Skip to content. Relaxing is an important part of coping with pain or stress. Deep breathing is a way to relax. You can use these relaxation tips yourself or to coach your child to decrease her level of stress and better manage pain.

If your child is an inpatient at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, you can ask your child's nurse or a child life specialist to demonstrate breathing exercises for relaxation and offer tips to help your child experience the benefits of deep breathing.

Take a moment to notice how different your body is already feeling. Notice how much better and more relaxed you feel. Breathing Exercise for Relaxation. Contact Us. Relaxing for pain relief First, find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.

Place one hand on your stomach right above your belly button. Place your other hand in the middle of your chest on top of your breastbone. Take a breath. Notice how it feels.

Breathe deeply. After closing your eyes and relaxing all your muscles, concentrate on deep breathing. When thoughts break through, say "refresh," and return to the breathing repetition. Continue doing this for 10 to 20 minutes. Afterward, sit quietly for a minute or two while your thoughts return.

Then open your eyes and sit quietly for another minute. Meditation with guided imagery. Begin deep breathing, paying attention to each breath. Then listen to calming music or imagine being in a restful environment.

If you find your mind wandering, say "refresh," and call the image back into focus. Pick any activity you enjoy—reading poetry, walking in nature, gardening, or cooking—and become fully immersed in it.

Notice every detail of what you are doing and how your senses and emotions are responding. Practice bringing mindfulness to all aspects of your life. Yoga and tai chi.

These mind-body exercises incorporate breath control, meditation, and movements to stretch and strengthen muscles. Videos and apps can help you get started. If you enroll in a yoga or tai chi class at a gym or health club, your health insurance may subsidize the cost. Positive thinking. Retraining your focus on what you can do instead of what you can't will give you a more accurate view of yourself and the world at large," says Dr.

She advises keeping a journal in which you list all the things you are thankful for each day. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.

Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. Thanks for visiting.

Don't miss your FREE gift. The Best Diets for Cognitive Fitness , is yours absolutely FREE when you sign up to receive Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School. Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle, with ways to fight inflammation and improve cognitive health , plus the latest advances in preventative medicine, diet and exercise , pain relief, blood pressure and cholesterol management, and more.

Get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss from exercises to build a stronger core to advice on treating cataracts. PLUS, the latest news on medical advances and breakthroughs from Harvard Medical School experts.

Sign up now and get a FREE copy of the Best Diets for Cognitive Fitness. Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School. Recent Blog Articles. Flowers, chocolates, organ donation — are you in? What is a tongue-tie?

What parents need to know. Which migraine medications are most helpful? How well do you score on brain health? Shining light on night blindness.

Imagine the air going in your nose and mouth and filling your lungs. Notice the hand on your stomach slowly rise. Practice this. Try to make your breaths longer and slower. Breathe out slowly. As you breathe, let the air surround all the tension or pain that you feel in your body.

Imagine that you are blowing stress from your muscles out of your body as the air leaves your mouth. Continue breathing and focus your mind and breaths on areas that are tense or painful to relax.

Next Steps Contact Us. Pain Management Program. Practicing relaxation techniques may reduce pain. Below are some of the relaxation techniques that offer holistic approaches to managing pain:. You can engage with deep breathing exercises as a simple but effective way to relieve pain. A study that examined the effect of instructed breathing patterns on alleviating heat pain shows that slow breathing effectively reduces pain.

In this study, the researchers investigated the effects of instructed breathing patterns on experimental heat pain. The experimental design of this research includes 48 healthy volunteers who performed four breathing patterns. The participants received pain stimuli of 3 different temperatures while performing each pattern.

They rated each stimulus in pain intensity and reported less intense pain during each breathing pattern. Calming music is a relaxation technique that is effective in chronic pain management. For example, a study reveals that calming music reduces the pain perception of people with fibromyalgia.

A exploratory study found that adults who listened to certain music selections at home and in a laboratory environment experienced reduced cortisol levels.

Moreover, researchers confirm that sounds at different frequencies can create other states of mind, including pain perception. The lowest solfeggio frequency at Hz lessens the tension in the body, relaxes muscles, reduces stress, and acts as a natural pain relief.

Calming music also lowers the levels of stress hormones. Stress activates our sympathetic nervous system, increasing our heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. These physiological changes can make physical sensations and pain signals feel more intense. In addition, stress can lead to muscle tension, exacerbating conditions like headaches and back pain.

Progressive muscle relaxation PMR involves tensing and relaxing different muscle groups in the body. This muscle relaxation technique reduces both physical and psychological stress, which can, in turn, lead to reduced pain levels.

To do PMR, start by sitting or lying in a comfortable position. Then, take a deep breath and tense the muscles in your toes. Hold the tension for a few seconds, then release and relax the muscles.

Continue working your way up the body, tensing and relaxing each muscle group. Once you reach your head and neck, take another deep breath and allow your whole body to relax.

You may feel a sense of heaviness or tingling as the tension melts away. Progressive muscle relaxation involves slowly tensing and relaxing the different muscles in your body, and a voice guide can help you do the exercises correctly. You can listen to a voice guide to help you track which muscle groups you have already worked on and how long to hold each contraction.

For best results, it is essential to find a voice guide that is calm and soothing, as this will help you to relax more easily. Mindfulness meditation is a unique relaxation technique that effectively reduces stress and promotes overall well-being.

It involves focusing on the present moment and accepting thoughts and feelings without judgment. Additionally, mindfulness meditation is an effective pain management technique.

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute found that mindfulness meditation may help to ease chronic low back pain. The researchers at the institute enrolled Group Health patients aged 20 to 70 who experienced low back pain for at least three months.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study to add to the growing evidence that pain and other forms of suffering involve the mind and the body. According to Dr. Some other simple relaxation techniques can help in managing stress and reducing pain.

While these techniques may not suit everyone, they can help manage stress and promote relaxation. A hot bath can be more than just a way to manage stress after a long day. When used as a relaxation technique, it can help to relieve pain and reduce stress.

A hot bath can be beneficial if you suffer from tension headaches or muscle aches. The moist air also helps to open up airways and improve breathing, which can be helpful if you have asthma or allergies.

In addition, the act of soaking in a hot bath can help to clear your mind and ease anxiety. When most people think of physical therapy, they picture someone going through the motions of rehabilitation after an injury. However, physical therapy can also be an effective treatment for chronic pain.

Physical therapy provides pain relief by targeting the source of pain while strengthening the surrounding muscles. It can also improve the range of motion and flexibility, two factors that can contribute to chronic pain. The effectiveness of physical therapy makes it an essential part of treatment plans for chronic pain.

Spending time with loved ones can help to ease physical pain. One reason is that social interactions release feel-good chemicals in the brain, such as oxytocin and endorphins. These chemicals can help to alleviate pain by providing a natural form of pain relief.

In addition, being around others can help to take our minds off our pain, and the distraction can help us feel less discomfort. Finally, social support plays a vital role in helping us to cope with pain. When we feel loved and supported, we can better manage our pain and recover from injuries.

Negative thinking can lead to anxiety and depression, while positive thinking can improve our overall outlook on life. Positive self-talk can influence our perception of pain, with positive self-talk leading to less pain and negative self-talk leading to more pain.

This is likely because our thoughts affect the release of stress-related hormones, affecting how we experience pain. Many people use relaxation techniques , including yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises, to reduce stress and relieve pain.

Below are other reasons to engage with relaxation techniques:. Several factors can contribute to increased blood pressure. As researchers try to understand why this technique is so helpful, they are zeroing in on this noticing of tension as the most effective piece 2.

Finally, guided imagery is a mindfulness technique offering powerful distraction from pain, stress, and worry.

It works by bringing to bear all your senses at once, in your imagination. This floods the brain with distracting and pleasant sensations, leaving little room for other thoughts or sensations. How do you know if these exercises are working? For many, daily practice works like a medicine that slowly builds up in the body, becoming more effective over time.

Why do these techniques work so well for so many people? Pain is in the nervous system. So is our brain. And the rest of our body is connected to the nervous system. These techniques use those connections to relax the nervous system. A relaxed nervous system is less likely to notice pain or communicate pain signals to the brain.

Our brain also associates physical relaxation with peace and comfort. So just like the cat when it hears the can opener gets excited because the can opener means food , we can cause a desired response relaxation , by applying a stimulus deep breathing, relaxed muscles, and a mind focused only on a pleasant sensation.

You could place a throbbing pain in a cabinet and shut the door, or envision shining a healing blue light on an aching pain. Sticking with a specific visualization increases its effectiveness because it becomes your go-to response when you experience pain.

Progressive Relaxation: Done alone or in conjunction with breathwork or guided imagery, progressive relaxation involves tensing and relaxing groups of muscles. For example, you can start by flexing your feet and feeling the tension in your shin. Then, completely relax your feet.

Next, point your toes and feel the tension in your calves. Again, completely relax your feet. Go all of the way up your body until you raise your eyebrows and then relax them, and then pull your eyebrows down into a frown, and then relax them. Doing this twice each day can help release the stress-related tension that builds up in your muscles.

Autogenic Training: Utilizing six exercises that teach your body to obey your verbal instructions, autogenic training incorporates visualization and verbal commands. After learning an exercise, you practice it a few times each day. It can take up to six months to become proficient in all exercises, but once mastered, you can use autogenic training to relax your body, control your breathing, and lower your blood pressure and heart rate.

Biofeedback: Biofeedback is similar to autogenic training in that it teaches you to relax your body and voluntarily control systems like heart rate and blood pressure that are typically automatic. You can see and hear the changes as you use techniques like breathing, guided imagery, and progressive muscle relaxation to reduce or eliminate the stress reaction.

Relaxation techniques are an integral part of pain management, whether used alone or in conjunction with other strategies. Expending the effort to master one or more techniques is a good investment, as doing so can prevent a secondary stress reaction, and can lessen or alleviate your primary source of pain.

It got me when you said that people can get stressed because of experiencing both physical and emotional pain. I can imagine how it can definitely affect the lives of people experiencing them.

It would be great if pain management services would be available for them once they have start having them so that they can live a normal life as much as possible.

Find Us On Map. We are proud of our company and all the people that put in the hard work to make it succeed. Thank you to all of our staff for their dedication in always improving our processes and striving to be better!

Mostly thank you to our patients who continue to trust Inland Pain Medicine in the care of their health. For information purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS Open Payments web page is provided here.

com Welcome video. Relaxation Techniques for Pain Management Home Blog Relaxation Techniques for Pain Management. Paths to Relaxation There are a number of relaxation techniques that work wonders for reducing stress and helping with pain management.

Leave a reply Inland Pain Medicine New Options in pain Medication , Personal Home Care , Tips. thanks for info Reply liana. Reply Mia Evans. Leave a reply YOUR NAME. CANCEL REPLY. Categories Breakthrough Exercise New Options in pain Medication Opioids Pain Management Patient Info Personal Home Care Tips Trigger Point Injections.

Most Commented. Massage Therapy: The Power of Therapeutic Touch to Relieve Pain Did you Know…Bed Rest Is Not the Best for Beating Back Pain? Most Viewed. The Best Foods for Fighting Inflammation and Chronic Pain What Happens at a Pain Management Clinic What You Should Know Before Choosing a Pain Management Clinic Connection Between Chronic Pain and PTSD Spinal Cord Stimulators Put Pain Relief In Your the Palm of Your Hands Make An Appointment E Washington St , Colton, CA Online Booking: support inlandpainmedicine.

Facebook: Facebook. Instagram: Instagram. Being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the keys to stress management.

Find a clinic near you Find Us On Map Call for an appointment! In addition, deep relaxation can also improve digestion, reduce pain, and lower blood sugar levels.

Many people have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night. Luckily, some relaxation techniques can help improve sleep quality. One popular method is progressive muscle relaxation, which involves tensing and relaxing different muscle groups in the body.

Other techniques include deep breathing exercises which can help some people relax before bed. Meditation-guided imagery is an effective way to reduce pain. It is a type of meditation that uses visualization to achieve the desired outcome.

The practice involves focusing on a calming image or picture, which helps the brain to ignore signals of pain from the body. Music is a helpful tool in facilitating both meditation and guided imagery. The right kind of music can help to slow down the breath and heart rate, leading to a state of relaxation.

In addition, music can distract from intrusive thoughts, making it easier to focus on the task at hand. Ultimately, using music to facilitate meditation and guided imagery can be an effective way to improve mental well-being.

Millions of people have insomnia, and it can be challenging to find relief. We also have a wide variety of sounds to choose from, so you can find the perfect one. Try out our sleep music today and see how much better you feel!

Relaxation techniques are a great way to reduce pain without relying too much on medication. These are natural ways to cope with the pain that people suffering from pain can use in conjunction with other treatments for pain relief.

Relaxation is a safe and healthy way to deal with pain. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, and muscle relaxation can help manage pain.

In addition, relaxation can also help to increase your energy levels and improve your mood. To do the breathing exercise, sit comfortably and close your eyes.

Place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Breathe in through your nose, letting your stomach expand. Then, breathe out through your mouth, allowing your stomach to fall. Repeat this breathing pattern for several minutes. Deep breathing helps oxygenate the blood and relax the muscles, which can help reduce pain.

A study confirms that cognitive behavioral therapy CBT is more effective than most relaxation techniques. This type of psychotherapy helps people change their thoughts and behavior to improve their mental and physical health. In CBT, patients work with a therapist to identify negative thoughts and beliefs contributing to their pain.

They then learn new ways of thinking and behaving that can help to reduce or eliminate pain. While CBT is more effective than most relaxation techniques, therapists often use it with other relaxation techniques, such as meditation and yoga, to maximize their effectiveness. Chronic pain, which is persistent pain that lasts more than three months, is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide.

Various factors contribute to chronic pain, including injuries, diseases, and psychological disorders. One of the most common contributors to chronic pain is muscle tension. Muscle tension occurs when the muscles contract for an extended period, most likely due to stress, anxiety, or overuse.

When the muscles are in constant contraction, they place pressure on the surrounding tissues. This pressure can cause inflammation, pain, and stiffness. In addition, chronic muscle tension can lead to the development of trigger points.

These knots form in the muscles and can cause pain when pressed in other parts of the body. The treatments for chronic pain often include medications and physical therapy. However, managing muscle tension is also essential in relieving chronic pain.

There are several ways to reduce muscle tension, including relaxation techniques, massage, and exercise. Reducing muscle tension can help ease chronic pain and improve your overall quality of life.

There is some indication that music may help shift brain activity away from pain-related connectivity patterns. However, much of the research in this area is still in its early stages, and researchers may need to conduct more studies to determine the precise effects that music may have on pain.

It is possible that music creates positive emotions and offers a distraction from pain, which can help to ease discomfort. However, more research is needed to determine the precise mechanisms by which music can help alleviate pain.

Relaxation techniques are generally safe and have few, if any, side effects. Visualization, or the creation of mental images, is a powerful tool that may reduce pain. When we form mental images, we activate the same areas of the brain involved in processing actual sensory information; this process reduces pain perception.

Additionally, visualization distracts us from the experience of pain by redirecting our focus to something else. Studies have shown that visualization techniques are particularly effective in treating chronic pain.

By harnessing the power of our minds, we can learn to control our pain and improve our quality of life. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best relaxation techniques depend on your individual needs and preferences. However, some popular relaxation techniques that may be helpful for people in pain include breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, visualization, and mindfulness meditation.

BetterSleep helps you fall asleep easily with soothing sounds, sleep meditations, bedtime stories, breathing exercises and much more. Download BetterSleep now and join a community of millions of people we help guide to sleep every night.

Download BetterSleep. Home wellness. by BetterSleep. Listen to Calming Music Calming music is a relaxation technique that is effective in chronic pain management.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation PMR Progressive muscle relaxation PMR involves tensing and relaxing different muscle groups in the body. With practice, you should be able to do PMR anywhere, anytime you need to reduce stress. Mindfulness Meditation Mindfulness meditation is a unique relaxation technique that effectively reduces stress and promotes overall well-being.

Hot Bath A hot bath can be more than just a way to manage stress after a long day. Physical Therapy When most people think of physical therapy, they picture someone going through the motions of rehabilitation after an injury. Spend Time with Friends and Family Spending time with loved ones can help to ease physical pain.

Self-talk Negative thinking can lead to anxiety and depression, while positive thinking can improve our overall outlook on life.

But did you know that your thoughts can also affect your experience of pain? Benefits of Relaxation Techniques Many people use relaxation techniques , including yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises, to reduce stress and relieve pain.

Below are other reasons to engage with relaxation techniques: Lowers Blood Pressure Several factors can contribute to increased blood pressure. Reduces Stress Music can lower your cortisol levels, and meditation can help reduce your heart rate and blood pressure.

Boosts the Immune System Deep relaxation can strengthen the immune system. Improves Sleep Quality Many people have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night.

How Can Meditation-Guided Imagery Reduce Pain? Wrap Up Relaxation techniques are a great way to reduce pain without relying too much on medication. Relaxation Techniques FAQs How to do deep breathing for pain relief?

Is cognitive behavioral therapy more effective than relaxation techniques in reducing pain symptoms? Can muscle tension contribute to chronic pain? How does music work as a pain management technique? Are there any side effects or risks associated with relaxation techniques?

Are visualization techniques effective in reducing pain symptoms? Which relaxation technique is best for me? Try BetterSleep for free. SHARE IT. Join us on a restful journey to sleep. Combine the different features and mix them together to create your own perfect sleep sanctuary! A Complete Guide to Colored Noise: Exploring the ….

Progressive muscles relaxation is a deep relaxation technique that has been shown to relieve stress, anxiety and chronic pain. For each muscle group, tense for 10 seconds and release.

Take a few deep breaths as you notice the sensation that comes as those muscles relax, before moving on to the next muscle group. Skip areas that cause pain when tensing. Sit in a comfortable position, with eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths, expanding your belly as you breathe air in and contracting it as you exhale.

Begin at the top of your body, and go down. Start with your head, tensing your facial muscles, squeezing your eyes shut, puckering your mouth and clenching your jaw. Hold, then release and breathe.

Tense as you lift your shoulders to your ears, hold, then release and breathe. Make a fist with your right hand, tighten the muscles in your lower and upper arm, hold, then release. Breathe in and out. How you feel pain is influenced by your genetic makeup, emotions, personality, and lifestyle.

It's also influenced by past experience. If you've been in pain for a while, your brain may have rewired itself to perceive pain signals even after the signals aren't being sent anymore.

The Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital specializes in helping people learn techniques to alleviate stress, anxiety, and pain.

Ellen Slawsby, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who works with patients at the Benson-Henry Institute, suggests learning several techniques so that you can settle on the ones that work best for you.

Depending on your mood,you might want a different flavor of ice cream—or a different technique," Dr. Slawsby says. The following techniques can help you take your mind off the pain and may help to override established pain signals.

Deep breathing. It's central to all the techniques, so deep breathing is the one to learn first. Inhale deeply, hold for a few seconds, and exhale.

To help you focus, you can use a word or phrase to guide you. For example, you may want to breathe in "peace" and breathe out "tension.

Eliciting the relaxation response. An antidote to the stress response, which pumps up heart rate and puts the body's systems on high alert, the relaxation response turns down your body's reactions. After closing your eyes and relaxing all your muscles, concentrate on deep breathing.

When thoughts break through, say "refresh," and return to the breathing repetition. Continue doing this for 10 to 20 minutes. Afterward, sit quietly for a minute or two while your thoughts return. Then open your eyes and sit quietly for another minute. Meditation with guided imagery.

Begin deep breathing, paying attention to each breath. Then listen to calming music or imagine being in a restful environment. If you find your mind wandering, say "refresh," and call the image back into focus. Pick any activity you enjoy—reading poetry, walking in nature, gardening, or cooking—and become fully immersed in it.

It is about acknowledging and becoming aware of the present moment, without judgement. It is about being open, present, learning, growing and showing compassion. It is about acknowledging what it is to be human. Evidence shows that mindfulness can help people to acknowledge and feel their pain, changing their relationship with pain from one of judgement to acknowledgement.

The centre will close from 3pm 22 nd December and will reopen am 4th January Video courtesy of Walk in My Shoes Progressive Muscle Relaxation This is a physical form of relaxation designed to raise awareness of tension and stress within the body.

Video courtesy of Walk in My Shoes Guided Imagery Meditation Guided Imagery is a meditation technique used to help the mind relax and steer the attention away from the physical pain and stressful thoughts. Video courtesy of Relax for a While Mindfulness Mindfulness is about experiencing the world around you just as it is.