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Managing Your
Chronic Pain
Other Tips
In addition to medication or exercise, there are other options to treat chronic pain. Talk to your doctor and ask about some of these alternative methods. Some may be more appropriate than others for your type of chronic pain.
Hot or Cold Packs
Hot or cold packs - or sometimes a combination of the two - can be soothing. Heat dilates the blood vessels and improves the supply of oxygen to the affected area. Heat also alters the sensation of pain. Cold may reduce inflammation by decreasing the size of blood vessels, and the flow of blood to the area. Although cold may feel painful against the skin, it numbs deep pain. Applying heat or cold may make you more comfortable, but the effects are temporary.
Acupuncture
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Statement on Acupuncture, there have been many studies on acupuncture's potential usefulness. Although study results are mixed, there are promising trends showing that acupuncture may be useful for osteoarthritis, low-back pain, fibromyalgia and myofascial pain as a part of a comprehensive pain treatment program. A National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine-funded study recently showed that acupuncture provides pain relief, improves function for people with osteoarthritis of the knee, and serves as an effective complement to standard care.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a technique that begins with a machine that detects electrical signals from the muscles. The signals are translated into sound or light, which notifies a person each time their muscles become tense. Over time, people suffering with chronic pain can learn to associate specific sensations in their muscles with certain tension levels and, eventually, learn to relax those muscles and help improve pain.
Surgery
Surgery may either be the first treatment of choice or reserved for chronic pain for which other treatments have failed, depending on the diagnosis. If you are in constant pain or if pain reoccurs frequently and interferes with your ability to sleep or perform daily activities, you may be a candidate for surgery.
