Zen meditation 'could help with pain management'RSS Feed

Zen meditation could help to alleviate the pain of a spinal injury, new research suggests.

People that practiced Zen meditation are able to reduce their sensitivity to pain by thickening their brain, according to University of Montreal researchers.

The scientists believe that the centuries-old practice can reinforce the central brain region that regulates pain.

Lead author Joshua Grant explained that the new findings support previous research on pain regulation.

He said: "Through training, Zen meditators appear to thicken certain areas of their cortex and this appears to be underlie their lower sensitivity to pain.

"The often painful posture associated with Zen meditation may lead to thicker cortex and lower pain sensitivity."

Recent findings are based on a study of 17 meditators and 18 non-meditators, with the latter group having never practiced yoga, experienced chronic pain or neurological illness.

Earlier this month, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found evidence that behavioural therapy can improve sleep issues and chronic neck and back pain.

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