What are the ways to relieve chronic pain

From the current clinical and long-term intervention practice, there is no unified "magic prescription" for chronic pain. The most effective method is to "investigate the cause first, then intervene in layers, and adjust the combination of drugs and non-drugs." Taking painkillers alone or forcefully is not enough. To put it bluntly, chronic pain is like a bug in the body's alarm. Even though there is no acute injury, it is still sending out pain signals. You can't solve the fundamental problem just by quenching the alarm (forcibly taking painkillers) or pretending not to hear it (forcibly carrying on). If not, it may turn a small problem into a big problem of pain sensitization.

A while ago, I contacted a 38-year-old Internet programmer who suffered from chronic pain in the lumbosacral region caused by lumbar disc herniation for 2 years. At first, he was afraid of the side effects of taking medicine, so he took it hard. When he couldn't take it anymore, he stuffed two pills of ibuprofen into his stomach. After taking it for more than half a year, he developed superficial gastritis in his stomach. The pain became more and more frequent, and he couldn't straighten his back after sitting for half an hour. Later, he went to the pain department for a checkup, and the risk of lumbar spondylolisthesis was ruled out. The doctor followed the principle of stepped medication and prescribed low-dose anti-inflammatory analgesics, along with some anticonvulsant drugs that regulate nerve discharge. There is actually a common cognitive controversy here. Many people mutter when they see psychiatric-related indications on the medicine box, thinking, "I'm not mentally ill, why are you prescribing this medicine for me?" Some people even think that doctors prescribe medicines randomly. In fact, for pathological pain caused by nerve compression, this type of medicine can "calm" abnormally discharged nerves. It is much more effective than simply taking anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. As long as you follow the doctor's instructions and take them according to the dosage, there will be no side effects such as dependence and severe drowsiness that everyone is worried about. Of course, a small number of patients do have slight dizziness after taking them. It is better to communicate with the doctor in time to adjust the medicine. There is no need to directly refuse all drug intervention.

In addition to taking medicine, he also follows the doctor's advice and does exercise rehabilitation twice a week, specifically training the strength of his core and waist and abdomen. He doesn't just go to a massage parlor and massage randomly - when it comes to massage, it is actually quite controversial. Many people's first reaction when they feel pain is to do it. It is true that there are many chronic pains caused by muscle strain during massage and bone setting. After massage, the pain will subside after the muscles relax. However, if there is nerve root compression or bone and joint dislocation, violent massage may press the nucleus pulposus more prominently and compress it more severely. I met an aunt who suffered from shoulder and neck pain for half a year. She went to a small clinic to have her bones fixed. After the massage, her hands were so numb that she couldn't lift her bones. When she came for a checkup, she found that the intervertebral disc herniation had worsened and pressed on the brachial plexus. Therefore, if you want to do manual intervention, you must first take a x-ray to clarify your situation and find a regular rehabilitation department or an institution with medical qualifications to do it.

Talking about the adjustments that ordinary people can make at home, in fact, many very low-cost methods are surprisingly effective. For example, I have met several patients with fibromyalgia who have pain all over their bodies and cannot find any organic problems. I follow popular science videos and do a 15-minute mindfulness body scan every day, which is to lie down and slowly pay attention. Move the force from the toes to the top of the head, and bring the breath wherever it hurts. There is no need to deliberately "endure" or "relieve the pain", just be aware of it. After persisting for about a month, the pain score dropped by more than 30% on average. At the beginning, some people thought this was "metaphysics". After trying it, they all came to tell me that the effect is good. There are also small details about hot and cold compresses. For example, when chronic joint pain is acute and swollen and hot, use an ice pack wrapped in a towel and apply it for 10 minutes. Do not apply it directly to the skin for frostbite. When the pain is stable, use warm compresses to relax the muscles. If you do the opposite, it will easily aggravate the inflammation and make the pain worse.

In fact, the relief of chronic pain varies from person to person. Some people can achieve great improvement with regular exercise, some people need medication to live a normal life, and some people just adjust their habit of staying up late and replace soft mattresses and most of them are better. The key is not to blindly follow the trend and try folk remedies. First, understand the cause of your pain, and slowly explore a solution that suits you.