We’ve all felt pain at some point in our lives. But when pain strikes, what can you do to minimize its effects? Sometimes, managing pain is as simple as taking a pill. In other cases, the pain from a chronic condition will never go away.
In any case, there are a number of tips and tricks anybody can use to reduce pain. Here are some of the most effective management methods for patients experiencing chronic pain:
Learn to meditate
Meditation isn’t for everybody, but those who practice meditation and deep breathing techniques find that it helps them ignore pain in any part of their body. Meditation also allows your body to release tension from the muscles.
Eliminate stress in your life
This tip might be the hardest one to implement. However, it can also be the most effective way to manage pain. Identify the factors in your life that are causing stress. Whether it’s a bad relationship, anxiety about work performance, or one of hundreds of other factors, reducing stress can allow you to focus on managing your own chronic pain. And, once stress has been reduced, many people find that the worst symptoms of chronic pain will disappear. Try taking reduced hours at work, for example.
Exercise
If you’re experiencing pain in any part of the body, then you might think you’d want to avoid exercise as much as possible. However, evidence has suggested that endorphins – which are created through exercise – are an excellent pain management tool. They boost your mood while simultaneously blocking pain signals in the body. Along with reducing the risk of heart disease and obesity, regular exercise builds muscles, which prevents further injury. Try going out for a short jog every day to see if that reduces your pain.
Keep a ‘pain journal’
The term ‘pain journal’ might sound frightening, but it’s not nearly as scary as you might think. Keep track of how bad your chronic pain is throughout the week. Does pain spike on certain days? Does it disappear on others? Once you’ve kept careful track of your pain through the pain journal, you can take that information to your doctor before narrowing down the factors that cause pain.
Chronic pain won’t go away?
If you’ve been experiencing pain in any part of your body for more than two to three days and are unsure what is causing that pain, then you will want to seek the advice of a medical professional. If the pain is sharp and extremely uncomfortable, then you may want to visit the emergency room or call 911, as that could be the sign of a number of serious symptoms.
If the pain is dull but persistent, then an urgent care Atlanta clinic will be able to get you back on your feet in no time at all. Urgent care Atlanta clinics like WellStreet are staffed with professional, courteous doctors who can treat and diagnose whatever pain you may be experiencing. Urgent care clinics also feature significantly shorter waiting room times than emergency rooms, making them an ideal choice for those who don’t want to spend more time in the hospital than necessary.
