Study: Meditation reduces physical, emotional pain

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WPVI) -- There's more evidence meditation can help you better deal with pain.

In a test at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, volunteers were exposed to short, but painful bursts of heat on their legs.

And they were given various methods they were told would reduce pain.

Those trained in mindfulness meditation rated their pain the lowest.

In fact, it was 27 percent lower, compared to the 24 percent pain reduction morphine can give.

The test results also found meditation reduced emotional pain by 44 percent.

Brain scans show mindfulness seems to enlist new regions of the brain to suppress the feeling of pain.

Based on test results, it could be used in addition to conventional pain relief methods.