🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Using the Mind to Manage Pain

Pain Management Imagery

When our muscles are tense, pain often increases. So one way to reduce pain is to become more relaxed. Examples of relaxing images include:

• • imagine tight muscles getting massaged
  • see muscle fibers separating
  • concentrate on feelings of warmth
  • Sometimes it is helpful to distract yourself from thinking about pain. Some distracting images include:
    • being on the beach or floating in a pool
    • rehearsing sport skills
  • Some people associate a certain image with pain (e.g., the color red, sparks or bolts of light). Use imagery to reverse these images.
    • if red is associated with pain, image the sore body part turning a soothing pale blue
    • focus on the bright light getting dimmer
  • Additional examples of pain control images include:
    • feel heat/ice on sore body part
    • imagine swelling draining out of the body
    • imagine pain flowing out of the injured body part
    • if you have throbbing pain, image “pain bubbles” leaving the body with each beat

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