Peter Abaci MD, one of the founders of the Bay Area Pain and Wellness Center, is one of the world’s leading experts on pain. Dr. Abaci states in his most recent book Take Charge of Your Chronic Pain, that acute pain causes long-term changes to the brain that result in chronic pain. his work and studies have been focused on how to find and activate the triggers that help the brain heal itself naturally, just as an injury caused the brain to change in the first place. Abaci directs people toward attitudes and behaviors that mend the brain. His aim is not simple pain management, but the full life that comes from being pain free. He often encourages his patience to explore is “Meditation”[1] Dr. Abaci states “Focusing the mind through meditation alters the brain’s structure and function, leading to increased activity in the prefrontal cortex and quieting the amygdala. Changing thinking patterns in the brain associated with chronic pain ultimately leads to behavioral and experiential changes that can help restore well-being and fulfillment with life.”…show more content… Abaci’s analysis, there have been a number of scientific studies conducted to attempt to determine a correlation between Meditation and Relief of Chronic Medical issues such as pain. In the research on meditation and pain, scientists have asked two questions: “Does meditation help?” and “How does meditation help?” The first question “Does meditation help?” has proven much simpler to answer. A Wake Forest University study, conducted by Fadel Zeidan and colleagues, in April 2011 took 15 healthy volunteers and performed MRI scans of their brains while inducing pain.
In the four days that followed, a certified instructor taught the subjects mindfulness meditation in which the pupil is taught to focus on a sense, often his or her breath, while accepting transient
