Reader\'s Digest - 04.2020

therapy before other treatments were

89 percent less likely to need opioids

and 15 percent less likely to end up in

the emergency room.

Harness Your Mind

Pain scientists are looking closely at

an all-too-common mind-set called

catastrophizing. “It’s normal to pro-

tect your back when it hurts,” Delitto

explains. “But for some people, this

leads to worry that any movement will

do more damage. So people stop ex-

ercising, stop going to work, stop do-

ing everyday activities. That leads to

weaker muscles, stiffer joints, weight

gain, and depression and anxiety.”

Catastrophizing plays a major role

in whether acute back pain becomes

chronic and how well people respond

to treatment. It has also been linked

to greater dependence on opioids.

Catastrophizing may even feed into

“central sensitization,” a cruel feed-

back loop in which the brain inter-

prets little twinges as agony.

“Research shows that when catas-

trophizing is treated, pain inten-

sity decreases. Daily functioning

improves. And the structure of the

brain in areas involved with pain pro-

cessing actually changes, so that the

benefits persist,” Darnall says.

Mind-body therapies such as medi-

tation, progressive muscle relaxation,

and deep breathing help calm your

nervous system so it doesn’t react as

strongly to pain. CBT, which helps you

spot negative thoughts and craft posi-

tive alternatives, can stop the cycle of

fear.

“Thoughts like ‘I can’t do any of the

things I love because of my pain’ can

be replaced with thoughts like ‘There

are many things I can do today de-

spite my pain’ and ‘Even though I feel

challenged right now, I can use sev-

eral strategies to help calm and soothe

myself,’” Darnall explains.

It doesn’t take much time to make

a difference. In a 2014 study of

76 women and men with a variety of

chronic pain problems, Darnall found

that just one two-hour session of CBT

helped participants catastrophize less

within a month.

Make Deep Sleep a Priority

Nearly six in ten people with back

pain say it interferes with sleep, which

sets off a vicious circle. “Sleep is our

body’s way of natural recovery,” notes

Kevin Ho, lead researcher of the Uni-

versity of Sydney’s Musculoskeletal

DISRUPTED SLEEP

MAY AFFECT PAIN

SENSITIVITY AND

INFLAMMATION.

74 april 2020

Reader’s Digest