Chronic pain is described as persistent pain lasting weeks or years. In many cases, the pain is caused by dysfunctional nerves or inflammation. While chronic pain can’t be cured, medical professionals often recommend a range of medications and medical procedures, such as nerve block, nerve pain medication, narcotics, and analgesics.
While these options might meet many people’s needs, some chronic pain sufferers seek more natural alternatives, especially given how long they’ll need to manage their pain. If you’re eager to explore natural pain treatments, the options below might pique your curiosity.
CBD Patches
Despite CBD patches for pain not being a standard CBD product in your average health or CBD business, they are worth exploring when you’re looking for a natural alternative to anti-inflammatories and other medications.
CBD patches are an easy-to-apply plaster-like product containing 16mg of CBD. Simply apply them to a reasonably hair-free part of your arm, thigh, shoulder, or lower back, and see if you notice any reduction in your pain levels.
Current research into CBD for chronic pain is conflicting, but the general consensus is that chronic pain is a significant health issue that current pharmaceutical treatments are not always able to treat. In that event, medicinal cannabis is superior to placebos in reducing pain scores and pain intensity. Further quality research is required to prove effectiveness.
Exercise
Exercise might be the last thing you feel like doing when experiencing extreme pain, but low-impact exercises like cycling, yoga, and swimming might be beneficial for managing chronic pain, strengthening your muscles, reducing joint stiffness, and reducing pain sensitivity and inflammation.
If you’re willing to try anything to relieve chronic pain, talk to your physician about how to get started. They might provide personalized guidelines and suggest the best exercises for your unique needs.
Change Your Diet
It’s hard to believe that your diet can impact how much pain you’re experiencing, but it might. If you’re experiencing chronic inflammation, with common symptoms like body pain, insomnia, and chronic fatigue, inflammation-fighting foods might make a difference.
A number of anti-inflammatory foods might be worth trying, such as nuts, fatty fish, fruit, tomatoes, and green leafy vegetables. At the same time, consider limiting foods known to cause inflammation, like soda, red meat, and refined carbohydrates like pastries and white bread.
Meditate
A growing body of evidence now suggests that meditation and, more specifically, the ‘body scan’ may be helpful for people to learn how to control their pain levels. The body scan meditation technique involves lying on your back or in an outstretched position, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breathing.
As you focus on the breath, you feel your stomach expand and recede when you inhale and exhale. Once your attention is on your stomach, you can move it to your left foot and try to feel sensations in this area, like pain, tingling, aching, heat, or cold. Keep breathing throughout the exercise and breathe through any pain you notice in that foot. You can then move your attention to the next body part until you have completed a full body scan in around 45 minutes.
Managing chronic pain can be a lifelong task for many people, and there will be days when you’re exceptionally uncomfortable. Always follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations, but don’t be afraid to ask them about some of these natural chronic pain management techniques above.