Try Mind-Body Options to Reduce Opioid-Treated Pain

People suffering from acute pain often turn to addictive opioid treatments, but research from the University of Utah School of Social Work published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine concluded that certain mind-body therapies significantly reduce pain and the use of opioids. Reviewing 60 randomized, controlled, published clinical trials with more than 6,400 participants, researchers found that meditation/mindfulness, therapeutic suggestion and cognitive behavioral therapy all significantly reduced pain severity along with opioid use and misuse. Hypnosis also helped lower pain. Mind-body therapies proved effective at reducing short-term, acute pain from medical procedures, as well as chronic pain. Lead author and Associate Dean for Research Eric Garland pointed out that 82,000 Americans are projected to die from opioid overdoses in the next five years and noted, “If all of us—doctors, nurses, social workers, policymakers, insurance companies and patients—use this evidence as we make decisions, we can help stem the tide of the opioid epidemic.”

Photo: New Africa/Shutterstock.com
<