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Lifestyle Tips To Help Manage Chronic Pain

Lifestyle Tips To Help Manage Chronic Pain

If you have chronic or persistent pain, making lifestyle changes and learning about pain can be a helpful way to manage and reduce your symptoms.

EXERCISE

Physical activity is vital for managing chronic pain and it should be a priority in your treatment plan. Exercise helps to keep joints moving and muscles strong. It helps to keep your heart and lungs functioning well and can assist in maintaining an optimal body weight which reduces stress on weightbearing joints. Exercise is good for your mental health and can be helpful way to manage stress and improve your sleep. If you are not sure where to start, speak to your physiotherapist and doctor to see what is suitable for you. Some options may include walking, swimming, strength training, Pilates and Yoga.

The National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians recommends:

  • A total of 2.5 – 5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. This means you should be doing at least 30 minutes on most, preferably all, days of the week.
  • Muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

Tip: Start a walking program of just five minutes a day, adding a couple minutes every other day or so until you are up to 30 minutes of daily walking. You will find this can increase your energy levels and improve your general sense of well-being!

IMPROVE SLEEPING HABITS

People with chronic pain often report problems with getting to sleep, staying asleep or both.

It is important to develop and maintain a healthy sleep routine to promote a restful and restorative sleep. If you do not have good quality sleep at night, you may find you are fatigued and irritated throughout the day. This can increase your perception of pain and make it more difficult to deal with.

Tips:

  • Stick to a sleep schedule. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day regardless of how well you slept, even on weekends
  • Ensure your bedroom is not too hot or too cold
  • Make sure that your bedroom is comfortable, quiet and dark
  • No mobile phones/digital device use, watching TV, playing computer games, eating or working in bed
  • Avoid heavy meals, exercise or working late in the evening
  • Avoid or reduce the amount of caffeinated drinks you have throughout the day (eg. tea, coffee, chocolate, Coca Cola and energy/sports drinks)
  • Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol in the evening
  • Be as active as possible throughout the day
  • Avoid naps during the day. If you do nap, keep it to 20 minutes and before 3pm

MANAGE STRESS

Another significant lifestyle change you can make to assist with your chronic pain is to reduce your stress levels. Negative thoughts and stressful life situations can influence pain. Feelings of isolation, depression and anxiety are commonly associated with chronic pain.

Pain exists to protect you and it stimulates the body into action to avoid danger (the “fight or flight” response). Pain can cause an increase in stress, however stress can also cause an increase in pain. If you can manage your stress more effectively, you can avoid this cycle and manage your pain better. It is important to identify your stress triggers which can include relationships, work, home life, lifestyle choices/habits and negative thinking.

The more you can create helpful thinking patterns that improve your mood, the more helpful natural feel good chemicals you produce. When your body produces these feel-good chemicals, they help to reduce the level of signal in your pain pathways.

Learning relaxation techniques to help calm the body down and reduce time spent in a “stress” or “fight or flight” response can help with self-managing pain. Relaxation techniques can include meditation, mindfulness, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, diaphragmatic breathing, yoga and tai chi. Regular exercise is a great way to reduce stress as it can lift your mood and improve your sense of well-being.

The daily stress of managing a chronic condition can be tiring, isolating and overwhelming, especially if you have a limited support. It can be helpful to join a support group to chat to other people with shared experiences who can offer advice or a listening ear.

MAKE POSITIVE DIET CHANGES

Your diet can have a significant influence on your overall health and well-being. A well-balanced diet can assist in maintaining an optimal weight, supports your immune system and may help to reduce pain and inflammation in the body.

Maintaining a healthy weight can help to improve symptoms of chronic pain, particularly for people with osteoarthritis or other musculoskeletal pain as extra body weight increases the stress on many joints, particularly the knees, hips and lower back.

Although there is no particular “diet cure” for arthritis or other painful inflammatory conditions, there are certain foods that have been shown to help reduce inflammation. Scientific evidence suggests that foods that are rich in a type of antioxidant called polyphenol can have an anti-inflammatory effect that assists in reducing and preventing painful flare ups. The Mediterranean diet includes many of these foods including dark green leafy vegetables, whole fruits, nuts, legumes and wholegrains. Research has also shown that eating foods rich in Omega-3 fats (e.g. oily fish: salmon, sardines & mackerel, fish oil supplements, flaxseed or linseed oil, walnuts) can help to reduce inflammation, especially in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Positive diet choices:

  • Eat a variety of different foods
  • Have plenty of vegetables and fruit
  • Choose wholegrains and complex carbohydrates (e.g. brown rice, rolled oats, wholegrain bread, wholemeal pasta)
  • Eat healthy proteins (e.g. lean meat, poultry, eggs, tofu, nuts & seeds, legumes)
  • Eat foods rich in Omega-3 fats (e.g. oily fish: salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel)
  • Use healthy oils: Extra virgin olive oil
  • Consume reduced fat dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese) or their alternatives

What to avoid:

You should try to limit your intake of:

  • Highly processed or “junk” foods with low nutritional value (e.g. soft drink, confectionary)
  • Refined carbohydrates (e.g. white bread, cereals)
  • Foods high in saturated fat (e.g. fatty/processed meats, fried foods, butter, potato chips)
  • Foods that contain added sugars (e.g. flavoured yoghurts, sugar sweetened cereals)
  • Foods that have a high glycaemic index

HYDRATION

Water is essential for us to maintain good health.  Water keeps our organs functioning well, supports our immune system, encourages a healthy gastro-intestinal system and helps to lubricate joints. Making sure that you are well hydrated can be a simple way to help manage your pain. Studies have shown that dehydration can result in an increase in the perception of pain and that treatments for pain such as pain-killers and cognitive behavioural therapy can also be less effective in a dehydrated state.

It is recommended that you consume at least 8-10 glasses of water per day (2 to 2.5 Litres). However, remember that if you are exercising, are pregnant or breastfeeding or drinking alcohol then you may require more fluid than this.

REDUCE ALCOHOL INTAKE

Reducing your intake of alcohol is important in managing your chronic pain. Drinking alcohol (especially within an hour of going to bed) can significantly disrupt sleep cycles, worsening sleep issues which can affect your pain levels. It can also cause dehydration which as mentioned above can result in an increase in pain perception.

UNDERSTANDING PAIN:

Knowledge is power! Learning about what pain is and how it works can help you manage your pain condition. Scientific studies have shown that learning about the biological processes of pain is linked with a decrease in physical symptoms, improved function, improved mobility, reduced fear and a calmer nervous system.

To start learning about pain check out these websites:

Pain Australia website:

https://www.painaustralia.org.au/about-pain/what-is-pain

ACI Pain Management Network:

https://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/chronic-pain/chronic-pain

Chronic Pain Australia:

http://chronicpainaustralia.org.au/index.php

Curable

https://www.curablehealth.com/

If you require assistance with managing your pain, make an appointment to see one of our physiotherapists by calling on 6244 0345 or alternatively book online

here

Written by Rachael Dodds, Physiotherapist

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