Chronic pain affects way too many people day by day – about 20% of American adults are going through it on a daily basis; who knows the number of people suffering in the rest of the world?
It’s an unfortunate fact of life for some, having to wake up in pain and then go to bed in pain, and manage to live their way happily and healthily through it every single day. Of course, with the onset of very successful modern medicines and treatments, anyone who has a bout of chronic pain in their life is getting much, much better at soothing it. But the system is far from perfect, and there’s still a lot of us out there desperately searching for other solutions.
Which brings us neatly onto the subject here as a whole: managing your chronic pain in various ways that aren’t prescribed by a doctor, or received over the counter. There’s quite a few methods out there, after all, and any one of them could be a very effective way to bring some calmness into your life. Why not give some of the things mentioned below a try?
Find a Good Relaxation Technique
Relaxing is something you can find hard to do when every single nerve in your body seems to be flaring all at once. But of course, the more you try to relax, and the more you try to experiment with letting yourself calm down and stay down, your body is going to get used to relaxing effects. And there’s quite a few ways you can let go of the tension in your body, if you’re willing to close your eyes and breathe through things for a second.
We’ve all heard of mindfulness, and now would be a good time to do some proper research in it. Letting yourself be at one with yourself, and one in the moment, makes sure you’re letting go of all the distractions around you. It makes you feel a lot more at peace with the pain you’re feeling, and lets you get to know all the other sensations you may be feeling in your body.
For example, if you’re lying down, you can focus on the feel of the sheets beneath your body, or if you’re sitting, the cushion at your back or under your legs. After all, the pain you regularly experience isn’t the only thing you can feel, not by far!
Not only that, but if you let yourself take a calm and quiet break from life, you can help soothe the mental ache in your mind as well. Sometimes the thoughts that the pain will never end, or that you’re going to be in much more pain later on when you’ve done a whole day’s work, can make what you’re actually tolerating feel a lot worse than it is.
Use Alternative Medicines
Alternative treatments are numerous in number, and there’s always going to be a benefactor or practitioner nearby if you’re fond of a massage or a session of acupuncture. If you don’t know where to start when it comes to looking for an alternative treatment, even just a visit to your doctor might yield results in this area, as most standard physicians can administer five minute acupuncture treatments during an initial consultation.
But if you’re not a fan of being poked by 25 to 50 needles all at once, you have other options too. Maybe a little bit of light exercise? It might sound like the last thing you want to do right now, considering everything your bones and muscles go through, but the more you move, the more supple your body stays. And in the long run, that helps to ease the pain you’re experiencing. Of course, don’t over do it, and rest as much as you can, but a few minutes walk once a day makes sure your legs and arms stay strong enough to hold you up.
Aside from that, you’ve got other medicinal products to put to good use around you. You might even think about visiting one or two Local Dispensaries, depending on where you live. Your proximity might even let this pain management method become a regular thing, seeing as there’s quite a few other health benefits for you to enjoy as you try to, let’s say, settle the constant pain in your lower back.
Learn How to Pace Yourself
Pacing yourself means learning how to say no, and how to take a step back to save your energy and give yourself a chance to feel better when you wake up tomorrow. When you can pace yourself, you know your limits, and you know how to successfully use your body to complete the activities you love. Say, going out for dinner with your partner, or seeing a comedy show with your best friend; if those are in the upcoming calendar, you’ve got to know how to prepare your energy levels for them!
So make sure you give yourself some clear boundaries, especially when you’ve got a job that demands a lot from you, or your parents still take up a lot of your time. You don’t want to be in pain before facing a whole day of responsibilities, but you also don’t want to be in pain for those fun, hobby things later. It’s a delicate balance to try and strive for, but it’s definitely one you can work on achieving!
Can You Manage Your Chronic Pain?
You’re going to have good days and bad days, and some days where you’ve taken all the painkillers you can manage and still not be free of the pain you’re in. But there’s always going to be other things you can do to help yourself out.
You’re the one who lives with a chronic condition, after all, and you’re only one who can say what helps you or not. Be sure to give any one of these methods a go, especially if the changing weather has made the aches in your joints worse.
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