Every New Year’s Day, many of us make resolutions of what we like to change in our lives. When making New Year’s resolutions, we should work on changing things that would improve our lives. If we are like 40% of Americans who have pain, then there are many things in our lives we can do improve our quality of life.
The first resolution is that you can “manage” your pain and move forward in life. Pain has physical and psychological components, and we can control the cognitive, interpretative parts. When pain becomes chronic, there are normal sensory signals going to the brain that are being perceived as pain. The pain does not change, and you feel it regardless if you are moving or if you are doing nothing. Stop doing nothing, move forward, and get busy. If you are busy, you will not have time to worry about the pain, and you will feel better.
The second resolution is part of the first; get regular exercise. Start slowly and work up to a significant level. Two things must be done, stretching and strengthening, and aerobic conditioning. To tolerate more activity, having adequate muscle strength is essential. Core muscle strength is necessary. These are the muscles of the trunk including your abdomen, along the spine, and those about the pelvis and hips. These are muscles that we normally do not specifically work on and most everyone needs guided training to get started. With strengthening, stretching the muscles daily keeps them from becoming too tight and allows them to maintain normal function. Cardiac health is also necessary. This is done through traditional exercises, like walking, running or biking, in order to increase the heart rate. Aerobic exercise helps burn more calories and control weight.
The third resolution is to lose weight and get close to your ideal body weight. Excess weight stresses the body, especially the muscles and joints. Fat also has been shown to produce compounds that cause inflammation, and those who have pain already do not need to promote more pain within their bodies. If we eat healthier, we tend to feel better and have more energy. Mentally, being close to ideal body weight also promotes a better self image. We can control what we eat, and if we eat healthier, there are many rewards.
It is a new year. Step forward and start taking control of your life. Choose wisely and start doing the things that will improve the quality of your life. Stop making excuses for your behavior and change the bad and reward yourself for the right stuff. Start tracking your diet and exercise, and stick to the plan. Use a fitness tracker and pay attention to diet. If you need help, work with your health care providers. Start now and make positive changes in your life.