Pain Management Tips and Techniques
Even while undergoing professional pain treatment with a pain management specialist, there are many steps you can take to cope with chronic pain. A large part of managing pain is taking control of it through active participation in your health and livelihood.
Here are some simple things you can do to help your pain management specialist help you.
Keep a Pain Journal
Throughout the day, write down when you are experiencing pain, the level of pain, and what you are doing when it happens. Keep track of how the pain responds to exercises, medications and other treatments.
This will help you better report how you are feeling and progressing to your doctor. It can be difficult to remember specific details throughout our busy daily lives. Having these details written down on paper makes it easier to track and treat pain.
Stay Active
Pain is only worsened by inactivity. Tight muscles pull bones out of alignment and cause unnecessary physical stress. Exercise improves blood flow to the muscles and keeps them fit and loose, easing the tension in your body and helping to relieve pain. Work with your doctor to devise an exercise regimen that is beneficial to you.
Maintain a Healthy Diet
Eating healthy foods will improve your overall feeling of health and wellbeing. When you are properly nourished and your general health is good, pain will also improve. Eating a lot of junk food, drinking alcohol to excess and the like do not lend themselves to a healthy, active lifestyle.
Practice Relaxation Techniques
Chronic pain can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, because it makes us tense. The more emotionally tense we are, the more physically tense we can become. This repeats the cycle of pain. Relaxation breathing, yoga, and meditation are a few great ways to relax your mind and body, helping you reduce or eliminate chronic pain.
