You should seek medical attention for your pain resulting from an accident or an injury that has substantially damaged your body. Apart from the debilitating pain, you may also have broken bones, deep cuts, or severe bleeding. You may also need to find a Garden State pain control specialist if you have sharp internal pain, which may indicate a serious medical issue like intestinal perforation and appendicitis. Generally, if your pain is long-lasting and intense and interferes with your day-to-day life, consult a pain management specialist immediately. Excruciating pain can affect your productivity, sleep patterns, and sexual activity and cause serious mental health issues.
Some common potential causes of your pain may include nerve injuries, flu, sciatica, fibromyalgia, headache, toothache, cancer, sore throat, bone fractures, cuts, bruises, and muscle cramps. Other illnesses that may cause pain are arthritis, endometriosis, gallbladder disease, and stomach ulcers.
There are many ways you can control and manage your pain at home. Pain management can help improve your functioning, reduce your suffering and distress, and minimize the adverse effects of pain. Consequently, below are a few tips that can help you control your pain at home.
Lifestyle changes
When you have long-lasting pain, you can make a few changes to your lifestyle to reduce levels of pain and discomfort. You can relieve pain by lowering your stress levels, improving your sleeping habits, limiting or stopping alcohol consumption, and eating healthily.
For instance, a healthy diet should include fruits and vegetables, essential to maintaining a healthy weight and supplying your joints with the necessary nutrients to function. Vitamins and minerals can also assist in combating inflammation, a common source of chronic pain and discomfort.
Although you may want to consume alcohol to manage your pain, it increases your risk of alcoholism and drug abuse. If you drink excessive alcohol, you may feel pain and a tingling sensation in your limbs, a condition referred to as alcoholic neuropathy. Too much alcohol damages your peripheral nerves.
Apply the RICE therapy
The RICE treatment involves the following four steps.
- Rest-Resting gives your body time to heal and allows you to avoid overusing the injured area.
- Ice- Compressing the injured area with ice or cold packs can reduce pain and inflammation.
- Compression- Wrap the affected area with an elastic medical bandage to support and encourage reduced blood flow to stop swelling.
- Elevation- Keep the area with pain slightly elevated than your heart to reduce or stop inflammation.
Exercise
Remaining physically active can help reduce your pain perception and improve your mental health, including stress and depression reduction and elevation of mood. Gentle exercises create an anti-inflammatory response that tackles swelling and reduces your inflammatory response.
Regularly perform exercises and physical activities such as walking, swimming, and cycling. Meditation, massage, acupuncture, yoga, chiropractic adjustments, and nerve stimulation are other complementary therapies you may find beneficial. For instance, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a common therapy involving mild electrical current to stimulate the peripheral nerve and relieve pain.
Medications
Medications provide pain relief and eliminate inflammation and infections. Your doctor can recommend over-the-counter or prescription drugs.
Contact Garden State Pain & Orthopedics today to schedule an appointment with your pain control and management specialist.
