The Best Back Pain Meditation: EFT Tapping for Back Pain

I know you’re probably tired of hearing about the newest “cure” for back pain. I mean, it seems like you’ve tried everything, right? From hot and cold packs to yoga, massages, supplements, and more. But what if I told you that a simple technique could be the game changer in your battle against back pain? Let’s give a warm welcome to EFT Tapping, the best back pain meditation I know of!

In this article, we will cover:

• What is EFT Tapping?
• How does EFT work?
• Is Tapping for back pain relief really effective?
  
  • True stories of healing from back pain
  • Evidence from the research
• 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 work really well for pain relief. 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 Tapping works 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!

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 be a game-changer 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!

The Science Behind the Tapping Technique for Back Pain

Several studies have found that Tapping can help people with pain to feel better. 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 Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice) 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. 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.

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: 

1. 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! 
   
2. 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.
3. 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 deep dive into the subject that will give you all the information you need to help your body heal.

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:

References

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. 
4. 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. 
5. 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.
6. 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.

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