Chronic pain severely impacts your quality of life. Learn nine easy habits to manage pain that you can add to your daily routine.
September 2022. This article is independently written by Shelby Golding. All opinions given are hers. Shelby has been certified as a personal trainer and nutritional specialist since 2007. In 2008, she found her passion for writing about these topics and hasn't looked back.
By definition, chronic pain persists longer than three months — a constant toll on your physical and mental health. One in four people with chronic pain ends up with Chronic Pain Syndrome, where they begin developing other health symptoms beyond pain. Their chronic pain becomes exacerbated by other issues, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, exhaustion, and irritability.
So, logically, you need to find ways to manage your pain before you fix it. Keep reading for nine easy ways to ease your pain that you can incorporate into your daily routine.
Nine Easy Ways to Manage Pain
Managing chronic pain often feels like a full-time job. It interferes with your ability to function normally and severely influences your quality of life. Even with a busy schedule, these nine pain management methods are easy to implement.
1. Take a Bath
Setting yourself up for a relaxing, hot bath is more than a form of self-care. The heat helps muscles to relax, increases circulation, and relieves pressure off the joints. If you don’t have a bath, a hot water bottle or therapeutic heat back will provide a healing touch.
Try adding Epsom salts to your bath for a relaxing soak. This easy-to-find holistic remedy may help reduce inflammation in people with arthritis, tension headaches, and chronic back pain.
Try adding Epsom salts to your bath for a relaxing soak. This easy-to-find holistic remedy may help reduce inflammation in people with arthritis, tension headaches, and chronic back pain.
2. Get a Massage
Therapeutic massage is an enjoyable way to manage all different types of pain, from chronic neck and back pain to specific issues like plantar fasciitis and migraines. In addition, massage increases circulation to the muscles, tendons, and joints, which helps reduce inflammation.
The gentle strokes and relaxing environment are also helpful for lowering stress levels. Stress and the high cortisol levels that result worsen chronic pain by increasing systemic inflammation, tightening muscles, and limiting mobility.
The gentle strokes and relaxing environment are also helpful for lowering stress levels. Stress and the high cortisol levels that result worsen chronic pain by increasing systemic inflammation, tightening muscles, and limiting mobility.
3. Practice Yoga
Daily movement supports your mental and physical health with many benefits, from preventing disease to improved mobility. While moving may be painful for people with chronic pain, it's essential to maintaining your health.
Yoga is particularly beneficial because it connects the mind and body. For example, by practicing breathwork and mindfulness, you change your brain's perception of pain when you engage your mind during movement.
Yoga is particularly beneficial because it connects the mind and body. For example, by practicing breathwork and mindfulness, you change your brain's perception of pain when you engage your mind during movement.
4. Use a Kailo Patch
The Kailo Patch is a relatively new pain relief technology with exciting prospects. According to a recent study, 99% of people who tried the patch felt pain relief within ten minutes of applying, and about 82% said the pain didn't return for at least a day.
The patch targets the pain receptors in the affected area, and scientists theorize that it works by interrupting the body’s electrical signals. Topical pain relief solutions like Kailo are easy-to-use and convenient alternatives to traditional oral pain medications.
The patch targets the pain receptors in the affected area, and scientists theorize that it works by interrupting the body’s electrical signals. Topical pain relief solutions like Kailo are easy-to-use and convenient alternatives to traditional oral pain medications.
5. Pick Up Meditation
Meditation, like yoga, engages the mind to manage pain. When practiced regularly, meditation can reduce pain perception and help you dissociate from the negative emotions attached to your pain.
Studies have shown that you increase your pain threshold when you consciously put your awareness on your pain. In addition, this seemingly simple act helps you relax, which triggers your brain to release the feel-good hormones called endorphins.
Studies have shown that you increase your pain threshold when you consciously put your awareness on your pain. In addition, this seemingly simple act helps you relax, which triggers your brain to release the feel-good hormones called endorphins.
6. Go to Physical Therapy
Physical therapy might be a helpful stop along the way for chronic pain problems that negatively impact your mobility. Physical therapists have the training to recognize how your movement might be causing or exacerbating your pain.
Once they help you diagnose the problem, they offer various solutions. For example, a visit to the physical therapist might include any combination of physical exercises to increase strength and passive therapies like massage and laser therapy to reduce inflammation.
Once they help you diagnose the problem, they offer various solutions. For example, a visit to the physical therapist might include any combination of physical exercises to increase strength and passive therapies like massage and laser therapy to reduce inflammation.
7. Try Acupuncture
Acupuncture treats pain according to a map of energy lines laid out by Traditional Chinese Medicine thousands of years ago. While modern science still hasn't demonstrated the existence of these energy lines physically, the evidence of reduced pain is more than circumstantial in acupuncture treatments for chronic pain.
In several studies where practitioners treated common chronic pain issues like shoulder pain and chronic headaches, patients saw an improvement in their symptoms. However, benefits from treatment only increased when patients went to acupuncture consistently.
In several studies where practitioners treated common chronic pain issues like shoulder pain and chronic headaches, patients saw an improvement in their symptoms. However, benefits from treatment only increased when patients went to acupuncture consistently.
8. Practice Gratitude
What does saying thank you do for chronic pain? Practicing gratitude is more involved than speaking a common courtesy. When you practice gratitude, you consciously focus on the positive aspects of your life. Most start by stating three parts of their day that made them grateful and continue the practice for weeks or months.
Gratitude influences chronic pain by changing your outlook on everything in your life, from your relationships to how you feel about your body. Active, positive thinking reprograms the brain, even if we don't fully understand how.
Gratitude influences chronic pain by changing your outlook on everything in your life, from your relationships to how you feel about your body. Active, positive thinking reprograms the brain, even if we don't fully understand how.
9. Drink Herbal Teas
Certain herbs are well known for their ability to relieve pain. The top herbal teas you should try to manage your chronic pain include green, black, ginger, turmeric, and rooibos.
These teas contain potent antioxidants to reduce inflammation and prevent cell damage. Turmeric tea, for example, includes a powerful polyphenol called curcumin that reduces inflammation to help treat chronic pro-inflammatory diseases like cancer and arthritis that might cause lasting pain.
These teas contain potent antioxidants to reduce inflammation and prevent cell damage. Turmeric tea, for example, includes a powerful polyphenol called curcumin that reduces inflammation to help treat chronic pro-inflammatory diseases like cancer and arthritis that might cause lasting pain.
Start Small and Build
It may seem like you're not doing enough when you manage the pain instead of actively getting rid of it. However, treating chronic pain is never a straight path. You might need to address several aspects of your lifestyle to rid yourself of pain, and large-scale changes take time. Be patient, start small, and you can change the habits that fuel your pain.
Disclaimer: Kailo should not be used if you have a pacemaker or if you are pregnant. Always consult your doctor or health care professional before using Kailo.
As you build new habits and get better at managing your pain, your Kailo Pain Patch will be by your side to support you in reaching your goals. Scientists theorize that the Kailo Pain Patch works by interfering with your body’s electrical system. And a recent clinical study showed that Kailo is more effective than other prescription and over-the-counter medications, with no side effects!
