Ways You Can Help Manage Your Chronic Pain

Many people struggle with chronic pain.  Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting longer than three months and is present most of the time.  There are things you can do daily that may help to improve your symptoms and lead to a better quality of life. Some things may flare up your condition, but it is important to continue trying to make changes for not just pain management, but also your mental health.

Reduce Stress and Find Ways to Relax

If you’ve read my other blog posts, you would have noticed that stress comes up a lot!  Stress has such a huge impact on so many aspects of your life, including your chronic pain.  Try to pinpoint where your stress is coming from and try to mitigate it as much as you can.  Stress can trigger a flare-up and exacerbate your symptoms.

Ways to help reduce stress may include removing identifiable stresses from your life, spending time with people you care about, counseling, yoga, or breathing and relaxation techniques.

Stretching and Staying Active

You may not love or enjoy exercising, but your body sure craves it!  Exercise is about more than just burning calories or controlling your weight, it will strengthen muscles, improve your mood, and can even distract you from pain.  It also improves blood flow to help reduce the risks of high blood pressure and heart disease.  Exercising releases endorphins in your brain which can help with your overall pain symptoms.

Stretching is equally important for managing chronic pain.  Stretching for just 15 minutes a day could help with mobility, flexibility, and help you to avoid injury.  Just 15 minutes per day of tai chi, gentle yoga, or a stretching routine put together by your healthcare practitioner can help keep your body moving and decrease pain.

One important thing to remember when struggling with chronic pain, pace yourself.  Doing too much or too little can trigger a flare-up.  It is important to find a balance and to do things that you enjoy. Always be sure to discuss any new exercise routines with your healthcare practitioner before starting them, to make sure it is safe for you.

Skip the Cocktail

Many people believe that alcohol helps to temporarily reduce pain, but this is incorrect, it can actually make your pain worse.  Drinking alcohol to help manage your pain is very risky.  Not only is there a risk for addiction, but there are also risks that it may interact with some of your pain medications. 

Alcohol also disturbs sleep.  It is known to interfere with your circadian rhythm, your natural sleep cycle.  You are more likely to fall asleep quite easily while intoxicated, but you will be more likely to wake up throughout the night and not feel rested.  Your body needs sleep to heal, and therefore your pain will increase because your body is not well-rested and is unable to heal.

Find Support

Chronic pain is a serious condition that should not be taken lightly.  It can feel like it is consuming your life at times.  Unfortunately, your closest friends and family might not understand what you’re going through if they have not experienced it themselves.  This can make you feel lonely at times and can affect your mental health.  Connecting with others that are also dealing with chronic pain can help give you the support that you need. 

Look for support groups in your community, on Facebook, or search online.  In Canada, you can check out the Chronic Pain Association of Canada for the “Chronic Pain Support Group List”, or in the USA you can check out Pain Connection.

* This post is for general informational and educational purposes only, please see our full DISCLAIMERS page for more information