In my last piece, 5 Techniques to Help with Physical Pain, I described five exercises to help ease bodily pain. The response to that piece was so positive that I thought I'd follow-up by describing one of the mainstays of mindfulness-based techniques for helping with chronic pain and illness: the body scan. (The body scan has its origins in one of the manymindfulness meditation techniques taught by the Buddha.)

Pain can prove costly for individuals already dealing with financial woes and problems at home, a new study has found.

According to research published in the August issue of Spine (2011;26:1402-1409), blacks, the working poor and people younger than 35 years old are more likely to suffer from financial problems and domestic issues after settling workers’ compensation claims for painful, on-the-job back injuries.