Mother’s Day has come and gone, and hopefully you were able to celebrate the day with your family. However, for countless Americans, just getting out of bed each day is a struggle due to their chronic pain condition.

There is no one size fits all way to handle chronic pain, but that doesn’t mean you should just sit back and hope it gets better on its own. Instead, take an active role in managing your condition. Today, we share five things you can do to help take back control over your pain condition.

Taking Back Your Life From A Pain Condition

Here are five things you can do to take an active role in managing your pain condition.

1. Eat Well – Eating a healthy diet is probably the easiest thing to control thing on this list. Even if pain makes it difficult to move around, you can still make some good dietary choices. Make it a habit of getting plenty of fruits and vegetables each day, and rely on lean proteins instead of fats and oils. On your good days, do some healthy meal prep so you can have some easy to reheat options later in the week when cooking may feel like a chore. Eating healthy helps you maintain a healthy weight, which can help take stress off painful structures.

2. Exercise – Find time to work in some daily exercise, even if that just involves walking around the block. Exercise has physical and psychological benefits, and it can also work to calm inflammation that may be contributing to your pain condition. Ask your pain care provider about exercise routines that you can perform that will help calm your pain. Try to find time to get out and exercise for 30 minutes at least 4-5 times a week. Your mind and body will thank you for it.

3. Progress Journal – It can be difficult to see just how far we’ve come after an injury or with a pain condition, so some patients find it helpful to keep a progress journal. This allows you to see how your therapy is progressing over time, and it also allows you to keep track of your diet and exercise. Being able to tangibly look back and see the progress you’ve made is a great psychological way to keep your recovery on track.

4. Be Open About Your Condition – By this, we don’t mean that you need to share the gory details or tell everyone you meet how much pain you’re in. Instead, we mean that you should be open and honest with your friends and family about your condition and the limitations it presents. If you’ve been living with a chronic pain condition for some time, odds are you’ve had to miss some events or cancel plans at the last minute due to pain. From an outsider’s perspective, it can be tough to comprehend why you can’t just “buck up” or why your ideal night is at home in comfortable clothes watching a cheesy movie with friends.

Let those close to you know that you want to be involved with their lives, but pain makes that hard, and it’s nothing personal if you have to cancel last minute. Also, reach out to them on your good days. If they’re always asking you to do things and you’re turning them down because of pain, they may stop asking. But, if you’re open about your condition and make an effort to be a good friend and family member, they’ll understand and your relationship will thrive.

5. Talk To A Pain Specialist – Finally, make it a point to see a pain specialist for your condition. A primary care doctor is unlikely to have all the tools needed to give you the best course of treatment. Instead, seek out a pain management specialist who has a deep knowledge of the intricacies of pain. We’ve been helping people find treatment techniques that are tailored to their individual needs, and we can do the same for you. Contact our office today for more information.