Meditation Helps Ease Back Pain in Older Adults
WEDNESDAY, 7 MAY 2008
Submitted By: Maricar Cinco
Tulsa, Okla. - Back trouble can affect people of all ages, but up to one-fourth of all elderly adults live with chronic lower back pain.
However, with easier access to tools and education, many savvy seniors are using meditation techniques to manage the pain. When used consistently, meditation techniques have been proven to decrease stress and pain.
A recent pilot study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine measured the efficacy of meditation in treating chronic back pain in seniors. Researchers studied 37 lower back pain sufferers (older than 65) who committed to an eight-week regimen consisting of one 90-minute group session per week.
While the meditation techniques were used in conjunction with more conventional treatments including medication, the study showed that relaxation techniques did greatly reduce seniors' level of pain, thereby improving their quality of life.
Meditation techniques help people better cope with pain, as research continues to show. But like the rest of us, today's seniors live busy lifestyles, and they may require meditation aids to help them wind down and get into the right mindset to relax. Individual needs may require specific meditation tools, such as the Zen Stick.
Laurie Desjardins, meditation expert and creator of the Zen Stick, was inspired to share her meditation tool with people to help them relax and focus.
"Sometimes a tangible, physical object helps a person focus," Desjardins said. "It's not always easy to focus on an abstract. The Zen Stick engages the senses; I think that's why it has been so popular."
The Zen Stick is a smooth, buffed stick that is tossed and caught with the eyes closed while the user maintains focused breathing. Stress will release itself as the body and mind work together in total accord, Desjardins explained.
"The repetition and total focus on the Zen Stick will help you reach a relaxed state," she said.
The Zen Stick is available through Desjardins' Sleeping Tiger Web site, http://sleepingtiger.org/zen.htm.
Seniors also can sign up for Desjardins' monthly newsletter through the site for tips on relaxation and meditation techniques.
About Sleeping Tiger, LLC
Sleeping Tiger, LLC created and produces Zen Sticks™, a meditation tool. Sleeping Tiger is dedicated in helping people find peace and tranquility in their personal environment. They also strive to protect the world's natural resources. A portion of all proceeds earned by Sleeping Tiger, LLC go to My Brothers' Keeper, an organization that provides habitats and healing for wild animals that are abused or abandoned. Visit sleepingtiger.org. (PRWEB)
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