Tried And True Tips For Relieving Chronic Pain

Living with chronic pain can prevent many from having the quality of life they long for. Those who face pain day in and day out find themselves unable to do things they once did, simple things like playing with a child or grandchild, working in the garden or even relaxing in front of the television become a challenge. Chronic pain can lead to not only being unable to enjoy doing even the simplest tasks it often leads to depression.

 

Jodi has been living in chronic pain since suffering aninjury five years ago. For the first three years she struggled with lower back pain so severe it made even playing with her son at the park impossible. She has discovered however, there are things she can do to bring relief from her chronic pain. She discovered several tips given by healthcare professionals that have brought not only relief from her pain but have once again given her the ability to play with her son and do some of the many things she was for three years unable to enjoy.

 

She learned deep breathing and meditation was a great way to start each day. Deep breathing and/or meditation helped her learn to relax her body which brought relief. She began by getting her body in a comfortable position, shutting out all the negative thoughts and distractions. She would then imagine the spot just below her bellybutton and begin to ‘breathe into that area’, filling her tummy with air. She allows the air to fill up from her tummy up and exhales slowing releasing it as if she was letting the air out of a balloon. Taking a meditation class has helped her discover the best meditation method that works for her.

 

Stress can lead to more pain so reducing stress is a must. Putting on some calming and soothing music while imagining being some place peaceful has also been quite beneficial for Jodi’s management of her pain.

 

She was actually surprised to discover how important exercise is in managing chronic pain. Exercising releases endorphin, which not only improves the mood but blocks pain signals. She discussed different types of exercises with her doctor that would be most beneficial for her individual chronic pain causes.

 

Other tips she began utilizing included tracking her pain level and her activities daily. She began keeping a log of her pain score from one to 10, making sure to note what she was doing that increased or decreased her pain. She would discuss with her doctor at each visit the things she could change or do differently.

 

She also changed her diet to one that was more well-balanced, adding more fresh fruits and veggies and lower fat dairy. Not only has this helped with the pain, the added benefit was losing some weight she has been trying to drop.

 

Being overweight is another issue that can increase chronic pain, so losing a few pounds made this a win-win situation. These along with some other great tips she got when she joined her new support group have brought her the much needed relief to her chronic pain.

Rob