The Back Fix by Antony Bush

Author:Antony Bush
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Antony Bush
Published: 2022-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Mindfulness

According to neuroscientists, our brain has to process over 11 billion bits of information per second - that’s somewhat overwhelming. How does our intellect handle this immense amount of information without overload? It's quite simple. Our 'attention' allows us to focus our brain’s computational resources on only one item at a time, highlighting it like a spotlight. Wherever our attention goes, our brain follows; wherever we direct our attention determines our present experience.6 So, if we focus our attention on our back pain, that amplifies it.

Mindfulness is a way of controlling our attention and it is currently the most well-known technique for managing and treating the emotional generators that wind us up. It reduces depression, anxiety and improves our sleep. It also reduces our sensitivity to pain,7 as well as pain intensity. A recent study has shown that people who did just 20 minutes of mindfulness training over four days experienced a 27% reduction in reported pain intensity and a 44% reduction in emotional distress compared to those who didn’t.8 That’s significant given that a single dose of morphine reportedly provides 22% reduction in pain intensity! 9Mindfulness and exercise are the best non-pharmacological ways of treating pain without doubt. Reread that sentence because it’s important.

With the recent media hype surrounding mindfulness, you could think it’s the latest fad. In fact, this type of mind training is 2500 years old and is based in Buddhist meditation. Mind training comes in many names, shapes and sizes, but don’t let the long names fool you. Meditation, centering, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) all employ similar methods of voluntarily taking control of our feelings through redirecting our attention and using positive self-talk. They aim to clear our mind and calm our body - helping us become physically and mentally free from tension, anxiety, negative thought patterns and uncontrolled muscle activation.

Mindfulness and exercise are the best non-pharmacological ways of treating pain.

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