Table of contents
Chronic pain
Pain is one of the most common reasons for visiting a doctor. Pain is a stimulating, instructive or life-saving symptom of the body. Pain that goes away in less than 3 months after the cause of the pain disappears is called acute pain. Pain that lasts longer is chronic pain. Chronic pain brings negative changes in the quality of life for you and your family. They usually do not get better without an intervention. Its treatment is costly and can also lead to labor enrollment. While it is less common in children, it is more common in the elderly. People who have had chronic pain in childhood are more likely to experience chronic pain in adulthood.
Whatever the cause of your chronic pain, it is a source of great stress for you. Sometimes you may be surprised at what you can do to relieve your pain. Alleviating chronic pain and preventing its recurrence need to be evaluated separately. If you have a disease that causes chronic pain, starting treatment for this disease early can prevent the occurrence of chronic pain. Therefore, do not delay the treatment of your diseases. The fact that you do not experience pain during the procrastination process may prevent you from noticing this situation. For this reason, when you are diagnosed with any disease, you should try to get detailed information about your disease as soon as possible. Postponing your chronic pain and waiting until it becomes unbearable may increase your treatment costs due to the negative effects of your disease over time. Because in some diseases, nerve damage can cause permanent degenerative changes over time. Therefore, do not delay any of your health problems.
Your medical treatment for the main underlying cause of your chronic pain will be recommended to you by your physician, and your compliance with this treatment will ensure that your pain recurs and is mild. For this reason, we will not deal with the issue of what to do with which pain in which disease in this article. What can be done for each disease is explained in detail in our other articles. This article describes what you can do in addition to medical treatment.
Get support from pain clinics and specialists
It may be helpful to get support from a pain specialist or pain polyclinic so that you do not experience occasional or continuous pain attacks due to your illness. Pain specialists will apply the most appropriate treatment for you by making tests and evaluations about the disease process and severity of the pain you are experiencing. These treatments may vary according to the severity of the pain and the limitations caused by the pain. Sometimes, despite these treatments, your pain may not go away. Sometimes, if you follow the suggestions below, the severity of the pain treatment given to you can be reduced due to your relieved pain.
Exercise regularly
Exercising is the first and most important step in relieving pain. Prolonged inactivity can also make your pain last longer. Your muscles and bones become weak. You feel more rigid. You start to sleep less. You may feel more alone and depressed. You may find that it is getting harder to come to your senses.
Therefore, if you do not have a limitation, you should prefer to be mobile. Returning to your job can be a good start. Doing your daily activities will make you more active. If it is part of your medical treatment, getting physical therapy can relieve your pain. If you have medical pain treatment, using painkillers will also reduce your pain.
What exercises can I do?
It will be beneficial to talk to your doctor before the exercises you will do, as it will change according to your diagnosis of the disease. You can start with an exercise that does not force yourself and does not affect your disease badly. For example, walking will be both light and good for your blood circulation. Swimming can be beneficial as an in-water exercise that works your entire body muscles. You can use an exercise bike. You may prefer a quieter activity such as dancing, yoga or pilates.
You should make activity your lifestyle. You should prefer a routine, regularly repeated, little and frequent activity. Try to do your activities every day, not just according to your pain. In this way, since your muscle tone will increase, the natural placement of your bones will be gained and the pressure on your nerves will decrease. The motivation and self-confidence you will gain with activity will also strengthen your immune system.
Avoid going overboard with your choice of activity. This may make your condition worse. You can learn from your doctor what you should not do according to your medical diagnosis. For example, if you have knee joint discomfort, prolonged standing and walking can make your condition worse. This will increase your treatment costs.
If you can’t get out of the house, search for exercises that you can do at home and suitable for your illness. If you can’t stand up, look for exercises that can be done while sitting.
look at your business
It’s important to be busy with a job despite your pain. Your work can keep you physically fit. This may also vary depending on the weight level of your job. However, you may be affected psychologically as not working will also affect you economically. Being able to cope with your economy will also increase your motivation. It will strengthen your immunity and make it easier for you to comply with the treatment.
Depending on the difficulty of your job and the severity of your pain, you can return to work gradually if necessary. You can plan this issue with your physician or therapist and your employer.
Do not delay your physical therapy
If a physical therapy course has been recommended for you by pain specialists, this may cause you to move better, relieve your pain, and facilitate your activities. Regular exercise programs applied together with physical therapy will relieve your pain. Be sure to participate in exercise programs recommended for your illness.
Can chronic pain be reduced with extra painkillers?
In addition to the medical pain treatments given by your physician or pain polyclinic regarding your disease, it is definitely beneficial to consult you to use painkillers. Although over-the-counter pain relievers are safe, they may not be safe for you. Everyone may have individual limitations for drug use. It should be evaluated whether certain medications will be suitable for you. For example, if you are using one or two anticoagulant drugs, it may be inconvenient for you to use over-the-counter aspirin or tablets such as ibuprofen. If you have advanced kidney disease, even paracetamol tablets may be inconvenient for you. Therefore, consult your doctor before self-medication.
If you choose to use painkillers yourself, try not to exceed the recommended dose and frequency. At the same time, try to take painkillers before your pain gets worse. Otherwise, the dose you take may not be enough for severe pain.
Consult your physician if you experience any bruising or bleeding while using painkillers. If your pain does not decrease despite taking painkillers, contact the pain clinic or your doctor.
Get education about pain
To be able to control your chronic pain, you must recognize it. Therefore, get education about your disease and pain at the first opportunity.
Do not use painkillers in every pain situation
Continuous use of painkillers for your chronic pain, whether you have a diagnosis or not, will delay the medical treatment of your disease, thanks to the reduction of your symptoms. Therefore, before long-term pain relief treatment, your physician will direct you to your actual treatment for your disease. Even if using only painkillers relieves your pain until the drug is eliminated from the body, it will not prevent pain from occurring again. Do not delay your main treatment.