Hate icing? Try this!

Hate icing? Try this!

Have you ever felt the excruciating cold of an ice bath or slush bucket? The temperature can be chilling right down to the bone. This can be seen as a type of pain. Other types of pain may exist during rehabilitation from an injury or during another uncomfortable modality or exercise. Managing pain can be beneficial in many different ways and distraction techniques are an example of one way to keep pain at bay.

Pain management techniques have been used throughout athletic training rooms to make the rehabilitation process more enjoyable for athletes, because who likes pain anyway? There are many benefits to finding a technique that works for you to manage your pain. Keeping pain under control may make you feel more in control of your injury, make rehabilitation more enjoyable, and make you want to show up for rehabilitation and ultimately get you back to playing the sport you love!

Distraction is a pain management technique that focuses attention on a stimulus not associated with the source of the pain. It is supposed to take your mind off of the problem and focus it on something else for the time-being. There are two different types of distraction techniques for managing pain: active distraction and passive distraction.

Active distraction involves a stimulus that requires a lot of attention. Examples of this include:

·      Completing a number grid - find the numbers 00-99 in numerical order (attached)

·      Solving a puzzle

·      Reading a book

·      Doing homework

To make the active distraction technique more enjoyable or difficult, you could see how fast you can complete a distraction task. Another idea for the number grid could be to compete with another athlete who is rehabilitating and see who can complete the grid the fastest! Adding a timer can add as another distraction from the pain and allow the competitiveness in you show a little bit while you cannot compete in your sport.

Passive techniques require less brain power, but allow your mind to drift away from the stimulus inflicting the pain. If you are familiar with relaxation or breathing techniques, those can be incorporated into passive distraction to help take your mind off of the pain even more. Examples of passive techniques include:

·      Listening to music

·      Looking at different pictures of landscapes (some examples are attached)

·      Watching the people around you

When looking at landscapes you may also try to notice details about different pictures. Pretend as if you would have to describe the view to someone who has never seen it before. If you are practiced with imagery techniques they may be incorporated to help here as well!

You might notice that you already do some of these distraction techniques! If that is the case, now that you recognize it as a skill to reduce the sensation of pain, you can incorporate the distraction technique to use it at your leisure. If you are not familiar with any of these techniques, it may take a few trials in order to really find the distraction that works for you. Some people may find looking at pictures of the beach to be helpful, where others might really need to distract their brain with a number grid. Everyone is different.

      

Adapted from: Fernandez, E. (1986). A classification system of cognitive coping strategies for pain. Pain, 26, 141-151.

Kristine Walker
Bowling Green State University