They say that you should be wary about putting all your eggs in one basket, and oftentimes that sentiment holds true when it comes to managing chronic pain. It’s wonderful that you are taking proactive steps to fight back against chronic pain, but rarely will you find that pursuing only one treatment method is the most effective. We almost always recommend a combination of treatments to our patients because we’ve found that common treatments are oftentimes complimentary of one another. In today’s blog, we explain why treatment diversification oftentimes yields the best results.
Pursuing Multiple Chronic Pain Treatments
Working to treat your chronic pain on multiple fronts oftentimes helps you win more small battles on a regular basis. One active treatment is great, but multiple treatments can build on one another, fueling even better results.
Let’s give an example of how multiple chronic pain treatments can build on one another. We typically say that exercise or physical therapy is one of the best treatments for chronic pain. Physical activity strengthens supportive structures and reduces the overall impact of stress on your body. When your body can better handle the stress you put on it, it’s less likely to succumb to a chronic pain flare up. Exercise also has a number of related benefits for our health, like improving circulation and regulating our gut health. If you’re only going to pursue one treatment for chronic pain, usually exercise or physical therapy is the best option.
However, you can enhance the benefits of your exercise program by pursuing some complementary treatment techniques. Here’s a look at some additional techniques and how they can make exercise more effective.
Sleep – Improving your sleep quality can help your muscles recover from the physical stress of the day and ensure your body can effectively remove waste products that are produced as a byproduct of exercise.
Diet – A healthy diet can give your body the nutrients it needs to fuel exercise and bodily functions like bone production or cell replication. Exercise can improve your circulation, and improved circulation makes it easier for your blood to deliver the nutrients from your diet to the areas that need it most.
Ice/Heat – The use of ice packs or heating pads can help to regulate the movement of fluid in your body as they have a physical impact on the size of your blood vessels. Effective icing or heating can help you manage inflammation that can occur as a result of physical activity, helping you recover faster so that you can pursue physical activity again in the neat future.
Anti-Inflammatory Medications – Similarly, anti-inflammatory medications and pain relievers can help quell discomfort that may be preventing you from exercising or prolonging your recovery period after exercise.
Hydration – Staying hydrated makes it easier for your muscles to work properly during exercise. Dehydrated muscles are more likely to cramp or spasm, so staying hydrated can help to prevent some potential physical issues during exercise.
As you can see, a number of additional chronic pain treatments can serve to make other treatments more effective, so don’t pigeonhole yourself when it comes to chronic pain management. If you want help developing the right complementary treatment plan for your needs, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.