Manage Chronic Pain

Manage Chronic Pain

• Exercise regularly. Keeping your muscles strong will prevent injury. Additionally, if there is an area (such as the low back) that is injured, using exercises to increase “core strength” will greatly diminish the amount of pain one has on a regular basis. Exercise is something that should be done at least every day. It is much more important to do a few minutes to 1 hour of exercise daily than it is to “save it up” for exercise sessions, where you plan to do a lot of exercise on 1 or 2 days a week.
• Stay flexible. Stretching can do wonders to diminish pain. Daily stretching or twice daily stretching has been shown to be optimal in decreasing people’s overall level of pain. Yoga has been shown in numerous recent medical articles to be significantly beneficial for spine related pain.
• Lose weight if you need to. Extra body can put increased stress on joints, muscles, and your back. Losing some weight can be noticeable. As little as 10 pounds can make a difference in your quality of life.
• Ergonomics. Learn how to sit, lift, and stand. Use your leg strength when lifting. Use your legs, not your back. Keep your back straight when sitting and standing. If you use a computer, be sure that the position of your arms and hands is relaxed and well supported.
• Connect with others. Sometimes pain can become overwhelming, and even though we may have supportive family and friends, using support groups can be significantly beneficial to diminish some of the anxiety and depression that go along with chronic pain. There are numerous organizations, locally and nationally, that can be accessed to be facilitated for a group support. Some resources include: