Pain occurs after an injury or illness and informs the brain of the need to treat the condition. Although biologically, pain is a good thing, it affects your life leading to unpleasant side effects such as inflammation, swelling, and discomfort. The inflammation and swelling will affect the healing process, and you would need effective pain management Tampa techniques to alleviate the pain. Pain will reduce the range of movement of a joint, affect the spinal health and cause mental health disorders. You might be predisposed to depression due to the unending pain. Thus these tips will reduce pain and improve your life quality.
Use Heat Therapy
Heat therapy alleviates chronic pain as the heat improves blood circulation to the injury site. Increased blood circulation will lead to removing toxins and supplying oxygen and nutrients, improving healing. On the other hand, a cold pack numbs the area and leads to the decline of inflammation and swelling, contributing to fast healing. You may use the cold pack soon after the injury as it alleviates the pain and swelling, and go for the heat pack when the pain subsides. When used alternatively, the cold and the heat pack can alleviate chronic pain, reduce inflammation, and speed up healing.
Use Medications
Medications might be the first line when dealing with pain, as most people use over-the-counter painkillers. Over-the-counter painkillers will work on mild pain, but you need a prescription for severe chronic pain. Sometimes your doctor will recommend opioids, but you should be careful with these medications as they are addictive. Your body might build immunity against opioids, and a prescription that initially reduced the pain might be ineffective, making it necessary to increase the dosage. The consequential increase in dosage leads to addiction, as you might be reliant on the medications in the long run.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient pain relief practice that involves the manipulation of nerve endings on certain body parts. Different nerves carry different information, and therapists who offer acupuncture understand the nerve system and will manipulate the nerves responsible for pain in certain areas of the body. The therapist will use needles to create small incisions at the nerve endings stimulating the natural painkillers.
Behavioral Change
Behavioral change might contribute to pain management. First, knee pain might result from weight gain, which exerts pressure on the knees. Thus, a doctor might recommend physical therapy to reduce pain. You will work with a therapist who understands the structure of the knee as they offer the right exercises to preserve the knee’s health.
Surgery
Surgery might be the last option when dealing with severe pain, but it is more effective than other treatment methods. Knee replacement surgery introduces knee gliding surfaces and eliminates chronic pain. On the other hand, spinal cord surgery deals with herniated discs and other underlying causes of pain.
The body uses pain to inform the brain of an injury or disease, but the pain might affect your life negatively. Pain leads to inflammation, swelling, and discomfort, and you should learn effective pain management techniques to live a pain-free life. You may use heat therapy which alternates between a cold and heat application process that reduces pain, inflammation, and swelling. Alternatively, medications will alleviate chronic pain but could lead to issues such as addiction. Although surgery is the last resort for chronic pain, it deals with the underlying causes resulting in a pain-free life.