Tips on Managing Your Chronic Pain
in Vacaville

Living with chronic pain is no joke especially if it's disrupting the majority of your daily activities. If you want to put a stop to it or manage it the very least, then it can benefit you in every way.

So, if you want to learn the ways on how you can manage chronic pain, just follow this simple advice from Vacaville Chiropractors.

7 TIPS TO MANAGE CHRONIC PAIN IN VACAVILLE

1. Learn meditation or deep breathing to calm yourself - Meditation and deep breathing techniques can make your body relax, thus easing your pain. Any tension and tightness in your muscles go away temporarily as soon as they receive a quiet message to relax.
   • You can meditate in many ways, but it's the soothing power of repetition that comes in several forms of meditation. If you ignore toxic thoughts, focus on breathing, and keep on repeating a mantra, your body will be put in a more relaxed state. You can learn how to meditate on your own, but it helps if you join a class for a few sessions.
   • If meditation is not your thing, then deep breathing is also another great relaxation technique. To do this, you need to find a quiet setting, a comfortable body position, and avoid any distracting thoughts. Once you establish these, start imagining a spot below your navel. Focus your breathing into that spot and start filling your abdomen with air. Let your abdomen be filled-up with air and slowly let it out.
2. Relieve chronic pain through the natural endorphins from exercise - Our brain produces endorphins which are chemicals that helps lighten the mood while also blocking out pain signals. Apart from reducing pain, exercise can also strengthen your muscles which could prevent re-injury and pain from happening. On the health side, it could help you lose weight, control your blood sugar levels, and reduce your heart disease risk. Make sure to also consult with your doctor regarding some ideal exercises for you. There are some health conditions that may prevent you from doing certain activities so it's best to find something that will suit you.
3. Manage your pain with chiropractic treatment - Before you let a chiropractor take care of your pain, you should at least have an idea on what might be causing it.
   • The chiropractor will perform a physical exam and some tests to get a diagnosis of your pain. Once you're diagnosed with a pain condition, you will then be provided with a treatment plan. Depending on the severity of your pain, you will be treated by either manual therapies, spinal manipulation, or therapeutic exercises.
4. Regenerative medicine can help with chronic pain - There are instances where our body's natural healing response can't handle an inflammation or injury on its own. If these injuries and inflammation are left untreated, they can end up becoming chronic pain.
   • Before regenerative medicine was introduced, surgery was considered an option for managing pain. There are also pain pills being offered but its beneficial effects gradually reduce over time since your body builds up tolerance against it.
   • Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy can help your body heal itself from such damage. It can resolve any underlying causes of pain you have in your neck, lower back, and other joints.
5. Reduce your alcohol consumption - If you're suffering from constant pain, then you'll be having difficulties on sleeping. With alcohol, your sleeping problems can only get worse. So, if you've been living with chronic pain, it's best to get rid of your alcohol drinking completely. Once you remove alcohol out of the equation, you'll notice an improvement to your quality of life.
6. Reduce stress from your life - If you're inhibiting feelings of anxiety, anger, depression, and stress, then you're increasing your body's sensitivity to pain. But once you manage your stress levels carefully, then you'll find some relief from chronic pain.
   • There are several techniques that you can do to reduce your stress levels and promote relaxation. One way is to listen to soothing, calming music that can help lift your mood and make your life with chronic pain more bearable. You can also do a mental imagery relaxation technique wherein it is a form of mental escape that will help you feel more peaceful. This involves creating peaceful images in your mind. Through this, your body will be put in a more peaceful, relaxed state, thus providing you some relief from pain.
7. Join a support group - You're not the only one dealing with chronic pain. In fact, you may be surprised about the number of people who do that are also within your community. Meeting with such a group will make you feel less alone since they understand what you're going through. You can also benefit from their wisdom with regards to their ways of coping with the pain.
   • Apart from joining a support group, you should also consider meeting with a mental health professional. The reason for this is that there's a possibility that you'll develop depression. Through proper counseling, you'll be able to cope better and make you avoid any thoughts that could worsen your pain. They could even make you achieve a healthier attitude along the way. Remember, asking for help is not a weakness, but a sign of strength. So, do what you must to make the pain more manageable.

Chronic pain can be managed just as long as you do it right using the proper methods. However, make sure to also get consulted by your chiropractor like Dr. Alex Tam of Vacaville. These professionals can help you manage and get rid of your chronic pain completely. For Dr. Tam, you can go see him in his top chiropractic and holistic clinic in the Solano county. He's willing to be of service to anyone dealing with chronic pain and anyone who wants to get chiropractic treatment in general.