Pain is the sensation of hurting, an unpleasant or strong discomfort from injury, sickness, disease or functional disorder and is transmitted through the nervous system. More than a physical sensation, pain is our body’s way of defending us from physical harm and further pain by triggering processes that prompt us to seek strategies to protect ourselves and end the experience. Typically, pain is classified as acute or chronic. Acute pain usually is immediate, such as the kind that results from injury, sickness and disease, and then begins subsiding. Chronic pain, described as the disease of pain, serves no apparent biological purpose and can persist for long periods, in some cases years and others indefinitely; frequently it’s resistant to treatment and its cause often is an enigma. (See our Recommendations).
"One in four U.S. adults said they suffered a daylong bout of pain in the month prior to being surveyed, according to a 2006 annual report. One in 10 said the pain lasted a year or more."
—National Center for Health Statistics
Not too many generations ago many believed we should expect to feel pain at times in our lives and learn to endure it. How much of that way of thinking was practical, philosophical or spiritual can’t be entirely known, but it is certain the inability of medicine and other interventions to alleviate physical suffering must have had some bearing. In modern times, it is widely held that no one should simply learn to endure pain, and there are numerous forms of intervention that offer help. Today there is little in the way of acute pain that can’t be alleviated to some extent, but chronic pain, which only recently gained serious recognition as a type of disease, still perplexes.
Drugs, psychological and physical therapy, diet, yoga, holistic healing and other methods of pain management certainly have had plenty of success, but too often relief is temporary and the source of chronic pain remains undiagnosed. The study of chronic pain is in its infancy and is being pursued by scores of entities – national and international pain research associations, government bodies such as the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, universities and many public and private health, education and research organizations, among them the Institute of HeartMath.
"Pain is a more terrible lord of mankind than even death itself."
—Dr. Albert Schweitzer
Knee Surgery Patient Feels No Pain
The following is a brief summary of an article Dr. Raymond T. Bradley, who was familiar with HeartMath techniques such as the Heart Lock-In prior to undergoing knee surgery in 2004, wrote for the Institute of HeartMath a short time later.
Bradley had bilateral knee arthroscopic surgery on both legs as an outpatient. He prepared for the surgery by having visualization sessions with his therapist in conjunction with and complemented by daily Heart Lock-In® sessions in the morning and evening. "My goal was to create a safe and secure place in my mind and heart in which to enter for the surgery – filled only with love (no fear) – and to be able to totally surrender myself to the surgery, whatever the outcome. … My last memory was of total peace and calm and a heart filled with unbounded love and appreciation," he said, referring to when he was wheeled into the operating room, at which time he did a final Heart Lock-In session. "The surgery went well and I
awoke with no side effects: clearheaded, hungry and thirsty, and totally energized and exuberant in spirit. My body felt full only of love and appreciation – I had no pain at all!"
(For a link to the complete story of Bradley’s experience, use the link listed under Learn More below.
Relieving Stress Relieves Pain
The Institute of HeartMath has focused for the past 19 years on the effects stress and emotions have on our health and quality of life. Researchers have found that the presence or absence of stress can directly impact levels of pain. For example, in the first two weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, pain-treatment specialists were inundated with complaints of worsening pain. Calls came from patients who suffered from many types of illnesses – cancer, back problems, arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, chronic headaches and others. According to the medical director of pain management at Washington Hospital Center at the time, many patients who had been stable for years on their medication flooded the center with phone calls in those first two weeks after the attacks, saying their pain had gotten out of control.
In Houston, specialists reported that pain complaints from cancer patients were up 33 percent, and in Buffalo they had doubled. Why?
"Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain."
—Charlie Chaplin
Your body can create chemical messengers, known as endorphins, that help manage pain naturally. The more endorphins released into your system, the less pain you experience. Although, as it now is believed, there is some endorphin secretion into the body at all times, there are periods when endorphin levels fall, particularly during times of stress, that cause aches and pains to increase. At other times, when these levels rise – exercising, listening to music or doing something as common and pleasurable as laughing – aches and pains diminish. HeartMath has received many reports over the years from people who say utilizing our scientifically researched and validated tools and technology helped decrease their pain. (Regardless of your circumstance, always consult your physician before changing your pain-management program.)
Recommended
A HeartMath TIP:
Heart Lock-In® technique: Use the Heart Lock-In technique – an adapted version follows here – especially first thing in the morning, to increase your endorphin level and to give your body an energy boost for the day. Then try it before going to sleep at night to reduce the stress and aches and pains of the day and enjoy restful sleep.
Shift your attention to the area of your heart and breathe slowly and deeply.
Activate and sustain a genuine feeling of appreciation or care for someone or something in your life.
Send these feelings of care toward yourself and others. This benefits them and especially helps recharge and balance your system.
Benefits of Reducing Stress
Aches and pains decrease
Energy increases so you can do more
Overall outlook Improves, less focus on pain
More restful sleep at night
Recommended
Tools For De-stressing
emWave® Personal Stress Reliever: Regular use of this scientifically validated, hand-held stress-relief technology has proven to be a vital tool in reducing anxiety and stress, allowing your body to recharge itself and, when used with HeartMath techniques you’ll receive, to give you relief from the aches and pains of the day. The emWave® PSR is easy to use and noninvasive.
It will help you achieve heart coherence – synchronization between the heart and brain. It also teaches you to regulate your emotions and prepare for events that can trigger stress responses and to recover quickly from stressful episodes. Carry it anywhere and revitalize your mind, body and spirit anytime.
emWave® PC / emWave® Mac Stress Relief System:† The emWave PC/Mac system turns your computer into a self-contained heart-rhythm-coherence monitor and manager. It let’s you see how emotions affect your heart rhythms and then teaches you how to regulate them.
Then, using HeartMath techniques, you’ll easily learn to achieve heart coherence, the state in which all of your body’s systems can function at their optimum. Among the tools you’ll receive with the emWave PC/Mac is the highly acclaimed Freeze-Frame® technique, which has been successfully used by mental health professionals, physicians, educators, corporate executives, athletes and performing artists. The emWave PC/Mac and Freeze-Frame have proven particularly effective in pain management and they currently are used in burn clinics. † Formerly known as Freeze-Framer®.
Transforming Stress: The HeartMath Solution for Relieving Worry, Fatigue and Tension, book by Doc Childre and Deborah Rozman. Know the warning signs of chronic stress and learn the latest research about your "intelligent heart" and its ability to help you immediately begin reducing the stress in your life. Many HeartMath clients have reported that when their stress levels decreased so did their pain. You’ll receive step-by-step instructions for HeartMath techniques that can help you live healthier with less pain.
Transforming Depression: The HeartMath® Solution to Feeling Overwhelmed, Sad, and Stressed, by Doc Childre and Deborah Rozman. Depression commonly goes hand in hand with those who suffer chronic pain. Transforming Depression, the fourth book in HeartMath’s Transforming Series, can help you to understand the feelings you are experiencing such as hopelessness
and disinterest in activities you formerly enjoyed, among others, and then teach you powerful tools for easing your pain and overcoming those feelings, including Notice and Ease, the Power of Neutral and the Cut-Thru® technique. With a little practice, you can lessen feelings of depression and see dramatic changes occur in your mind and body that can lead to better health and greater peace of mind.
Learn more…
A Remarkable Recovery: Read the complete story in our Summer 2004 Newsletter of Dr. Raymond T. Bradley’s experience with double knee surgery and how he used the HeartMath Lock-In technique to help him recover from his operation in record time and to experience virtually no pain.
De-Stressing to Ease Chronic Pain: This Fall 2003 Newsletter story will give you more insight into the role endorphin levels can play in a pain-management program.
