A study claims that meditation is the answer to chronic back pain, which is one of the most common health complaints of about 65 million Americans. Most of the patients have resorted and relied on painkillers to ease their discomforts but unfortunately, even the most expensive brands do not totally work.
The increasing number of patients who use painkillers has alarmed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the organization told doctors to lessen the prescription of painkillers or think twice before advising people to get opioids to relieve chronic pain.
On its website, CDC published a guideline for prescribing opioids to patients. The guide provides proper recommendations for the prescription of opioid painkillers for patients 18 years old and older.
Now, because the use of opiod can be dangerous too, even doctors are frustrated for the lack of alternative treatments. But in a new study that was published on the Journal of the American Medical Association on March 22, Tuesday, researchers may have found an effective and safer method of dealing with chronic pain.
"Patients and docs were really kind of desperate to find things that worked," Dr. Daniel Cherkin said. He is the lead researcher from the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, Washington.
According to the research, meditation, particularly the program called mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), works better compared to normal medical treatment for alleviating low back pain. Doctors added that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is also more effective than painkillers.
Likewise, the trial stated that both MBSR and CBT have demonstrated similar improvements than standard pain relievers used by adults with chronic back pain. Dr. Cherkin stated, "The effects were moderate in size, which has been typical of evidence-based treatments recommended for chronic low back pain."
The doctor further explained that MBSR is a meditation training done in multiple sessions and simple yoga postures are also incorporated in the training. The focus of meditation is for individuals to be aware of their emotions, body sensations and thoughts without trying to change them.
Cherkin said that he and his team are excited about the results of their research "because chronic low back pain is such a common problem and can be disabling and difficult to treat." Lastly, he reiterated that there is no single effective treatment since pain is caused by many factors and different reasons.
Watch the video and learn tips and techniques on improving meditation: