Achievable goals for reducing pain in the new year

As an LMT and health educator and a long-time survivor of chronic pain, I have developed a unique combination of clinical skills and approaches that help me treat pain.  My clients say, “Marian knows how (from the inside) to touch people who hurt”.  The balanced and custom-tailored regimens we develop together help patients experience improvements, get involved and engaged in their own care, and maintain or improve functionality to vastly improve quality of life – doing the things that they love and bring meaning to them.

Here are some suggestions for achievable goals that can make a big difference in pain levels:

• Make a commitment to start moving more. Most pain, including back and neck pain, fibromyalgia and arthritis, decreases with movement. At first, if you are not used to moving at all, you might hurt a little more. Remember when you were younger and you used to overdo exercise sometimes and you ached? Then your muscles got stronger from the effort and you were able to do more. Even a small amount of walking, range of motion exercises and/or stretches can make a big difference. Consult a physical therapist, chiropractor or massage therapist who specializes in pain and movement if you need guidance. Water exercise classes (available at many gyms and community centers) or yoga classes are good options. Exercising with others can help you stay motivated.
• Incorporate more fruits and vegetables and healthy fats into your diet.  This will automatically mean less sugar, white flour and processed foods.  All this will reduce inflammation that contributes so heavily to Pain and get the nutrients you need to heal.
• Learn and start practicing a relaxation technique such as meditation, diaphragmatic breathing or guided visualization. Stress changes physiology in ways that exacerbate pain and these techniques can calm your physiology and reduce pain.
• Keep searching for strategies and treatments that can help reduce pain and try at least one new treatment this year. Some you might not have tried include:
  1. myofascial massage,
     
  2. craniosacral,
  3. lymph drainage,
  4. foam rolling with a soft roller,
     
  5. qigong and tai chi
  6. hypnotherapy
  7. biofeedback,
     
  8. EFT or TAT (emotional freedom technique),
  9.  low level laser therapy (also known as cold laser therapy),
  10.  a gluten free diet,
  11. medical marijuana or hemp-derived CBD oil, or a
  12.  PEMF device.
• Make a point of adding more enjoyment to your life. Listen to more of your favorite music, find more stuff to laugh at, spend more time with people you care about (even if that means asking them to come to you if it’s difficult for you to get out), spend more time with or get a pet (cats work well for people who can’t get out much).
• Promise yourself you will read at least one book this year that will help you learn to better manage your pain. Here are some suggestions.  Hopefully the book I am writing will be one of those.

A new year is a great time to take stock of our lives and resolve to make changes. We all have the power to make our lives better. January 1 is a great time to start.

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