Using the Power of Visualisation for Joint Pain

The mind is a powerful tool - one that is often underestimated. In fact, you can even use the power of the mind to help reduce and eliminate your joint or muscle pain.

Have you ever noticed how when you focus on the pain, it often gets worse? What you imagine frequently becomes reality. The same proves true when you watch someone else in pain. Sometimes, we feel that pain ourselves.

Inevitably, there is a mind-body connection. For instance, you can control your stress levels or anxiety through deep breathing. It’s actually quite incredible what you can do when you use this connection to your advantage. Visualisation is part of this toolkit. In this article, we’ll explore what visualisation is and how it can help you ease anxiety, stress, and joint pain. Let’s take a closer look!

What is Visualisation?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines visualisation as the “formation of mental visual images” and “the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visible form.”

Basically, it involves picturing what you want in your mind. You imagine how that might feel and look. You create a picture within your mind. The more detailed you make this visual, the more likely you’ll be able to achieve it.

In fact, many Olympic and elite athletes use visualisation when training for a big competition or event. They imagine themselves pushing as hard as they can. And they imagine themselves winning. Evidently, this doesn’t always work out, but it can help significantly improve their performance.

When it comes to pain, you may want to visualise what it feels like to walk or move without joint pain. How do you feel? What do you feel? What do you see? Engaging as many senses as possible can help make it more of a reality. You may also want to imagine the pain lifting off of your joints or muscles and how that might feel. We’ll look into this in more detail in the next section.

How Visualisation Helps Ease Anxiety, Stress, and Joint Pain

A 2015 scientific review determined that guided visual imagery is beneficial for those with arthritis. Thus, it can be inferred that it may help with various types of joint or muscular pain.

Generally, visualisation helps reduce the stress response within the body, which can contribute to increased pain. This stress response increases cortisol and other hormones which may cause more inflammation throughout the body. The more inflamed your joints are, the more pain you will likely experience.

Thus, by calming this response in the body, you can not only reduce pain but also decrease anxiety and stress as well.

For example, you may imagine a peaceful and stress-free scenery. Perhaps this takes on the form of a beautiful green field with the sun beaming down. You can feel the wind in your hair.

You begin to run. You feel the sweat on your forehead. You feel the rush of air as you breathe in and out. You imagine how good it feels. Consequently, this reduces your stress levels and your pain perception actually decreases. Visualisation is surprisingly simple. And the best part: you can do it anywhere for next-to-no cost.

Guided Visualisation Tools

Some great visualisation tools include guided visualisations for joint pain on YouTube or a meditation app called Insight Timer. These guided visualisations allow you to fully immerse yourself in the imagery of your mind without having to think up the scenarios yourself. Many of these guided visualisations are also specifically made to help address joint and muscle pain.

All in all, visualisation can help you reduce your pain and help you lead the life you want. Begin using the power of your mind today!