Pain is a signal in your nervous system indicating that something may be wrong. It can be an unpleasant feeling of a burning, throbbing, aching pain such as a pinch, sharp, cramping pain. It can also be a tingling, stinging, or burning sensation that is unpleasant. It can be a very emotional experience as well. It can be just an annoying pain, and at its worst, can be debilitating.
Pain can be caused by intense or damaging stimuli. It can be acute, where duration is limited, and chronic pain where lasts longer and is associated with other health problems and medical conditions such as fibromyalgia or arthritic pain.
Simple Back Pain Relief Exercises using an Exercise Ball
Back pain is the most common condition. facts indicate that over 25 million Americans ages 20 to 65 years suffer from back pain and that billions (more than 50 billion each year) are spent for treatment each year.
No matter where your pain is coming from, if you’re a chronic pain sufferer it can be truly difficult to maintain a healthy day-to-day life. The simplest tasks as sitting, standing, walking, can be an arduous task for the pain sufferer. However, there are many things you can try that may make it easier to cope with the pain.
You might even find that your pain will be lesser with certain strategies that have nothing to do with prescription medications. The mind is a powerful self healer. Once you realize how powerful your mind is, you can teach yourself to cope with pain. Pain doesn’t have to be the focus of your life.
Try the following techniques for dealing with chronic pain:
1.Engage in activities that you find relaxing. Find something that will help you ease and loosen your muscles. No matter what kind of pain you’re experiencing, if you tense up your body, it only makes the pain worse.
2.Meditate and visualize. Grab some alone time so you can engage in meditation. Start by taking deep breaths and clearing your mind. Avoid placing specific focus on your pain even if you’re tempted to do so. Instead, make it a point to visualize pain relief.
3.Use health-related affirmations. Affirmations are a great way to communicate positively with your subconscious. Tell yourself that you’re in good health and that you’ve found pain reduction and you may be pleasantly surprised at what you can achieve with just your mind.
4.Try hypnosis. You can enlist the help of a hypnotist or become skilled in the art of self-hypnosis. You can achieve some seemingly impossible feats just by having the proper focusand thought patterns. Hypnosis may use some good health affirmations while your mind is in a relaxed and accepting state.
With hypnosis, you may even begin to feel better before your conscious mind is aware of it!
5.Exercise to strengthen muscles. Depending on the type of pain you’re having, exercise may be able to relieve it. For instance, there are muscles you can work through an exercise that can lessen back pain
For best results, stay on a routine and remember that exercise is usually toughest at the beginning, but it gets easier the more often you do it. Of course, consult with your doctor before starting an exercise routine.
6.Seek and consult with a Physical Therapist. There are many excellent physical therapy treatments that can relieve your pain. A combination of exercises and pain-lessening equipment can bring you great relief. Your physician can refer you to a good physical therapist.
7.Use EFT therapy. The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can show you how to remove mental and emotional roadblocks that could be causing or worsening your pain.
EFT can be applied to many aspects of your life, and chronic pain is no exception. There are many online materials available to help you study EFT Therapy.
No one wants to live life in pain, but these simple pain relief strategies can really help you enhance your quality of life.
By taking a holistic approach to your pain, you’re more likely to find a healthy balance and a life filled with greater joy, wellbeing, and happiness!
Chronic pain isn’t an easy condition to handle, but you can take control.
Simple changes in your lifestyle, diet, and exercise routines can help ease your pain. After all, you can be your own best physical therapist!
Try these techniques to experience relief:
1.Manage stress.Stress can increase chronic pain and make it more difficult to manage. Try a variety of strategies to relax and reduce stress to see which ones work the best for you.
·Yoga and meditation are two stress-reduction strategies that can help.
2.Try breathing exercises.
By simply focusing on your breathing, you can relax your muscles and reduce pain.
Deep breathing exercises can also reduce blood pressure, eliminate stress, and decrease heart rate. When you breathe in, breathe in through the nose and out through your mouth with a semi-pursed lip, slowly to allow better gas exchange in the lungs.
3.Find fun distractions.Instead of concentrating on the pain, try distractions that help you forget about it.
·Hobbies and activities such as watching your favorite movie or reading a new book can help. You may also want to try drawing or other ideas that help you fill your time and avoid thinking about the pain.
4.Increase your water intake.Dehydration can make chronic pain worse. Have you tried coconut water? Choose the pure coconut water, not from concentrate, no sugar added kind. Many brands are available in the market. I know it’s an acquired taste but it is rich in natural electrolytes and potassium. Muscle cramps? Coconut water can help. You can find many different brands at your favorite grocery or health foods store.
5.Avoid inflammatory food. Fast food and processed food can increase inflammation in your body, so your chronic pain also increases. Foods with a lot of sugar and salt also contribute to inflammation and increased pain.
6.Add more anti-inflammatory food.On the other hand, nuts, leafy greens, fatty fish, berries, and other items can help you fight inflammation and reduce pain.They have antioxidants that fight damage on the cellular level.
7.Focus on posture.Posture can help reduce the stress on your back and cut down on chronic pain.
·Consider the way you sit and stand. Experts recommend that you avoid slumping your shoulders and lowering your head. The spine should be straight, so circulation is better.
8.Discuss your health.Researchers have found that talking about your health can reduce pain. The American Psychological Association points out that talking about your pain can help you discover management techniques.
9.Try massage.Massages can reduce chronic pain by improving circulation and blood flow.
·Massages help reduce back, shoulder, and neck pain. They can also help your overall health. Improved circulation, looser muscles, helps uplift your mood from the endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers, being stimulated.
Try using heat or cold packs over sore muscles and joints. See which one gets you the best relief.
TIP:Heat expands: meaning, more blood flow into the area due to blood vessels and the lymphatic system more open. COLD constricts, used mostly with acute bruising or injury. Ask your physical therapist which one to use best for your condition.
10.Find support. Health experts recommend finding support groups that focus on chronic pain. These groups give you the chance to meet others who suffer from chronic pain.
·They can offer advice and tips for managing pain. They can also provide doctor and clinic reviews or recommendations. By talking to others who have chronic pain, you can learn new techniques to deal with your pain.
·Chronic pain is linked to anxiety and depression. The social aspect of support groups can also help in coping with these side effects.
·Support groups are less formal settings, and online groups offer privacy and anonymity, so you can feel comfortable sharing your experience.
Even if you take medication for your pain, you can further, reduce it with these techniques.
Follow your doctor’s advice, reduce stress and inflammation, and find support.
Life is worth living. And we do need to take charge if we want the pain relief we seek.
Patrick Diver, Owner of Strength Clinic at www.mystrengthclinic.com .(I requested this friend to share his take on stress.)
For over 15 years, Patrick has led the way to exceptional fitness results for a diverse range of Orlando men and women and has supervised over 25,000 injury-free workouts.
A graduate of Missouri State University with a B.S. in Sports Medicine and Athletic Training, Patrick’s first certification came from the National Athletic Trainers Association and was followed by certifications from Superslow innovator Ken Hutchins (Superslow Exercise Guild) and YMCA research director Wayne Wescott (Nautilus).
Patrick also speaks regularly and has been featured on Fox-35, News Channel 13, and had given over 150 fitness talks to many of Central Florida’s most successful companies including Darden Restaurants, Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, Universal Creative, and the Orlando Economic Development Commission.
Besides a passion for helping men and women realize their best physical potential, Patrick competes regularly in cycling with multiple states, regional, and national championship medals to his credit, and enjoys playing guitar and taking care of his dog, named Dog.
I believe most things in life necessitate a balanced approach: The Yin and Yang if you will. I think stress falls in this umbrella as well. We need a certain amount of stress in life. Without it, it is easy to become stagnant and cease growing.
In my field, muscle tissue is a good example. You’ve probably heard that when you add and develop muscle tissue, your metabolism gets a boost. What does this mean exactly, “get a boost?”
This means that the body burns extra calories. That’s one of the good side effects of strength training – and one you have probably heard of. That is the reason for the current craze in fitness, body-building, and the obsession for the perfect body.
Your body, however, wants to be efficient. It doesn’t really want to burn extra calories because, in the days gone by, it might have been difficult to find those “extra” calories.
So, if it’s not using muscle to full effect – in other words, if they are not being utilized or stressed on a regular basis to maintain function, then the body will get rid of what it views as metabolically “expensive” tissue.
So in this case, stress is not only desired but absolutely crucial to continue living a high quality of life.
Of course, the application of stress has to be measured.
Where people get into trouble, whether it is pursuing fitness goals, managing work/life balance, or even dealing with emotions, is when they take on too much stress, without having a means for downtime, rest, and recovery. We become engrossed with stress.
I account for this in my Ironclad Rules. Rule #7 is to: Keep a Relaxed-Focus. This is another way of saying the same thing.
The continued pursuit of success in life will be difficult to achieve in a negative or overly stressful environment.
A certain amount of calm and objectivity is needed.
However, you can’t allow yourself to be so calm that you blow things off or shirk responsibilities – hence, Keeping a relaxed focus.
So, while too much stress will ultimately shut down any system, too little stress will yield undesirable results as well.
Like most things in life, it is really about balance.
Stress is unavoidable. It is a significant part of our daily responsibilities and existence. Although there may be a few lucky individuals who claim they have a stress-free life, it may be because they have learned to navigate its complexities and have adapted effectively. A few have found the equilibrium in the midst of the chaos of daily existence.
We, as mammals of the highest cognitive faculties, possess that capacity to adapt. Though we deal with stress in many different ways based on our psyche and predilections for survival, there is hope. We are ultimately responsible for actions that will allow us to prevail. Just take that step.
As the song goes, “learning to love yourself, is the greatest gift of all,” carries a profound meaning that we ourselves often forget. Many among us tend to get inundated with the need to take care of others and take on responsibilities because we feel we have to. This often becomes a burden that sooner or later snowballs into something that is overwhelming. These stressors soon take away the joy out of life.
Find that balance. Take care of yourself. Find what works for you.
This simple book just provides an overview of the options. There are more out there by individuals who found that key to a productive life and an efficient way of navigating life’s complexities. Study and learn. Adapt.
Yes, stress can be perceived as unpleasant. Yet, most people find and discover their own strengths in times of adversity.
As Kelly Clarkson’s song goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Cliche, but its truth rings true. ~~~***~~~
