Chronic pain has a way of interfering in a person’s day-to-day routine. Whether the pain is rooted in the spine, the muscles or the nervous system, lack of proper management of the pain can lead to difficulty in sleeping and performing daily tasks. The easiest and most widely adopted way of pain management, is medication. Since it provides immediate relief, many think its the best way. However, it is important to remember that immediate is a also temporary. Fortunately, there are a great number of ways you can manage your pain using natural and more effective, lasting methods.
1. Natural endorphins from exercise
Endorphins are the “happiness chemical” in your body. When your body releases endorphins, you get positive and happy feelings, and the pain signals are blocked. Physical exercise is one of the best ways to get the body to release endorphins. Moreover, exercise also helps increase flexibility, strength, and joint mobility.
2. Stress reduction
The body’s sensitivity to pain can be greatly intensified by negative feelings, including stress. In order to manage your pain, it is imperative to reduce stress from your life. This entails changing your lifestyle for the better, cutting out negative energy and negative people, listening to soothing music and unwinding, and turning to massage therapy. Massage therapy has proven especially effective for relieving stress and is highly recommended for all back and neck pains.
3. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one of the oldest Chinese pain management methods, and is considered highly effective by practitioners across the globe. It involves using tiny needles and inserting them at different selected points over the body to help reduce pain.
4. Cognitive-Behavioural therapy
Its very important not to ignore the emotional side of your pain. Cognitive-behavioural therapy teaches you a better understanding of your pain, its causes, and what about your it is in your control – therefore teaching you how to manage it effectively through your mind.
5. Meditation
Deep breathing and meditation are the top-rated ways of relaxing the mind. Relaxing the mind in turn helps your body relax because the muscles receive a signal to loosen up and let the tension and tightness seep away. The best ways to meditate are to focus on your breathing, in a quiet room; sometimes repeating a mantra – a word or phrase – helps. Breath into a spot below your navel, fill your abdomen with air, hold it in and let it out letting yourself deflate like a balloon.
