For some people, pain is only a momentary experience, one that is felt few and far between an otherwise painless life for years and years. For other people, some level of pain, no matter how low or high, is a constant part of life. Chronic pain can seriously affect the physical and mental health of the person experiencing it, so what can be done to help treat it?
Meditation and deep breathing can be a real help
Though it might seem like a fairly simple solution, helping your body relax can help cope with a wide range of types of chronic pain, but is especially effective for easing pain related to musculoskeletal injuries and issues. It doesn’t take too much energy to start learning how to meditate. Easing the stress on your body can result in your muscles feeling less tense, which means less pressure on your back and joints, amongst other things. It can also improve your sleep at night, which can help fight off pain, too.
Addressing the mental side of pain
It’s widely known and already explored above that stress and pain can have a symbiotic relationship, with one exacerbating the effects of the other. However, this is also the case for other mental health issues, such as depression. Depression and chronic pain is a topic explored in great detail by William Deardorff of Spine Health, who looks at taking steps to proactively address the mental impacts of chronic pain. There is some evidence to suggest that tackling both issues at once provides better results for a persons’ experience of chronic pain after the fact.
Considering organic solutions
There is a wide range of natural supplements and solutions that may be able to help ease off pain under the recommendation of your doctor. One of the most popular solutions as of late has been medical marijuana, as well as non-psychotropic related products like CBD oils. Industry specialists like Daniel Fung of Watertown CT report regularly on not just the shifting availability of such treatments, but also the ways in which it is being researched. Research on some controversial treatments is still ongoing, but many of the patients using them will attest to their ability to quell the pain.
Getting physical with pain
How much relief this approach can offer will depend largely on the cause of the pain but, in cases where muscle injuries and joint issues lead to chronic pain, physiotherapy has proven to be one of the most effective strategies around. Massage therapy alone can help ease issues like inflammation and open blood flow to affected areas, but physiotherapy can go even further, such as helping to build muscle to support areas like joints that may be experiencing more pain because they are coping with more pressure than rightfully able.
Of course, the suggestions above are just directions to think in. To properly form a strategy to help cope with chronic pain, it’s crucial that you consult with your doctor. No decisions should be made without the relevant expertise backing it.
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