Mind-body wellness professionals will benefit from keeping up with current research on the use of mind-body approaches for pain management. One of the most common reasons people turn to complementary and alternative therapies such as yoga, massage and relaxation therapy is for pain relief.
Mind-body wellness professionals will benefit from keeping up with current research on the use of mind-body approaches for pain management. One of the most common reasons people turn to complementary and alternative therapies such as yoga, massage and relaxation therapy is for pain relief. One-third of American adults suffer from chronic pain; therefore, discovering nonpharmaceutical methods for pain management is a public health priority.
“There is a growing recognition that drugs are only part of the solution and that people who live with chronic pain have to develop a strategy that calls upon inner resources,” said Josephine Briggs, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than 12 weeks. Future research findings should provide increasing insight into cognitive and mind-body approaches that could help the millions suffering from this type of pain.
To learn more about chronic pain and complementary and alternative medicine, go to http://nccam.nih.gov/health/pain/chronic.htm.