Chronic Pain Relief

Chronic Pain Relief - Understanding the Condition
Chronic pain relief often starts with the difficult task of acceptance. Many people who suffer from chronic pain conditions never recover and must find ways to live with the pain. That was the case for me when I was diagnosed with a disease of a chronic nature.

Chronic Pain Relief - Strategies for Living
Here are strategies I discovered for chronic pain relief:

Find a doctor who specializes in treating your specific condition and work with him or her to devise a treatment plan that works for you. My doctor is an anesthesiologist and the medical director of a pain clinic. He has worked for over 20 years with patients who have my condition of reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Through much trial and error, we devised an appropriate treatment plan to minimize my pain. It took a combination of treatment medications, pain medications, and therapy to achieve the best results. Your physician should have many different options to suggest for your particular condition. Chronic pain sufferers need to find the treatments that work best for them.

Develop a support group of similar sufferers. I joined a group at my local YMCA where I go daily to exercise in warm water. This class consists of people with rheumatoid arthritis, ALS, MS, chronic severe back pain, fibromyalgia, and other severe and debilitating conditions. Each one of us attends the class to maximize mobility, while minimizing pain through an aqua exercise program formulated for our condition. Support groups provide accountability and a place where we commiserate or sympathize with one another. Perhaps most importantly, we comprehend the challenges that chronic pain brings to our lives. Occasionally, we offer practical suggestions for minimizing pain. You can develop a support group from the people you see regularly and consistently-those who attend your clinic, your place for therapy, your church, etc. Most people are willing to talk about their disability if you approach them in a positive and supportive manner. I've had several people tell me how excited they were to talk to someone who understood them.

Use humor. In my support group, we have found that humor is a great tool, especially on bad days. Laughing as we exercise helps us approach our workout in a positive manner. I have learned how to find humor in my struggles.

Deal with the emotional issues. My life has changed in many ways as a result of the chronic pain and I now require some professional help to deal with situational depression. Although initially I was resistant to seeking help, I am grateful that I did. Denial and burying my emotions did not make the issues go away. Emotions can exacerbate pain. Your physician may ask how you are dealing emotionally with your condition, but if your caregiver does not address it, bring it up. He or she can suggest ways that you can obtain help.

Chronic Pain Relief - The Key for Me
The key to chronic pain relief is to reevaluate the significance and purpose of life. Often, our self-worth is based on our ability to perform our job responsibilities. When I was no longer able to work in my professional career, I needed to discover my true worth as seen through the eyes of my Creator. God created each of us with an undeniable inner need for personal significance and that significance can only be found in Him. In Jesus Christ, we find ultimate peace, acceptance, and value.

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