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You need a balance between motion and rest, and most of us need to tip the scales toward more movement. Exercise increases endorphins as well as the neurotransmitters serotonin and GABA. It reduces pain from muscle tension and stiffness in the connective tissues and can ease many of pain’s secondary effects such as fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and digestive woes. Click suggested exercises for various intro exercises.
When you hurt and your activities are limited, potato chips start looking like your consolation prize. But poor dietary choices - too much red meat and junk food, too few fresh fruits and vegetables – increase pain. They encourage inflammation, and the added pounds put extra stress on your joints. A simple pain-control diet can significantly reduce pain and improve your sense of well-being. See Herbs & Supplements and pain-control Diet for more information.
Pain causes stress, stress causes pain… get trapped in this cycle, and soon you’re so far off balance you can’t remember what relaxation feels like. mind-body therapies and other soothing treatments, which help you manage stress and cultivate distance from your pain, can dramatically limit your suffering. Carve out some alone time, get a massage or meditate in your backyard. Learn breathing exercises to use at the office.
Being overweight is associated with a plethora of medical conditions including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, back pain, osteoarthritis, gout, carpal tunnel disease. If you walk one mile a day, you will burn 100 calories. If you walk one mile a day, 365 days a year, you will burn 36,500 calories. If during that same year you cut down your eating by only 100 calories a day, you will lower your yearly caloric balance another 36,500 calories. Cutting down 73,000 calories a year would mean losing 20.85 unwanted pounds! Not bad for a minor adjustment in one’s diet and a daily walk in the park
Sunshine is one of Nature’s treatments for depression, a common companion of chronic pain. Take daily walks or at least let the sunshine come in the house.
Pain is isolating. Too many sufferers spend long hours by themselves, bored and dispirited, watching TV or playing video games. Although these activities may take your mind off the pain, they don’t really provide the mental and social stimulation necessary for health. Look for ways to increase your involvement with life: Join a support group, take up a hobby, do volunteer work, or get back in touch with old friends.
How do you regain control of the pain and your life? To assure success, it is important to find ways to nurture each vital part. This page provides practical advice on how to get back into the driver's seat and become the master of your own destiny.
Get moving
You need a balance between motion and rest, and most of us need to tip the scales toward more movement. Exercise increases endorphins as well as the neurotransmitters serotonin and GABA. It reduces pain from muscle tension and stiffness in the connective tissues and can ease many of pain’s secondary effects such as fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and digestive woes. Click suggested exercises for various intro exercises.
Eat right
When you hurt and your activities are limited, potato chips start looking like your consolation prize. But poor dietary choices - too much red meat and junk food, too few fresh fruits and vegetables – increase pain. They encourage inflammation, and the added pounds put extra stress on your joints. A simple pain-control diet can significantly reduce pain and improve your sense of well-being. See Herbs & Supplements and pain-control Diet for more information.
Reduce stress
Pain causes stress, stress causes pain… get trapped in this cycle, and soon you’re so far off balance you can’t remember what relaxation feels like. mind-body therapies and other soothing treatments, which help you manage stress and cultivate distance from your pain, can dramatically limit your suffering. Carve out some alone time, get a massage or meditate in your backyard. Learn breathing exercises to use at the office.
Maintain proper body weight
Being overweight is associated with a plethora of medical conditions including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, back pain, osteoarthritis, gout, carpal tunnel disease. If you walk one mile a day, you will burn 100 calories. If you walk one mile a day, 365 days a year, you will burn 36,500 calories. If during that same year you cut down your eating by only 100 calories a day, you will lower your yearly caloric balance another 36,500 calories. Cutting down 73,000 calories a year would mean losing 20.85 unwanted pounds! Not bad for a minor adjustment in one’s diet and a daily walk in the park
Get your daily dose of sunshine
Sunshine is one of Nature’s treatments for depression, a common companion of chronic pain. Take daily walks or at least let the sunshine come in the house.
Stay engaged with life
Pain is isolating. Too many sufferers spend long hours by themselves, bored and dispirited, watching TV or playing video games. Although these activities may take your mind off the pain, they don’t really provide the mental and social stimulation necessary for health. Look for ways to increase your involvement with life: Join a support group, take up a hobby, do volunteer work, or get back in touch with old friends.
This page was first published on May, 15th, 2008 and last updated on May, 30th, 2008