You wouldn’t think that psychological intervention could actually help you control your chronic pain and alleviate the aches you suffer from. However, one alternative therapy called biofeedback can teach you to use your mind to control how your body functions and lessen the pain.
Health Magazine reported that one woman who suffered from migraines was able to use biofeedback successfully and control her chronic pain. She noticed that her skin temperature dropped when she was in pain and by clearing her mind, she raised her temperature.
“I knew that when I get in pain, my [skin] temperature drops,” she told the source, explaining that she was able to change this drop. “The practitioner was shocked because I got it up so quickly. I really did warm up. It’s a matter of just clearing your mind and deep breathing.”
Biofeedback includes putting sensors on the patient’s body and measuring the heartbeat, temperature, perspiration, breathing, and blood pressure. There are three assets that patients gain during a biofeedback session. These include: (1) learning relaxation skills, (2) contracted muscles are loosened, and (3) facial muscles are softened.
According to WebMD, some of the exercises that biofeedback uses are deep breathing techniques, guided imagery, muscle relaxation, and mindful meditation, which concentrates on positive thoughts and discarding negative emotions. If you are interested in taking a biofeedback session, you should know they last approximately 30 minutes and results are seen within 10 sessions or even fewer.
While biofeedback is useful for lessening chronic pain, there are also other medical conditions this therapy may help with. If you suffer from headaches, anxiety, or high blood pressure, biofeedback will also help you control the symptoms of these ailments.
If you find that traditional treatments are not helping heal your chronic pain, you may want to attend a biofeedback session and embrace this alternative therapy.