Hugging a Plant Could Reduce Your Pain
– Did you know that taking care of plants can help reduce chronic and acute pain?
According to a study, 79 patients with chronic low back pain and fibromyalgia participated in a four week pain management program. One group participated in treatments with plants and one without plants. The patients with plants were with the plants for 7, one-hour sessions. The group with horticultural therapy had a visible reduction in physical pain and an easier time managing their pain. (Source: Could Houseplants Improve Indoor air Quality in Schools?, P. N. Pegas , C.A. Alves, T. Nunes, E.F. Bate-Epey, M. Evtyugina & C.A. Pio, Pages 1371-1380 | Published online: 24 Oct 2012).
Another study tested people’s pain tolerance by having them submerge their hands in ice. There were 198 participants, and some were in a room without plants, and some were in a room with a similar decoration with plants. Those in the room with plants were willing to hold their hands under ice water for more than five minutes. (Source: https://www.naava.io/science/physical-discomfort-may-be-reduced-in-the-presence-of-interior-plants – 2010 study).
Exposure to flowers and houseplants was also found to reduce symptoms of depression and help with mental well-being. (Yao W., Chen F., Wang S., Zhang X. Impact of Exposure to Natural and Built Environments on Positive and Negative Affect: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front. Public Health. 2021;9 doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.758457.).
Other benefits to having plants include purifying the air, reducing stress, boosting mood, improving concentration and lessening allergies.
So, get a plant and give it a big hug and lots of love. And your plant could pay you back in spades.
Kathryn Trojan, NP
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Midwest Interventional Spine Specialists (M.I.S.S.) is committed to patient education. We hope our videos and articles provide you with some foundational information to help you determine what questions you need to ask your medical providers and to select the best treatment option for you. To schedule an appointment with one of our spine and pain management specialists, please call 219-836-7246. To see the full list of all of our educational videos, CLICK HERE. Please also review our Disclaimers and Terms of Use.
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