Everyone experiences any kind of pain due to any kind of injury. For your body, pain is one of the crucial reactions to tell your nervous system that your body is injured and needs help. Whenever your body is hurt or injured, a pain signal travels from the injured area to the brain. The pain later reduces when the injury starts healing. But when a person is dealing with chronic pain, the pain does not reduce. The body continuously sends pain signals even after the recovery from the injury. Chronic pain can last for certain weeks to years.
Chronic pain limits the mobility and flexibility of a person. When a person is dealing with chronic pain, he can’t walk properly and his strength and endurance power reduces. Chronic pain can lead to various daily challenges. Pain is referred to as chronic pain if it lasts for more than 12 weeks. The pain usually feels sharp with a burning sensation. It usually comes & goes from time to time without any reason. A person can face chronic pain in almost all body parts.
Common types of chronic pain
- Postsurgical pain
- Headache
- Lower back pain
- Psychogenic pain
- Post-trauma pain
- Arthritis pain
- Neurogenic pain
What are the causes of chronic pain?
Most of the time, chronic pain occurs from an initial injury like a muscle pull or back sprain. A person usually develops chronic pain due to nerve damage. The damage makes the pain long-lasting. Due to this, the treatment of an injury may not reduce the pain. Sometimes, people can also get chronic pain without any kind of prior injury. Due to this, people can’t figure out the actual cause of the pain. Chronic pain can be a symptom of some underlying conditions such as:
- Endometriosis
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Interstitial cystitis
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
- Fibromyalgia, etc
Common risk factors for chronic pain
A person can get chronic pain at any age but the pain usually appears in older adults. Along with the age, there are various other risk factors for chronic pain:
- After surgery
- Due to an injury
- Being female
- Overweight or obese
Treatment options for chronic pain
The treatment for chronic pain means reducing the pain and increasing mobility. When the pain reduces, a person can resume his daily activities without feeling any discomfort. The intensity and security of chronic pain depend from person to person. Dr Goswami NJ prescribes the pain management pain depending on the symptoms and underlying conditions.
Medication for chronic pain
For mild pain, the doctor often prescribed OTC medications like Tylenol or NSAIDs. Some common NSAIDs for chronic pain are aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. These medications relieve the pain that occurs due to stillness and muscle aches. Certain topical pain relievers are also available like lotions, creams, sprays, etc that are applied to the skin to reduce pain.
If the pain is extreme and is not reduced with OTC medications then your doctor may prescribe strong medicines like anti-anxiety drugs and relaxants.
Trigger point injections
It is a kind of procedure used to treat the painful areas that are triggering the pain. In this procedure, the doctor uses a small needle and injects a local anesthetic into the trigger point. Using the needle, the trigger point gets inactive and the pain reduces. This treatment is used for treating muscle pains in the neck, lower back, legs, etc. Sometimes, this approach is also used to treat fibromyalgia and tension headaches.
Homeopathic treatment
Homeopathy is one of the best treatment options for chronic pain. The homeopath will ask you certain questions about the pain, symptoms, assumed causes, and lifestyle. He will prescribe the medication depending on your chronic pain. This treatment is fully safe and does not cause any side effects to your physical and mental body. This treatment may cure your chronic pain.
Lifestyle remedies to treat chronic pain
Exercise
Start daily exercise that can help to reduce the pain. Before starting the exercise, talk to your doctor or therapist and learn the exercise that can help to reduce the pain. You can exercise any time of the day. Morning exercise is always the best option to start your day. 30 minutes of daily exercise can reduce your chronic pain.
Yoga and meditation
Yoga is also very beneficial to treat chronic pain. Learn yoga poses that help in reducing back pain, joint pain, etc. Yoga helps in treating your whole body. A 10-minute session of meditation is also very helpful to manage chronic pain. If you have chronic pain like chronic headaches then meditation is a very good option for you. It will help you to prepare mentally to deal with the pain. When your mind is calm, you will feel less pain. Meditation will reduce stress and help you to manage your lifestyle.