Benefits of Meditation for Aching Joints

Medically reviewed in March 2021

Got a creaky knee or a sore neck? Take a deep breath and say "Om."

Yep, research suggests that people who practice Zen meditation not only are far less sensitive to pain but also are better at coping with it.

Not feeling so hot
In a study, pain thresholds seemed to be much higher for Zen meditators than for nonmeditators. When exposed to a heat source, the Zen meditators could tolerate higher temps. What's more, the meditators did not find the pain as unpleasant or as intense as the control group did. Talk about tolerance! Here are some other ways you can tap the power of your mind to relieve pain.

A placebo, or the real deal?
Although more research is needed to confirm these findings, there may be both a psychological and physiological component behind meditation-as-coping-mechanism. Just by virtue of the fact that meditation helps people feel more relaxed and less reactive, it makes a good candidate as a natural pain reliever. Meditation may also increase pain tolerance by triggering the release of pain-squelching feel-good hormones in the brain and by decreasing stress hormones.

More On

If Someone Has the Genes for Schizophrenia, How Likely Is It That They Will Get the Disease?

video

If Someone Has the Genes for Schizophrenia, How Likely Is It That They Will Get the Disease?
There's no single entity that guarantees schizophrenia, says HealthMaker Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, director, New York State Psychiatric Institute. In thi...
Reach Out and Touch Someone: It’s Good For You

article

Reach Out and Touch Someone: It’s Good For You
The school of hard knocks can make us tough on the outside but more fragile on the inside. We convince ourselves that a tough exterior will protect us...
What are obstacles in the diagnosis of schizophrenia?

video

What are obstacles in the diagnosis of schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia symptoms first emerge gradually and may not be clearly expressed. In this video HealthMaker Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, director, New York St...
How Does an MRI Help with Diagnosing Mental Disorders?

video

How Does an MRI Help with Diagnosing Mental Disorders?
An MRI can confirm some mental health diagnoses, says HealthMaker Harold Koplewicz, MD, President of Child Mind Institute. In this video, he explains ...
What Can I Do to Cope with Toxic Worrying?

video

What Can I Do to Cope with Toxic Worrying?
To cope with toxic worrying, you need to take back control of the worry by postponing the worry, or rationalizing the worry. In this video, clinical p...