Managing chronic pain with lifestyle changes
Chronic pain can overtake your life. Caused by injury or illness, or with a cause unknown, life with chronic pain can lead to depression and substance abuse. But there are steps you can take to reduce your pain without medication that can still have a significant effect.
John Manna, FNP, explained how managing chronic pain with lifestyle changes is possible and can help improve quality of life.
What is meant by “chronic pain”?
Chronic pain is pain that lasts three months or longer, and it can be consistent or intermittent. Some studies show that about 18–34% of the U.S. population live with chronic pain, with back pain being most common form of chronic pain.
What health conditions can cause chronic pain?
The list is quite extensive, but some of the most common health conditions that cause chronic pain are fibromyalgia, headaches, arthritis, nerve damage, neuropathy and previous surgeries.
Can chronic pain shorten your life?
“Studies have shown that chronic pain can reduce life expectancy,” Manna said. “This can be due to the underlying condition causing the pain as well as problems caused by reduced physical activity and decreased mental health.”
How can lifestyle changes relieve chronic pain?
Manna said these lifestyle changes have been proven to help relieve chronic pain:
- Physical activity – such as a low-intensity 30-minute walk every day
- Controlled stress – using practices like meditation
- Good sleep habits – at least seven hours of restful sleep each night
- Healthy diet – eating mostly plant-based, minimally processed food
- Avoidance of risky substances – such as tobacco and alcohol
“All these lifestyle changes are interrelated and help to reduce inflammation in the body,” he said.
In addition, they can help you maintain a healthy weight and allow your body to heal faster. Exercise can also treat pain through the release of hormones in the brain that block pain signals, called endorphins.
How can practices like meditation, massage and acupuncture relieve pain?
“Meditation and mindfulness help to promote awareness and have been shown to decrease a patient’s pain experience,” Manna said.
It’s a practice that can be done anywhere at any time. Here are some tips on how to do it.
Regular massages can help with muscle tightness which can decrease chronic pain. And although the thought of tiny needles can be scary to some people, acupuncture has been shown through many studies to help relieve pain by ultimately stimulating the central nervous system through the appropriate acupuncture points.
What is the benefit of using lifestyle changes versus medicine to relieve chronic pain?
“All medications have side effects and some medications for chronic pain can even be addictive,” Manna said. “Lifestyle changes do not have side effects like medications. They can be helpful for a person’s whole health including their chronic pain. While medications mostly just target pain, lifestyle changes reduce chronic pain and lead to overall better health outcomes.”
Manna said providers trained in lifestyle medicine can help patients who are interested in using lifestyle changes to reduce their chronic pain.
Learn more about what lifestyle medicine is here.
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