Chronic pain affects more than just your body – it affects your mental state, emotions, and quality of life. While everyone deals with chronic pain differently, there are a few steps one can follow to make living life with chronic pain just a little bit easier. Let’s discuss the five steps to dealing with chronic pain and where you can go to get rid of chronic pain in Florida, New Jersey, Georgia, Michigan, or Illinois.
What is Chronic Pain?
There is a massive difference between acute, short-term pain and long-lasting chronic pain. While acute pain may fade away after several days or weeks, chronic pain is persistent for over three months. Often, chronic pain is a result of an underlying condition or illness. That being said, chronic pain may also be caused by trauma like a car accident or a fall.
Chronic pain gets in the way of more than just the body’s physical comfort. Many men and women who deal with chronic pain on a daily basis admit that it affects their emotions and mental state as well. When dealing with your chronic pain in a healthy way, it’s important to take into consideration all aspects of your well-being. The following are five steps to dealing with your chronic pain.
- Understand Your Chronic Pain
The first step is understanding where your pain is coming from. We recommend consulting a pain management specialist to help diagnose the underlying cause of your chronic pain. This may be done with diagnostic testing like x-rays, MRI scanning, or blood testing. Once you know the exact source of your chronic pain, you can work with a pain management specialist to create a comprehensive treatment plan to reduce this pain in the long-term. Pain management plans may not cure your chronic pain, but they can make a difference how your chronic pain affects you.
- Consider Physical Therapy
The second is the consideration of physical therapy and light exercise. Physical therapy helps to build strength in the muscles that are contributing to your chronic pain. Further building strength in these muscles will help to reduce muscle weakness and inflammation. Because everyone’s exercise needs will vary based on the source of their chronic pain, we encourage you to work with a physical therapist to find out which exercise programs are right for you and your condition.
- Seek Alternative Treatment
Alternative pain management treatments are nonsurgical techniques that provide patients with the relief they’re looking for. Many patients with chronic pain think their only solution is surgery or medication. In reality, there are various minimally invasive and noninvasive methods to reduce chronic pain. Some alternative treatments include platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, acoustic sound wave therapy, and trigger point therapy.
- Make Lifestyle Changes
One of the biggest ways to deal with chronic pain is to accept it and adapt. Accepting your chronic pain doesn’t mean you have to surrender to it; rather it means adjusting your lifestyle to reduce instances that may contribute to your pain. These lifestyle modifications can be as small as taking several trips to carry in your groceries or using a shoehorn to put on your shoes, so you don’t have to bend over. Other lifestyle changes may include taking breaks during a long period of physical activity like cleaning the house or mowing the lawn.
- Create a Positive Mindset
The final step is adopting a positive mindset. Chronic pain can often wear away at a person’s happiness – and we understand that. However, sulking in pain doesn’t make the pain any easier to deal with. By taking care of your mental health and adopting a more positive mindset, you’re more likely to be able to seek help for yourself and take care of your body. We encourage your patients to participate in activities they enjoy and surround themselves with the people they love to get their positivity flowing.
Chronic Pain Management Near Me
Chronic pain doesn’t have to be a pain to deal with. If you’re looking for pain management near Florida, New Jersey, Georgia, Michigan, or Illinois, visit no other than NIVA Health. At NIVA Health, we provide unique, advanced treatment options that can help improve your health and wellness in the most natural way possible.
To know more, call us today at (866) 377-5872, or schedule your initial consultation by filling in our convenient online appointment request form.
We look forward to serving you!
