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:
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- 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