If you’re suffering from chronic pain, you already know how much it impacts your life. Everything you do is measured against the effect it will have on your pain levels. You might have to give up activities you love, working can be difficult and anything that requires concentration is a struggle. Here are a few suggestions to consider:
Make sure you’re being heard
Sadly, many people with chronic pain are disbelieved or dismissed by healthcare professionals, employers, friends and even family members. So, the first non-negotiable is that any health professionals you work with must take your experience seriously. If they don’t then find someone who does.
Get value for money
As well as sucking the joy out of life, you can also burn through a lot of money seeking a cure. Ideally, you want to see sustainable improvements after each treatment and over the course of a few treatments see significant change. Otherwise, it’s fair to ask if the treatment is really working and if you’re not satisfied then seek an alternative.
Look outside the box
Beyond medication, surgery and standard rehab, you’ll find a wide range of credible allied health options including:
Acupuncture
Most people associate acupuncture with pain relief and for good reason. Clients typically walk out feeling significant relief from just their first session. The reason acupuncture is so effective in treating pain is that it’s able to do three things exceptionally well: reduce inflammation, release muscular tension and relax your nervous system.
Osteopathy
Pain doesn’t just appear out of thin air. Sometimes the pain can be traced to an injury such as a car accident or a fall. However, when an injury has exposed an area of chronic tension or postural imbalance, you can get stuck. Osteopathy restores movement, corrects postural imbalances and treats the underlying structural causes of why you’re in pain. It also works on the nervous system to help restore better function.
Trauma Therapy
Chronic pain may or may not have its origin in trauma, but if you have a history of trauma then it’s very likely that it is a contributing factor to why the body has not yet healed. Approaches to trauma therapy are diverse, however, the common theme of many methods is to support the body and mind to move from a state of ‘holding and bracing’ to one of ‘integration’.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, many other approaches have either good or emerging evidence of efficacy including mediation, art therapy, tai chi, qi gong and many more. The key message is that if you’re suffering from chronic pain, it’s not your fault and there are ways to help your body heal.
Editor’s note: This wellbeing column provides information that is general in nature. Please always refer to your preferred health professional for advice suited to your personal healthcare requirements.
