Alternative Therapies for Managing Chronic Pain
Although opioid medication is a common treatment for Chronic pain and can be a safe and effective treatment for pain relief, there can be complications. That is why it is important to know all of your options.
Other chronic pain sufferers choose to complement conventional treatments with alternative therapies to effectively manage their pain. Alternative pain treatments vary greatly. Some, like massage, seek to affect pain directly. Others, like meditation, focus on coping strategies that reduce pain’s impact on quality of life. Here are popular alternative treatments for chronic pain.
CBT is a form of psychotherapy that can help provide pain relief by focusing on changing patterns of behavior. Specifically, it analyzes how your thoughts and attitude affect your behavior. It is very hands-on, encouraging problem-solving while providing you with life skills to cope with pain throughout life.
It can be used to self-regulate and change pain perception. For instance, by analyzing a patients stress triggers the patient is able to understand their biology and learn how to change their responses. This can apply to other ailments like chronic pain as well. Biofeedback promotes, deepens and enhances pain self management skills utilizing relaxation and meditation techniques.
Stress and depression can amplify pain. That is why mindfulness meditation can help chronic pain sufferers. Meditation helps to shut down negative thoughts by enabling the participant to observe the pain with less fear and anxiety. Although meditation is easy to do, it will take practice to perfect. Luckily, there are many resources online to learn a technique. Not only that but there are applications that have guided meditation so you can stay focused the whole time.
Yoga
Yoga is a combination of meditation and strength-building exercises. Through yoga, you can practice mindfulness meditation while also building strength and flexibility so their body functions better. There are many ways to practice yoga. New practitioners should learn basic poses before advancing to more difficult yoga types to avoid injury.
The Takeaway
Chronic Pain is a serious issue that can cause legitimate setbacks in peoples lives. That is why it is important to find ways to combat it that work for you. At Pathways Neuropsychology we offer a multitude of options to help you. We offer both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Biofeedback to help treat chronic pain. We also administer psychological testing to help people better understand how they are coping, what personality or emotional factors may be impacting their pain, and provide guidance for intervention. Get on the road to recovery by setting up an appointment today.
