Living with chronic pain can have a huge impact on your life. While medication may help to control it to some extent, there are other things you can do that may make it more bearable.
Reduce stress
It’s a catch-22 situation. Being in pain makes you stressed and stress makes pain worse. Because feelings such as anxiety and anger can increase the body’s sensitivity to pain, learning to control negative emotions can help ease discomfort. Meditation and deep breathing can help you learn to relax and block out pain signals. Listening to calming music can also be a good stress buster, while some people nd visualisation exercises (such as imagining the pain oating away from your body) very useful.
Try biofeedback
This technique involves learning to recognise the signals your body gives off and using the power of the mind to control automatic functions, such as heart rate and breathing. This can reduce stress and with it the severity of pain. You are attached to a machine with sensors that show functions such as pulse, body temperature and muscle tension. You can learn to understand what is going on and, with help from a specialist, you can learn to change your heart rate or blood pressure. At rst, you monitor your progress using the machine, but eventually you’re able to control these functions without needing the device.
Exercise
This is not always possible when you’re in great pain or if you have a debilitating condition or injury that restricts movement. But if you can exercise, it’s worth trying to do something physical regularly because exercise releases endorphins – the brain chemicals – which are the body’s natural painkillers. Not only that, they can improve your overall mood, as well as blocking pain signals. Exercise can also strengthen muscles, helping to prevent more injury and greater pain. For example, strengthening your back muscles can help to ease chronic back pain. Always check with your doctor before doing any strenuous physical activity and, if necessary, consult an exercise specialist about what would be best for you and your condition.
Give up booze and cigarettes
People often use alcohol and cigarettes to help them through pain, but they’re just making things worse. Alcohol can make depression and anxiety worse and also cause sleep problems when you need to get adequate sleep to help your body deal with constant pain. Smoking reduces the efficiency with which your heart and lungs can get oxygen around your body, slowing healing and increasing your heart rate and blood pressure. Your muscles not only get less blood, but it’s lower quality blood because it can be lacking in oxygen. These factors may intensify feelings of chronic pain.
Learn the art of distraction
Finding an activity you enjoy that takes your mind off the pain can make it more bearable overall. It can increase your mental wellbeing when you realise that you can take control of your life to some extent, despite all the pain.
The most common conditions treated by The Auckland Regional Pain Service include:
• Musculoskeletal pain ie chronic back and neck pain, fibromyalgia
• Headaches
• Phantom limb pain
• Facial pain
• Chest pain
• Abdominal pain with or without irritable bowel syndrome
• Pelvic pain/endometriosis
• Post-herpetic neuralgia (a complication of shingles)
