overperforming and “dysfunctional persistence” with physical activities despite severe pain can hinder the healing process and lead to increased pain and functional limitations.
Stress
Your body tends to interpret stressful emotions as a physical emergency thus chemical and physical reactions take place to try and protect you from harm when you are feeling stressed or anxious. This typically takes place in the neck, shoulders, and down the spine and causes muscles to tighten.
Prolonged tension in these areas can lead to back pain. On the flip side, stress is also a common reaction to suffering from back pain, even when symptoms are not medically serious. It becomes a cycle of pain and stress and they both can get worse over time if not treated.
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How To Treat Psychological Factors Associated With Pain
If you have experienced any of these thoughts or behaviors in response to back pain, you have a higher risk of not recovering as quickly. The early identification and management of these psychological factors have been found to be effective at preventing back pain from becoming long-term.
A study in The Journal of the American Medical Association showed that practicing mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) works remarkably better than medical care alone to reduce disability and pain-related suffering.
CBT
Cognitive behavioral therapy uses a combination of techniques to help identify and correct unhelpful patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It takes place in six to eight weekly sessions that aim to help patients become aware of patterns that can trigger pain. CBT can improve your recovery by giving you more productive, less stressful ways of thinking. In one study, 78 percent of people with CLBP reported that treatment was successful and they were able to return to work.
Mindfulness Training
Most mindfulness-based programs consist of eight weekly group sessions where participants are taught a variety of meditation techniques including daily activities that are easy to practice at home. Meditation helps the mind’s ability to be in the present moment while accepting the experiences of the moment. In terms of pain, it helps you acknowledge and accept physical sensations of discomfort and release the negative reactions associated with it.
Here are a few quick ways to practice mindfulness when faced with a challenge such as a pain flare-up:
- Take a pause. Don’t automatically react to pain.
- Take notice of what is happening at the moment. Become aware of thoughts, emotions, and sensations.
- Focus on your breathing. Pay attention to the airflow or the rise and fall of your belly with each breath.
- Make a mindful decision about, as opposed to reacting automatically about, what to do next (if anything).
Once you become aware of your thoughts and resulting behaviors in regard to pain, you have a greater advantage in overcoming it!