5 Tips For Living Well In Spite Of Chronic Pain

April 21, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

pain Chronic pain can make everyday actions difficult and leave us not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. It’s perfectly fine to have some bad days when it comes to your chronic pain condition, but the key is to find ways to become healthier and string together more good days than bad. But what are some of the best ways to live healthier in spite of a chronic pain condition? We share five tips in today’s blog.

Living Healthier Despite Chronic Pain

Living healthier while dealing with a chronic pain condition won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. Regularly making smart choices will help you have more good days than bad, and that is incredibly important when dealing with a chronic pain condition. Here’s come advice we give all of our patients who are dealing with an uncomfortable chronic pain condition.

1. Prioritize Sleep – Sleep is a restorative process for your brain and body, but that doesn’t mean that we are always great about consistently getting enough sleep. We understand that a pain condition can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, but we also need to be mindful to set ourselves up for success. Go to bed around the same time each night, keep electronics and other distractions out of the room, and make the room dark and cool so that it’s easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

2. Regular Exercise – When you’re awake for the day, we want you to be active. Again, we know that this is easier said than done if you have a chronic pain condition, but exercise offers numerous benefits for a variety of pain conditions. Exercise will get your heart pumping, pushing oxygenated blood to structures that need it most, and it can help to strength areas that are unstable or contributing to your joint pain. Conversely, being inactive can lead to muscle and tissue atrophy, oftentimes worsening a pain condition. If standard workouts are too difficult because of your condition, pursue some low-impact exercises like swimming, cycling or moving on the elliptical.

3. Communicate With Your Pain Care Specialist – We want to do everything in our power to help you overcome your pain condition, and that’s a lot easier when the doctor and patient are effective communicators with one another. We’ll always be open and honest about your health and your pain condition, and we ask that you do the same. If you haven’t been doing your physical therapy sessions as recommended, or you’ve been stepping out of your physical restrictions, we need to know. We’re not here to judge you, but this information and effective communication can ensure that treatment remains on the right course.

4. Mind Your Diet And Weight – It’s also imperative that you make healthy food choices on a regular basis. We know that chronic pain can leave you feeling like you’ve lost control, and one thing you have full control over is your diet and food choices, which can be good or bad. Don’t retreat to unhealthy options because you had a bad day. You don’t need to eat perfectly, and be sure to reward yourself every once in a while, but string together more healthy meals. A poor diet can lead to weight gain, and this added stress typically only makes a chronic pain condition worse.

5. Be Willing To Pivot – Finally, it’s very rare for the first treatment strategy to completely resolve a complex pain issue, so you need to be willing to pivot if you’re not seeing the results you had hoped for. We’re always willing to pivot and find new methods for helping patients overcome pain, and we know that this process can be discouraging at times. Don’t give up! Keep following the other tips on this list and approach your pain care plan with an open mind, and we’re confident that you’ll eventually win out over your condition.

For more information, or for help with a different pain issue, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Five Life Hacks If You’re Living With Chronic Pain

March 2, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

We’re all looking for ways to make life a little easier, and that’s especially true if you’re living with chronic pain. Nowadays we’re hearing more about “Life Hacks” on places like Instagram and TikTok that show how you can do some simple things to make your life a lot easier. So do life hacks for the chronic pain sufferer exist? In today’s blog, we share five life hacks to consider if you’re living with chronic pain.

Chronic Pain Life Hacks

Here are some simple hacks to consider if you want to make life a little easier while battling a chronic pain condition:

1. Use Ice And Heat To Your Advantage – Oftentimes chronic pain conditions flare up as a result of inflammation or poor circulation, but you can fight these issues with an ice pack or a heating pad. Invest in a small ice pack or a heated blanket so that you can use ice and heat to your advantage. Calm inflammation after a long day with ice packs, or bring healthy blood to an area with heat to promote improved circulation. These simple gadgets can help you prevent flareups throughout the day.

2. Hack The Kitchen – Clean eating can help to keep chronic pain symptoms at bay and promote a healthy lifestyle, but we know how hard it can be to cook when you’re battling chronic pain. Don’t try to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen every night. Take advantage of items like crock pots and pressure cookers that can take some of the hassle out of cooking. Or if you’re having a good day, meal prep for the coming days so that you have some healthy options to reach for when you’re just not feeling up to cooking.

3. Find Your Stress Outlet – This tip is helpful for anyone, regardless of whether or not you have chronic pain. We all deal with stress, anxiety and pressure every day, and these stressors can lead to physical symptoms if we don’t manage them effectively. Really work to find a stress mitigation technique that is right for you. Some people do deep breathing exercises, others go for a run, while some curl up with a good book to take their mind somewhere else. Find what works best for you, because managing stress can actually help to control your chronic pain condition.

4. Hack Your Sleep Cycle – Sleep is a vitally important restorative process that allows our bodies to heal from the rigors of the day. We don’t want you to stay in bed all day, because exercise and physical activity have been shown to be effective proactive treatments for a number of different chronic pain conditions, but when it comes time to sleep, make it easier to achieve high quality rest. You can do this by making the room cool and as dark as possible, which oftentimes means turning off the television and putting the phone on the night stand. When you crawl into bed, the only thing you should be focusing on is sleep. We know that’s easier said than done if you have chronic pain, but remove any other distractions and light sources so that you have an ideal sleep environment.

5. Find A Specialist Who Cares – Chronic pain isn’t a battle you need to fight alone, but far too many patients aren’t getting the right type of help from their primary care physician. You owe it to yourself to connect with a specialist who really understands specific chronic pain conditions and whose sole focus is solving your individual issues. Make life easier on yourself by connecting with a specialist who is willing to go above and beyond for you.

To connect with a specialist who cares, or for help with any of the other tips on this list, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Chronic Pain Is All About Being Resilient

July 7, 2015July 7, 2015 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Resilience is defined as the ability to weather adverse events and circumstances. When one has pain, resilience is the ability to cope with the pain and move forward in a positive direction. There are people who have chronic pain and who thrive in their lives. Others spend their time concentrating on every aspect of their pain and how their lives have changed and is controlled by the pain. The ability to be resilient is a skill, and an ability to deal with stress. Those who learn the skill of resilience can better survive the tough challenges life throws at them.

The people I see on a daily basis have a varying degree of resilience. The most difficult people to treat are those with little resilience and ability to cope. The people who seem to do the best are those who have a high degree of resilience. Resilience takes some physical skills and a lot of mental capacity. Developing the mental ability may be natural, but is a topic many benefit from and can be taught often by psychologists.

New Research on Resilience

The newest research on resilience focuses on mindfulness. This is an area of psychology that has a person become aware of how they are responding to various situations and trains them refocus on appropriate responses and helpful approaches to problems. It also tries to diminish the emotional and irrational thoughts on a subject and replace them with practical solutions to a problem. In a way, focus on what you can change, and avoid becoming bogged down by your emotions.

A recently article in Time magazine listed ten expert tips for resilience. They are interesting guides in life and if put to use, may help improve the ability to handle stress and pain. Below are listed the tips from the Time article.