Safe ways to manage and treat chronic pain detail how to tackle chronic pain through medications, alternative therapies, and even watchful waiting that observes symptoms without treatment.
One major aspect of chronic pain is its persistence over a longer period, resistance to most medical treatments, and affects millions of people. Chronic pain is caused by many factors, including nerve damage, injuries that fail to heal properly, and conditions that accompany normal aging. The most common causes of chronic pain related to disease include:
- AIDS
- arthritis
- cancer
- chronic pancreatitis
- gallbladder disease
- nerve dysfunction
- soft tissue injury
- spinal disorders
- unresolved disease or injury (psychogenic pain
Chronic pain and management treatments
Alternative medicine
Non-drug pain treatments can help treat both local and general pain. Chronic pain may be relieved by immersion in activities that deeply engage a person diagnosed with pain, such as a hobby. Other alternatives for pain relief include:
- acupuncture
- applying cold or warm compresses directly to the painful area
- biofeedback
- chiropractor
- diet modifications
- exercise
- hypnosis
- massage
- relaxation techniques
- transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
- ultrasound deep heating therapy
- water therapy
Medications
Treatment of chronic pain usually involves medicines and therapy. Drug treatments for mild to moderate pain focus on non-prescription pain relievers. And different types of medication help people who have other kinds of pain. For example, long-acting medicines are prescribed for constant pain. Short-acting medicines treat pain that comes and goes. Other drugs that have been effective in treating chronic pain include:
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- Anesthetics
- Antidepressants
- Anti-inflammatory drugs
- Anti-seizure medicines
- Common pain relievers
- Injection
- Opioid pain medications
Pain treatment clinic
Physical therapy
Psychotherapy
Surgery
Decompression surgery – This includes decompression surgeries, such as those used to repair a herniated disk or to treat carpal tunnel syndrome.
Drug delivery implants – Doctors can implant drug delivery systems under the skin to deliver pain-relieving drugs directly into the bloodstream or central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).
Nerve blocks – Often a group of nerves that causes pain to a specific organ or body region can be blocked with local anesthetics.
Nerve surgery – In rare cases when severe pain has not responded to other treatments and procedures, doctors perform surgery on certain nerves to create relief and allow people to resume near-normal activities. In very few cases, pain is relieved by actually cutting the nerves that are causing the pain.
Watchful waiting
Watchful waiting is one of the safe ways to manage and treat chronic pain. This is when you and your health professional observe your symptoms or condition without using medical treatment, and when you can control occasional, mild to moderate pain with exercise, healthy eating, massage, and pain relievers, such as ibuprofen or aspirin, you may not need further treatment from a health professional.
https://www.healthline.com/health/pain-relief/surprising-natural-pain-killers
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Abiola is the founder of Indulge™ group of companies, a healthy-living focused group. A passionate believer in a healthy lifestyle, living in the United Kingdom made it easy for her to pursue a health and fitness regime. She is the Managing Director/CEO of Indulge Nigeria Limited and Indulge Cares Nigeria Limited, both companies promoting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle for the prevention of illnesses and diseases. Abiola is available on https://www.indulgeinhealthyliving.com/