Have you ever noticed your heart racing before giving a speech, your blood pressure improving after deep breathing, or feeling calm after a walk or attending a yoga class? These experiences showcase the inseparable connection between our minds and bodies.
Mind-body practices combine mental focus, controlled breathing, and body movements to promote relaxation and regulation of the nervous system. When we shift out of chronic stress physiology, the body has a tremendous capacity to heal.
Mind-body physical therapy uses a combination of mindful movement, biofeedback, breathwork, awareness of thoughts, relaxation, grounding techniques, and manual techniques along with traditional physical therapy techniques to offer a more comprehensive and effective approach to combatting complex issues such as dizziness and chronic pain.
Mind-Body PT Helps:
Welcome us back into our bodies to notice movements and muscle tension that is unproductive
Get us out of fear states which slow healing
Release myofascial restrictions which decrease energy and cause restricted movement and pain
The History of Mind-Body Medicine:
Most ancient healing practices, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, treated ailments with a whole-body approach. As the western medical system took shape, it took an opposing approach by siloing body systems and treating them in isolation: Head doctors for the head, heart doctors for the heart and circulatory system, foot doctors for the feet.
Traditional physical therapy principles align with western medicine - focusing on body problems and body treatment without considering the mind and nervous system in recovery. For example, back pain is typically treated with back exercises, modalities, and stretching. Although 92% of people who receive physical therapy find it beneficial, there are limitations to its efficacy, especially in managing dizziness and chronic pain. According to a meta-analysis by Garland et al, adding mind-body practices may help increase the efficacy of traditional physical therapy.
Trending mind-body research offers quantifiable and promising data on meditation, placebo effect, mindfulness, mindful movement, vagal nerve training, and similar practices. We are in an exciting time where we are learning about how incredibly complex and amazing the human body is - that structure abnormalities don’t always equal pain. Movement variances don’t always equal impairment. People are healing from decades of chronic pain without surgery and healing mystery chronic illnesses and dizziness with the power of these practices.
Mind-Body Techniques
Some mind-body techniques are listed below. The approach can be led by your mind such a mental grounding practice that helps decrease dizziness and improve balance. This approach can also be body or movement driven. For example, a daily yoga practice that helps calm the mind.
Brain-to-body (Top-down) approaches:
Meditation
Journaling
Grounding techniques
Somatic experiencing
Guided imagery
Hypnosis
Relaxation
Body-to-brain (Bottom-up) approaches:
Pilates
Yoga
Qigong
Tai Chi
Shaking
Breathwork
Benefits of a Mind-Body Approach:
Although the effects may take longer than drugs to notice, mind-body practices can shift your psychology and physiology to create more positive and permanent changes
No negative side-effects
More effective than exercise and manual techniques alone
Beneficial across multiple systems. Randomized controlled studies indicate this approach can alleviate chronic pain, anxiety, depression, cancer-related fatigue, tobacco addiction, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, and more
Improved quality of life. As pain or dizziness starts to improve, you may also notice improved stress, anxiety, joy, and overall health.
Limitations:
Mind-body approaches may be less effective for people with:
Extreme addiction or mental illness
Severe cognitive decline
Inability to perform mind-body techniques (though adaptations are often possible)
Physical damage to the body and brain
Strong disbelief in the approach or conflicting beliefs
Experience the Difference:
House of Balance offers virtual and in-person solutions for chronic pain and dizziness. For a holistic healing experience, sign up for a free 15-minute consultation to learn how mind-body physical therapy can address your individual needs.
References:
Clarke, T. C., Barnes, P. M., Black, L. I., Stussman, B. J., & Nahin, R. L. (2018). Use of yoga, meditation, and chiropractors among US adults aged 18 and over Hyattsville. MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
Dossett ML, Fricchione GL, Benson H. A New Era for Mind-Body Medicine. N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 9;382(15):1390-1391. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1917461. PMID: 32268025; PMCID: PMC7486127.
Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Ashar YK, Gordon A, Schubiner H, Uipi C, Knight K, Anderson Z, Carlisle J, Polisky L, Geuter S, Flood TF, Kragel PA, Dimidjian S, Lumley MA, Wager TD. JAMA Psychiatry. 2021 Sep 29:e212669. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.2669. Online ahead of print. PMID: 34586357.
Garland EL, Brintz CE, Hanley AW, Roseen EJ, Atchley RM, Gaylord SA, Faurot KR, Yaffe J, Fiander M, Keefe FJ. Mind-Body Therapies for Opioid-Treated Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Jan 1;180(1):91-105. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.4917. PMID: 31682676; PMCID: PMC6830441.
Rabipour S, Raz A. (2012) Training the brain: fact and fad in cognitive and behavioral remediation. Brain Cogn. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2012.02.006.
Tang KC. Qigong therapy--its effectiveness and regulation. Am J Chin Med. 1994;22(3-4):235-42. doi: 10.1142/S0192415X94000292. PMID: 7872235.
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