It’s a national health care crisis: Unrelenting daily pain impacts the lives of millions of Americans. While pain medications serve an important role in pain management, everyone agrees that reducing or avoiding dependence on opioids is a worthy goal. That’s where natural pain remedies play an important role.
One or more of these six methods may help you better manage chronic pain:
- Talk it out. Counseling has a strong role to play in the lives of those suffering from chronic pain. When medical therapies have been exhausted and the pain is still your constant companion, counseling and various relaxation techniques can put mind over matter. A counselor may also offer resources for creating distractions that give your mind and body a break from the pain.
- Work it out. Strengthening and toning your body’s musculature helps in two ways. Vigorous activities trigger the release of endorphins, which provide natural pain relief. And, increasing your overall body strength and posture will lessen pain as well.
Play it out. We’ve all experienced a feeling that time has sped up, which occurs when we are focused on a pleasant distraction. Engaging in play reduces pain, proving true the old adage that time flies when you’re having fun. Pleasant past times do give sufferers a much-welcomed respite from pain.- Laugh it out. A hearty chuckle provides an array of benefits for chronic pain sufferers, and scientists are continuing to discover the amazing therapeutic benefits of laughter. Laughter and giggles also release helpful hormones and provide a safe exercise routine for patients.
Cry it out. As we all know, tears can be immensely healing. Now researchers have scientific evidence to back that up. Crying improved a patient’s mood 88.8 percent of the time, in a recent study. Stunned by the results, the researchers argued that a case could be made for actually inducing a crying jag as a form of pain relief.- Hug it out. Do we actually need research to prove that hugging makes people feel better? In fact, it even works when you hug yourself!