Education

7 Ways To Reduce Pain

Pain

Pain

Did you know that 26% of people in the UK admit to living with chronic pain on a daily basis? These people go through their routine tasks with that disturbing feeling in a certain part of the body, not knowing what to do with it.

The source of this pain may vary from person to person, but at the end of the day, it is an element that disturbs normal life. Therefore, figuring out ways to deal with it is essential. Here are some ways to relieve pain in various parts of your body:

  • Try some gentle exercises

One of the simplest, easiest, and most effective ways to ease the pain is to either try light exercises or perform tasks that count as exercises. Things like dancing, walking, gardening, and swimming or stretching exercises can work toward blocking pain signals and give the sensation of easiness and relief.

Any activity where the muscles stretch can allow pain levels to decrease considerably. Often, the source of pain is tense and stiff muscles, joints, and ligaments, which can be eased through exercises where certain parts of the body stretch. It’s normal to be wary about exercising if it hurts and you’re concerned about causing more harm.

However, if you increase your activity gradually, it’s unlikely that you’ll hurt or damage your body in any way. When you begin a modest exercise, you may experience pain because your joints and muscles are becoming fitter, but with time, this pain and stiffness reduce because the joints and muscles become accustomed to the activity.

  • Explore physiotherapy

One of the most effective medical remedies for pain is physiotherapy. Physiotherapists use pressure and massage stimulation techniques that help painful tendons, muscles, and joints relax. There are various kinds of physiotherapy, each with its own functions and results. You can explore the wide range of treatment options offered by Inspire Physiotherapy.

Physiotherapy includes soft tissue massage, stretching exercises that relieve spasms and tension, posture advice and awareness, joint mobilization activities, corrective exercise, electrotherapy, and acupuncture, to name a few. Each component of physiotherapy has its impact on enabling you to overcome the pain that comes with various activities on a daily basis.

  • Ease pain through breathing exercises

It may seem tough to control your breathing rate while you’re suffering from extreme pain, but focusing on how you inhale and exhale can help ease the pain significantly. During episodes of intense chronic pain, your breathing automatically becomes rapid and shallow, which results in feelings of panic, dizziness, and anxiety.

These emotions don’t go well with the already severe pain and can only increase the intensity of your suffering. Therefore, breathing more deeply and slowly is better. This allows you to feel like you’re in the driver’s seat. You feel more relaxed, and the increased tension isn’t there to further increase the pain.

  • Read as much as you can about the pain you suffer

Thanks to the internet, the resources to help educate yourself are relatively easy to come by. Not only can you go online and read the latest research articles about the type of pain you suffer, the various treatment options being explored for it, and the experimental techniques that are entering the mainstream healthcare field.

More importantly, though, you can read about various ways through which pain can be eased. The British Pain Society’s website, for instance, is a great resource that offers you access to patient information pamphlets and booklets about pain management. Similarly, there is The Pain Toolkit, a resource loaded with useful but easy, practical advice about leading more manageable lives even with chronic pain.

  • Talk therapy can help

For some people, seeking assistance from a therapist or hypnotherapy expert might be helpful in learning how to manage their feelings with respect to their pain. Physical or chronic pain also impacts mental health, which is why it is important to explore all kinds of opportunities, including those that involve talking to someone like a mental health expert. Psychologists can help you determine whether your pain is genuine or not, and can help you find coping mechanisms if the latter is the case.

  • Distract your mind through various actions

When you’re going through bouts of extreme pain, deviating your focus toward other avenues can make a lot of difference. The human mind is a powerful processor, but it is also easily tricked, especially under conditions of extreme stress. Find any activity or thing that works best as a distraction for you. It may be anything from a whistle or bouncing ball to the television or going for a run.

No matter what distraction works best for you, indulge yourself in it whenever an episode of pain picks up. You can also try taking up a hobby, whether it is something soothing like photography and painting or something more extreme like hiking, biking, or skydiving. Anything that can distract you from the pain is ideal for the purpose.

  • Let sleep cure your pain

As strange as it may sound, sleep therapies can help ease pain in various ways. Although a lot of people can find it almost impossible to get the right amount of sleep while suffering from pain, making sure that you do maintain a sleep cycle can help a lot in getting rid of stress. Sticking to a routine is the best way to ensure you fall asleep simultaneously every night.

Sleep deprivation is also a leading cause of increasing pain intensity as the muscles and joints experience even more pressure because the brain is tired. In case you’ve tried but just can’t seem to find your rhythm for sleeping, it is best to see a general physician as they can offer effective advice on falling asleep more easily.

Conclusion

People with either long or short-term pains can be in extreme discomfort on a constant basis. Living life like this is not easy, which means people need ways to ease their pain from time to time. The key consideration is always to practice things that keep the muscles and joints relaxed, which makes all the difference.