Arthritis

Pain Management Techniques: Yoga and Meditations

January 14, 2014January 14, 2014 Kristin Russel

Our brain circuit is a very complex subject involving a great deal of biological, cognitive and social functioning. Brain produces different chemicals that causes the feelings of pleasure and pain. When certain part of the brain is “turned on” or “turned off” , we fell pleasure or pain. We feel pleasure when we we enjoy something like eating good food or being in love. Our brain has its own reward system. When we do certain things, the brain rewards us by making us feel good. Reward is a great way to encourage us to do something repetitively. Similarly, there is a pain circuit in the brain. When certain things happen in our body or mind, the brain punishes us by developing bad feelings, so that we should not repeat that next time. Yoga and meditation helps people consciously control the perception of pain and pleasure. The new understanding and perceptions relieves pain. During pain the blood vessels serve as a radiator to cool the brain, overheating can cause neuron death.

Five Yoga Exercises as Pain Management Techniques:

#1: Observe your normal breathing patterns

Try to observe your normal breathing patterns. Do not try to control, remove or diminish your negative sensations or the private events of your life. Try to accept the unpleasant sensations or thoughts while still persisting with your chosen tasks.

#2: Breathing Exercises:

You can breathe into the area around the pain sensation or around the belly. Yoga literature proposed several breathing techniques to overcome pain. The easiest one is; place one hand on the chest and another on the belly. Take a slow and deep breath, take as much air as possible. You can press the belly a little bit, with one hand. After holding the breath for a few seconds, exhale slowly. Meditation with proper breathing is the most common relaxation and pain management technique.

#3: Present Moment Awareness

Present moment awareness is the most efficient and the most ancient meditation technique for pain management. Yoga literature is flooded with present moment awareness meditation techniques for pain management. You can just bring your awareness to the activities you are doing. Khechari mudra is a great way for pain management. If the khechari mudra is perfect, one can withdraw the mind from the body.

#4: Yoga Nidra for Pain Management

Yoga nidra is a very ancient meditation technique for pain management. In modern literature there are various forms of muscle relaxation techniques. This technique involves slowly tensing, briefly holding, and then releasing each muscle group in a systematic fashion. It starts with the muscles in the toes and moving upward. During this exercise, the person should notice the differences between tension and relaxation.

#5: Meditation and Visualization for Pain management

Visualization involves imagining a scene in which you feel at peace, free to let go of all tension and anxiety. You may meditate with eyes open or closed. Select a simple geometrical shape or symbols, with some specific color. Think of something which may be symbolically meaningful for you in some way. For example, you can select some green circles. You can chant any mantra of your choice during visualization meditation.

Meditation and prayers are the great ways to overcome pain. Acceptance is very important in pain management. Mentally, you may say, “It is unpleasant but I can accept it”. Pain is always unpleasant but mediation changes the nature of pain before it is perceived.

Sources:

1. “Meditation: Insights and Inspirations” By Amit Ray

2. “Handbook of Pain Management: A Clinical Companion to Textbook of Pain” By Ronald Melzack

Yoga Exercises to Reduce Back Pain

March 1, 2011March 1, 2011 Kristin Russel

Reason for Back Pain

Back pain arises due to some from injury or wound to some of the nerves, bones, muscles and other structures. According to the recent researches, most of the back pain arises due to some form of problems in the nerves that moves along the Spinal Cord through the bones, making the muscles to stressed. The problems arise due to mechanical problem in the Spine, or stress and anxiety. Ulcers, Kidney infection and Constipation also cases back pain. Yoga is useful to solve the problems in the spine to reduce the back pain. The Yoga steps are as follows:

Select an appropriate Yoga Mat:

Selecting a good non skidding comfortable yoga mat is must for doing yoga exercise. If you want to do Pilates along with yoga then also you need a soft yoga mat so that you should not slip out during bending or stretching exercise. The yoga mat should be such that you should not loose your balance while bending your body. While selecting the mat for yoga, you should be careful that the width of the mat is sufficient for your movements. If you are senior citizen you should give extra care for textured yoga mat which can give you extra grips.

Select appropriate Yoga Postures:

All yoga postures are not good for back pain. Some may aggravate your back pain. So, be careful about the correct posture. You take advice from your yoga teacher or medical adviser. First you do the standing poses like Tadasana. All the postures should be done slowly and comfortably. No jerking or pain should be allowed. If there is pain do not go for that. Small relaxation feeling of pain during yielding or stretching is perfectly okay. After doing the standing poses you can go for the sitting poses. Just crisscross your hands, legs in a sitting posture. Do not go for complicated postures. At the end of the sitting yoga asana, you can go for laying postures like sabha asana that is corpse pose. Sage twist pose is also helpful.

Cat Pose is very useful to release back pain. In this pose with a cat like posture with knees and hands on the yoga mat, you just slightly move your spine happily up and down.

Use Natural Ayurvedic Medicine:

There are many good natural ayurvedic medicines are available to relive back pains, you can try with them. But be careful. Take ayurvedic medicine only from the reliable and authentic company.

If you have acute lower back pain for more than three months, take proper medical advice.

Yoga: To Release Arthritis

January 10, 2011January 10, 2011 Kristin Russel

Arthritis is a degenerative condition causing wear of the articulating surfaces, resulting in pain at rest, pain with movements, restriction of movements and in severe cases, deformity.

The word “arthritis” means “joint inflammation” — the Greek “arthron” means “joint”, and the Latin “itis” means “inflammation. Arthritis is a term that covers many different medical conditions that affect the joints, and is the main cause of disability in older people.

With arthritis, something goes wrong with the joint, depending on the kind of arthritis — it could be that the cartilage is wearing away, a lack of synovial fluid, or it may be an autoimmune disorder, or a combination of factors. Joint injuries may also eventually lead to arthritis.

Types of Arthritis:

The most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The most common type is osteoarthritis, which is wear and tear associated with ageing. It can be accelerated, or aggravated, or even caused by trauma, excess body weight, obesity, mal–alignment of the joints or congenital joint deformities (dysplasia).

The other common type of arthritis is called rheumatoid arthritis. In this disease, the immune system of the body reacts against the joints and musculoskeletal tissues. This causes inflammation of joints, and leads to wear and tear.

The other types of inflammatory arthritis are: aukylosing spondylarthropathy, Lyme disease, gouty arthritis, arthritis associated with connective tissue disease, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.

Walking Yoga to Remove Arthritis

Now people are discovering that immobility is terrible for someone with arthritis. With sedentary people, even more degeneration and pain of the joints arises. To keep joints and muscles healthy and strong, they must be used. When they’re not used, they become weaker and more unbalanced with more likely-hood of injury and more pain and debilitation.

Regular gentle movement and walking helps to maintain mobility and it reduces pain, as well as promoting the health of other systems of the body. With regular walking yoga exercise there’s increased blood circulation which helps to reduce swelling and pain, and it improves the functioning of the immune system.

Yoga Postures and Yoga Exercises to Remove Arthritis:

Regular yoga exercises help to keep the body stronger and more supple; increasing range of motion in the joints, while keeping the surrounding muscles strong and supportive. Some common yoga postures are as follows:

Neck Exercises:

Many people hold tension in their necks and shoulders, leading to stiffness, bad posture, and tension headaches. Yoga practice can ease tension, increase flexibility, and tone the muscles. The steps for neck exercises are as follows:

Bend your head forward, chin on chest, then back to original position.
Bend to the right, then back to the original position.
Bend backward, then back to the original position.
Bend to the left, then back to the original position.
Bend forward, chin on chest, move from right to the left, then move from left to right.

Standing Side Stretch Yoga Pose:

The Standing Side Stretch Yoga Pose may give you the look of a tree swayed by wind, though this pose offers more benefits than just a stretch on your branches. This side stretch will increase the flexibility of your spine, arms, and rib cage as it stimulates the liver, kidney, and spleen functions. Furthermore, the Yoga Pose will also help realign your spinal column and will aid the lungs to take in more oxygen. This is a simple Yoga Posture with a wonderful stretch in which one line of energy reaches upward from your belly and outward through the arm, and one line travels downward through the legs

Single leg raises Yoga Pose:

This Yoga Pose is performed in order to prepare the body for other exercises. It benefits the legs, lower back muscles, and abdominal area. In practicing the Single Leg Raise, one leg is raised while the other one stays on the floor.

Shoulder Stretches:

These are great in relieving stress and tension on your shoulders, as well as your entire upper back. Practice them daily for several weeks and notice the changes. Learn some basic stretches for the shoulders in this section.

Wrist bending:

Your wrists can also be affected by arthritis, specifically Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid Arthritis. Take good care of your wrists through stretching and bending. Learn how to improve the range of motion of your wrists by doing the Wrist Bending Exercise.

Ankle bending:

Repeated strain or sprain in the ankles can contribute to the occurrence of Ankle Arthritis. Manage stress and keep your ankles in good condition through therapy, having enough rest, and by doing the Ankle Bending Exercise.

Pranayama to Release Arthritis:

Alternate nasal breathing exercise, Belly breathing, and Kapalvati pranayam are very helpful to remove arthritis.

Research on Yoga and Arthritis:

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University found that Yoga is helpful for rheumatoid arthritis. They found that those who participated in eight weeks of yoga classes had significantly fewer tender and swollen joints than they did before starting class.