Managing Chronic Pain: Tips for Improving Daily Life

Posted by Scott Cantin in elderly care, Senior Care, Senior Health | 0 comments

Many Americans live with chronic pain daily, and the impact that it can have on their daily life can be exhausting. Once someone has been diagnosed with chronic pain, the next step is determining how to move forward.

What is Chronic Pain?

The term chronic pain refers to steady pains that are mild or severe and last for months beyond a healing period. Most of those who suffer from chronic pain undergo a series of labs and exams only to find that there isn’t a single root cause to the problem.

According to the CDC, over 50 million adults in the United States suffer from chronic pain, and approximately ten percent are 65 and older. This is a large number in the senior citizen community, which means changes are needed to help manage the pain.

Ways to Manage Chronic Pain

If you or someone you know is suffering from chronic pain, there are a few different ways they can begin managing this pain to improve their life quality.

• Healthy Diet
• Exercise
• Stop Smoking
• Meditation and Sleep
• At-home Treatments

Healthy Diet

While this may sound cliche, having a diet full of nutrients, fiber, and protein your body needs is essential. All these different things help with inflammation in the joints and muscles, reducing the pain that you may have. A good diet can also keep it from worsening since some foods are known to be irritants. If you notice that your pain worsens after eating certain foods, you must avoid them.

Exercise

Although it may not sound the best idea, you should get your body moving. The more you move, the more the different systems in your body can start working properly. These exercises do not have to be strenuous. Having some light cardio and stretching daily will allow you to see the difference in just a matter of weeks.

Stop Smoking

Just over eight percent of senior citizens today are steady smokers. It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for you and is no better for those with chronic pain. The nicotine that is inhaled has a direct effect on the blood flow to the body. If you or someone you know is experiencing chronic pain, it can only worsen it. When the blood cannot flow properly throughout the body, it cannot stop or fight pain.

Meditation and Sleep Habits

Keeping your brain healthy is important if you are suffering from chronic pain. By embracing meditation regularly, you can learn to focus and cope with the pain that you are experiencing. Give your mind a chance to relax so that it can reset and focus on the positives in your life.

Getting enough sleep is also important, as it allows the body to rest the same way meditation rests the mind. When your body is rested, your chronic pain may be reduced significantly. You can get moving more with exercise and some of the at-home treatments.

At-Home Treatments

Once you have adopted the practices above, getting additional assistance with physical therapy and prescription medication may be a good idea. Embracing physical therapy several times a week can teach you the right movements to help isolate the pain. Physical therapy is a great way to reduce your pain, especially if you must resume returning to work and other responsibilities.

If the pain is significantly worse, or all the other options are not helping as much, your doctor may prescribe you some pain medication that you can take at home as another treatment option. Pain management is not meant to use these drugs as the primary treatment, but on days when the pain is unbearable and nothing seems to be helping.

Let Advancare Assist You Today

if you are in the South Florida area and need assistance from a certified caregiver, contact us at Advancare today. We are happy to discuss the different services we offer our patients regularly.