation turned out to be more effective. According to the researchers, this means that it can be used to treat chronic pain, which millions of people suffer from every day.
According to the authors of the study, the human mind is extremely powerful. By separating pain from ourselves and abandoning judgments, we can directly change how we perceive pain. And most importantly, pain relief does not require the use of drugs that often negatively affect health. In addition, meditation is free and can be used anywhere.
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Scientists plan to continue research in the near future aimed at studying the neurobiological effects of mindfulness meditation and how it can be used in therapy. However, not all scientists agree that it is useful, at least for mental health. We have previously talked about how it can also lead to negative consequences, including increasing symptoms of anxiety and depression.