I know you’re probably tired of hearing about the newest “cure” for for lower back pain and general back pain. But what if I told you that a simple technique could make the difference in relieving and releasing back pain? Introducing EFT Tapping, a powerful method that may be the best solution for easing both lower back pain and general back pain!
In this article, we will cover:
- What is EFT Tapping?
- How does EFT work?
- Is Tapping for back pain relief really effective?
- How to get started with Tapping meditations for back pain
- My list of the best meditations for back pain relief
Note: If you are experiencing any symptoms, please make sure to consult with a doctor. The information and meditations referenced here are designed to support your healing, and may help you on your healing journey when combined with proper medical care and healthy habits.
What is EFT Tapping?
If you’re wondering what this whole Tapping thing is about, here’s a quick breakdown:
Tapping, also known as Emotional Freedom Technique (or EFT), is a technique that combines the principles of modern psychology with elements of traditional Chinese medicine.
Basically, you tap your fingertips gently on specific acupressure points on your body. These points correspond to meridians used in traditional Chinese medicine. Some of the same points used in practices like acupuncture or acupressure.
While you stimulate these points by tapping on them, you also focus on whatever issue you are dealing with and repeat certain statements to yourself. The sequence of steps is easy to follow, and you can learn more about how to do it here.
How Does EFT Tapping Work?
The process of Tapping on acupressure points while speaking about what is bothering you helps you release stress and regulate your nervous system. The latest research shows that the Tapping technique sends calming signals to the amygdala in the brain, the part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight stress response.
Ultimately, Tapping helps to calm the mind and body so you can feel more at ease, both physically and mentally.
Tapping can really work for relieving and releasing pain. And this is true for many different reasons. For starters, Tapping helps us address the mind-body connection and the root causes of our pain. Often, our bodies are storing stress and emotional pain without us even realizing it. Tapping provides a way for us to release stress and strong emotions from our physical bodies, so we can pave the way for healing and relief.
Tapping also creates positive changes in our physiology, such as reducing cortisol levels. As we tap, our body can relax, inflammation can go down, muscles tension can release, and so on.
You can read all about how to use Tapping for pain relief here. And if you want a quick primer on how to use EFT Tapping for pain relief, watch this video to learn more:
Tapping for Back Pain: Is it Really Effective?
The amazing thing about this meditation technique for back pain is that it has a ton of evidence to back it up. Not only are there countless anecdotal reports of its effectiveness, but there is also a whole field of research dedicated to the science of Tapping for pain relief!
Real-Life Accounts of Tapping for Back Pain
When I think of Tapping for back pain, countless stories come to mind.
Take Jon, for example, a Vietnam veteran who struggled with chronic pain for years and years. After just a four-day Tapping retreat, he became completely pain free.
Then there’s Patricia, who had been in a terrible boating accident where she shattered her L1 vertebra. Surgeons stabilized her back with four titanian rods and eight sets of screws and bolts, but she was left in excruciating pain. Even with such strong, physical evidence of the source of her pain, Tapping still helped! After a weekend Tapping workshop, the pain in her back was GONE.
Amazing, right?
There are so many stories like Jon and Patricia’s that I’ve witnessed over the years while Tapping. I have seen it work right in front of my eyes, over and over again.
I know Tapping can make a real difference for those who have struggled and who have tried all the back pain remedies under the sun without any luck.
But it’s not just these stories and first-hand accounts we can count on to say that Tapping for back pain really works; there’s also a ton of scientific research that backs it up!
Free. The best place to start.
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Join the free summitThe Science Behind the Tapping Technique for Back Pain
Several studies have found that Tapping can help people with pain to feel better, and our full breakdown of what the research shows about tapping for chronic pain covers this evidence in more depth. It not only helps with the stress, anxiety, and other emotional components that come with living in pain, but it also helps promote back pain relief on a very physical level.
Tapping has been shown to promote positive changes in the body that can help with pain, such as decreasing cortisol levels, influencing the expression of genes related to inflammation, and more.[1-4]
And when it comes to pain relief, Tapping has been proven in the research to help people reduce their pain levels AND feel less affected by pain in their daily lives!
One study on people with chronic pain (published in the journal Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment)found that after just one Tapping session:
- Pain severity went down by 12%
- The impact of pain went down by 18%
- Depression decreased by 30%
- Anxiety decreased by 42%
- Stress went down by 38% [5]
And that’s after just one, single Tapping session. Imagine what could happen after just a couple of times Tapping?
There’s also a really cool study from 2022 that showed that Tapping can even alter brain networks involved in pain. When people in the study Tapped, it actually shifted patterns of brain activity that related to how we process and respond to pain! The researchers believe this may be in part why Tapping works so well for pain relief.[6]
This is just a sampling of the research on Tapping. If you want to learn more, go here.
I share these bits and pieces of the research because I want you to know that Tapping REALLY works for pain relief. So why not try this back pain meditation technique? It’s easy, you can do it at home on your own, and it just might provide the relief you have long been looking for.
The stress-back pain link
Before anything else: your back pain is real and physical. Nothing here says otherwise. What tapping works on is the stress-pain loop, the well-documented way stress and unprocessed emotion turn up the volume on pain. For the fuller picture of how that works and what the evidence shows across pain conditions generally, see our full guide to EFT for pain relief, the pillar page for everything we know about tapping and pain.
Your back carries a lot, literally and otherwise. When stress hits, the muscles along your spine are some of the first to tighten, and if that tension doesn't get a chance to release, it stacks day after day on top of whatever mechanical issue started the pain in the first place. Tapping calms the stress response driving that tension. It doesn't reach in and fix a disc or a joint, but for a lot of people, turning down the stress turns down the pain that rides on top of it.
A 3-minute back-pain round
Rate your back pain from 0 to 10 right now. Then tap through the points below, keeping your attention on your lower back the whole time. Check your number again when you're done.
- Setup (repeat three times, tapping the side of your hand): "Even though I have this pain in my lower back, and I'm tired of carrying it, I accept myself and my body anyway."
- Eyebrow: "This tightness in my lower back."
- Side of Eye: "Right here, along my spine."
- Under Eye: "All the tension I'm holding in my back."
- Under Nose: "I'm so tired of this pain."
- Chin: "Tired of my back not cooperating."
- Collarbone: "I'm allowed to be frustrated with this."
- Under Arm: "And I can also let some of this tension go."
- Top of Head: "I welcome some relief in my back, even a little, right now."
Reassess your number. If it moved, even a little, do another round on whatever's still there, whether that's the physical tightness or the frustration of dealing with it.
What our data shows
Inside The Tapping Solution App, our Release Back Pain session has been completed 51,462 times, with users' self-rated pain dropping from an average of 6.5 to 4.1. Across our broader Pain Relief category, 30 sessions have been completed 957,816 times, with pain dropping from 6.3 to 4.0 on average, a 36% drop.
A peer-reviewed study of 270,461 App users, published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth in 2020, found that a single guided tapping session reduced self-rated stress by 45% on average (Church & Stapleton, 2020), the same nervous-system calming this page's round is built on.
This is self-report, within a single session, not a controlled trial. It's also the largest dataset on tapping and pain anywhere, and it points the same direction as the peer-reviewed studies referenced above.
What people say
"very effective in voice, affirmations and music & more relief than the meds and other tools I'm using. Would Love to see more tapping on specific areas of pain, like sciatica, yet it is helping very much !"
Darla, Release General Pain, rated her pain a 9 before this session, a 2 after
Getting Started with Tapping Back Pain Meditation
If you’ve been suffering from back pain, and you want to try a natural self-help technique for pain relief, then we’ve got plenty of resources to help you get started!
Here are my top recommendations:
- Try The Tapping Solution App! We created this app to make Tapping easy. We have over 500 guided meditations in the app that walk you through the process so you can start transforming your life right away, on your own, from the comfort of your home. You’ll find meditations for back pain, stress relief, productivity, and hundreds of other topics in the app. Simply choose one that resonates with you, press play, and let the healing begin!
In the next section, you’ll find some of my favorite meditations for back pain that we’ve got in the app. So check them out, and try one today! - Read this guide to how to do EFT Tapping. Think of this as a quick-start guide. I’ll walk you through the points and the sequence, and I’ll give you all the tips you need to try Tapping right now.
- Check out my book, The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief. In the book, you’ll learn all about how to do Tapping and how to use this mind-body technique to free yourself from back pain for good. It’s a close look at the subject that will give you all the information you need to help your body heal.
- Instantly reduce anxiety and stress
- Fall asleep faster and sleep better
- Boost productivity, stay motivated
- Relieve chronic or occasional pain
- Release anger, find peace
Now part of a Medicare program
If your back pain is the chronic kind, the kind you've lived with for years, and you're on Original Medicare, please read this next part. Our sister company NeuroTap Health offers a guided tapping program for adults living with chronic muscle and joint pain at $0 out of pocket, through Medicare's ACCESS Model. No subscription, no copay, no credit card. Here's how it works and who qualifies.
My List of the Best Back Pain Meditations
Looking for the best back pain meditation that can provide all-natural, easy, lasting pain relief?
Here are my favorite guided meditations for pain relief in The Tapping Solution App:
In this Tapping meditation we'll address the pain you're feeling and also explore how stress may be contributing to the pain. We'll lower cortisol and other stress hormones in the body to open the door for healing to take place.
Support Your Body: Back Health
Stress can aggravate symptoms of almost anything and everything, including the back. This Tapping meditation will help you release stress and address any symptoms you are experiencing around your back health so you can support your body and open up to feeling better.
Support Your Healing: Lower Back
In this session, we will focus on reducing or eliminating your lower back pain by applying the insights and affirmations provided in the best-selling book, Heal Your Body, by my dear departed friend Louise Hay.
Support Your Healing: Upper Back
In this session, we will focus on reducing or eliminating your upper back pain by applying the insights and affirmations provided in the best-selling book, Heal Your Body, by my dear departed friend Louise Hay.
Support Your Healing: Middle Back
In this session, we will focus on reducing or eliminating your middle back pain by applying the insights and affirmations provided in the best-selling book, Heal Your Body, by my dear departed friend Louise Hay.
Release General Pain
*FREE IN THE APP*
In this Tapping meditation, we'll go through a basic tapping sequence for pain relief. You can use this on any pain that you are experiencing in your body. From this place of relaxation, your body can begin to heal!
Give a back pain meditation a try!
Remember. Relief from back pain is possible. You can heal! So why not try something new today? This could be exactly what you’ve been waiting for.
Until next time…
Keep Tapping!
Nick Ortner
P.S. Check out some of these amazing testimonials from our community of Tappers who’ve used EFT Tapping as a holistic approach to lower back pain management
“I Tapped because of chronic lower back pain that plagued me for nearly a year and found relief! I was shocked by the result, because this pain was due to pinched nerves re a bulging disc, and never dreamed Tapping would do the trick! There's definitely a science to this!”
-Norma
“The first time I tried it, my chronic lower back pain disappeared for the very first time in my life (am 43 years old). I'm still surprised… I knew about trapped emotions around that area but I kid you not, I am into now 3 weeks pain free!”
-Hanna
“Roughly 3 months ago I could never have imagined the progress I have made up until now. I have suffered from debilitating chronic lower back pain for more than 10 years, neck pain, chest, leg, psoriasis and more. Now the pain is some days not even noticeable… For the first time in a long time I feel a love for life… No words can describe my gratitude. If I can heal, anyone can!”
-Michael
Frequently Asked Questions
Does tapping help back pain?
Many people find it does, alongside whatever your doctor has you doing for the injury or condition underneath. Tapping works on the stress-pain loop: the well-documented way stress and muscle tension amplify pain, including in the back. In our app, people using the Release Back Pain session rate their pain dropping from an average of 6.5 to 4.1.
How do you tap for lower back pain?
Rate your pain from 0 to 10, then tap through the standard sequence: three rounds on the side of the hand naming the pain while accepting yourself anyway, then the eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, chin, collarbone, under the arm, and top of the head, tuning in to where the pain sits in your lower back as you go. Check your number again, and repeat if it's still high.
What do you say when tapping for back pain?
Start with the sensation and its exact location ("this tightness in my lower back") rather than "back pain" in general. If frustration, fear, or anger at your body shows up, as it often does with pain that's stuck around, name that too. The more specific the words, the faster the number tends to move.
How long does a back-pain tapping session take?
A single round through the points takes about a minute. Most sessions run 3 to 15 minutes: enough time for a few rounds with a check-in on your number between them. Our 3-minute round on this page is a good place to start.
Is there a free back-pain tapping session?
Yes. Release General Pain is free in The Tapping Solution App and works for pain anywhere in the body, including the back. Release Back Pain, Support Your Body: Back Health, and the Support Your Healing Upper Back, Middle Back, and Lower Back sessions are also in the app.
When should I see a doctor about back pain?
Tapping works alongside medical care, never instead of it. See a doctor for back pain that's new, severe, or getting worse; pain after a fall, accident, or injury; pain with numbness, tingling, or weakness in your legs; or pain that doesn't fit a pattern you recognize. Tapping is a tool for the stress and emotion layered on top of the pain, not a diagnosis or a treatment for whatever is causing it.
References
- Church D, Yount G, Brooks AJ. The effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: a randomized controlled trial. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2012;200(10):891-896.
- Stapleton P, Crighton G, Sabot D, O’Neill HM. Reexamining the effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial. Psychol Trauma. 2020;12(8):869-877.
- Maharaj ME. Differential Gene Expression after Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Treatment: A Novel Pilot Protocol for Salivary mRNA Assessment. Energy Psychology Journal. 2016;8(1):17-32.
- Church D, Yount G, Rachlin K, Fox L, Nelms J. Epigenetic Effects of PTSD Remediation in Veterans Using Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. Am J Health Promot. 2018;32(1):112-122.
- Stapleton P, Chatwin H, Sheppard L, McSawn J. The Lived Experience Of Chronic Pain And The Impact Of Brief Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Group Therapy On Coping. Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment. 2016;8(2):18-28.
- Stapleton P, Baumann O, O’Keefe T, Bhuta S. Neural changes after Emotional Freedom Techniques treatment for chronic pain sufferers. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2022;49:101653.
