As anyone with chronic pain will tell you, it is a daily battle against their pain condition. Some days are good, some days are not. You have to take it one day at a time when it comes to managing your chronic pain and focus on winning small battles. While it’s easier said than done, we’ve found that if chronic pain patients perform some or all of the following activities on a daily basis, they put themselves in a better position to have more good days than bad.
Daily Habits For Chronic Pain Patients
If you deal with chronic pain on a regular basis, strive to do a couple or all of the following activities on this list every day.
1. Eat Healthy – Now, you don’t need to eat a perfect balance of fruits, vegetables and whole grains at every single meal, but you should strive to hit all the important food groups throughout the day. Getting a wide range of vitamins and nutrients from our diet can help to strengthen structures and keep muscle groups healthy. On the flip side, fatty or sugary foods can contribute to the onset of inflammation, which can compress structures and make chronic pain worse.
2. Exercise – We don’t expect you to go to the gym every day, but if you want to fight back against your chronic pain, activity is your friend. Even if it’s just in the form of a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood, mild and moderate intensity exercise helps to promote healthy blood flow throughout the body, strengthen muscles and wards off inflammation. More intense exercise can also lead to the release of endorphins, which can mask pain sensations.
3. Challenge Your Mind – While it’s important to exercise your physical body, it is just as important to challenge our minds each and every day. Not only can brain stimulation enhance our mood, but it can also take our mind away from the pain. Don’t just lay in bed watching Netflix, challenge your brain by reading, doing crossword puzzles or playing along with Jeopardy. If your mind is focused on a task it won’t be as focused on your chronic pain.
4. Laugh – Speaking of enhancing your mood, few things are better for your mindset than a good laugh. Whether you find humor in a conversation with a friend or in a book or a movie, let some laughter into your life. Being able to change your psychological state for the positive can go a long way with helping you manage and deal with the annoyances of chronic pain.
5. One Active Treatment – Finally, take time each day to do one active treatment to manage your chronic pain. Painkillers and rest are passive treatment options, but physical therapy, aqua therapy, yoga, cycling, cognitive behavioral therapy or meditation are all ways we can actively confront our chronic pain issues. Your active treatment may differ depending on your specific pain condition, but if you can end the day saying you did at least one active treatment to fight back against pain, you’re going to have a lot more good days than bad.