There are hundreds of drugs and medications on the market that claim to help arthritis. Most do, but they come with a laundry list of side effects that could make your well-being worse than if you never took them at all. However, new research shows that meditation can help ease pain caused by all sorts of arthritis. Pain from rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and osteoarthritis can all but disappear when you practice mindful meditation. Unfortunately, the studies completed by the scientific community are on a smaller scale, but what they have found, even in a small sample size, is incredible. Patients who once were in debilitating pain are now living full lives. Other patients who halved their meds or completely weened themselves off their meds. These people accomplished this all through mindful meditation.

What is Mindful Meditation

In its simplest form, mindful meditation is purposefully being aware of the exact moment of life. Through the practice of mindful meditation, a person can help reframe the feelings they are currently having in a more productive and meaningful way. For those suffering from arthritis pain, they can change their body’s response to pain. This alone would not be enough to remove pain entirely, but something interesting happened when researchers watched pain sufferers discover mindful meditations.

Stress causes muscles to tense. Tense muscles are a cause of arthritis flares and muscle inflammation. If you can train your body to no longer feel tense or stressed, you can prevent your body from flaring up with tense muscle spasms. Studies conducted on patients found that although their swollen joints didn’t change, the patients reported less pain and stiffness in those joints. They had more range of motion, and their daily lives were not impacted as much. This included fatigue, stress, and anxiety from their arthritis diagnosis. Patients were able to return to jobs they thought they would never have again, and others claim it saved their marriages.

Our Response to Arthritis Pain

Anyone with arthritis pain can tell you the symptoms. Inflamed joints, redness, stiffness, burning, and more. However, they found that mindful meditation helps reduce levels of cytokines and other proteins that promote inflammation. With less swelling, your body will be less stiff and red, and remove some of the burning sensation. Additionally, meditation helps reduce activity in the part of the brain known as the thalamus. This is the part of the brain that signals pain to the rest of the body. After only four days of mindful meditation, the average patient reported a 40% decrease in pain.

How can I start Mindfully Meditating?

It’s rather simple. The best way to start would be to find a licensed psychologist or pain clinic. There are many community health centers that offer help. They will have the best information for your specific needs, body type, and pain levels. If you’re eager to get into it, you can start by simply focusing on yourself.

Mindful meditations can be anything from an hour-long guided meditation to changing the way your mind works while you’re sitting at your desk or watching TV. Focus on sitting up straight. Is your posture supporting your head properly? Make sure your muscles aren’t compensating for poor form. You could even listen to a guided meditation while you’re sitting or conduct a full-body scan on yourself.

A body scan is simply feeling present enough to go over your entire body to see what feels good and what doesn’t. Someone with arthritis may shy away from this at first. After all, you’re focusing your attention on exactly where the pain is. Shouldn’t that make the pain worse? However, your whole body isn’t in pain, and a body scan allows you to remember that. People typically spend 45 minutes to an hour conducting the body scan. Starting at the top of your head and across your body, down your arms to your fingertips, and eventually ending on your toes. Take time, focus on your breathing, and check in with all aspects of your body. This practice helps people realize that the pain is only a small part of them, and they are not only their pain.

Mindful Meditation is a great start to living pain-free.

Even if mindful meditation doesn’t reduce your swelling entirely, it can help. It’s a great way for people to start their journey. This is because it doesn’t require painful exercises or lateral movements. Instead, it’s just sitting or standing in a quiet room and focusing on yourself. If you had 40% less pain, though, would you be able to start the next part of your journey? Would you be able to begin those stretches and exercises that can reduce your swelling? We know you can. The path to a pain-free life doesn’t have a miracle elixir. There are steps. Pieces of a pie. Once you put them all together, you can see that arthritis pain can truly be a thing of the past.