Chronic pain can adversely affect your quality of life and your ability to engage in daily activities. It also has repercussions on your family life, work environment, and social life. It is important to emphasize the need for a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to improve patient’s function.
Research shows that the ability to live a meaningful life with chronic pain depends on you taking a leading role in your life.
With this in mind, here are some tips to get you started on making your life more meaningful despite living in chronic pain.
Managing Life with Chronic Pain
Developing Some Coping Mechanisms
You probably get a grim picture when you think of living life with chronic pain. However, the reality is that you can continue to enjoy a happy, healthy, and productive life. Consider:
- Learning deep breathing mechanisms or meditation to help you relax
- Reducing stressful situations in your life
- Cutting back on alcohol and smoking, which can make the problem worse
- Joining a support group
- Learning biofeedback to decrease tension
Exercise
It’s not a good idea to allow yourself to get lost in chronic pain, but instead, use it to your benefit. When you are in pain, leading a sedentary life can make the pain worse. Talk to your healthcare provider or physical therapist about a safe exercise program that suits your condition.
The program should match your current fitness level and take into account your diagnosis.
Exercise doesn’t have to be in the gym. You can do it from home with streaming videos, or you can join a rehabilitative exercise program in your area. Exercise has a pain-reducing effect because the brain releases some chemicals to block pain signals.
Try Complementary Treatments
Together with getting the proper medications and procedures, you may also want to try other effective alternative treatments that can be powerful tools to help you cope with chronic pain. Common alternatives include:
- Shockwave therapy
- Acupuncture
- Massage therapy
- Cupping
- Mindfulness
It can be challenging to manage chronic pain all alone. If you would like more professional help managing chronic pain for a more meaningful life, fill this form to request an appointment with pain management specialists at SDOMG.