P – Pain Management

Being in pain is an absolute horror and when it becomes a part of your everyday life, it can majorly impact your quality of life. I feel really lucky when it comes to pain because I have a relatively high tolerance and do get periods of life that my pain levels are low. I’m absolutely not claiming to be a pain management guru or expert but I have tried a fair few techniques and have given a quick review below.

MEDS

Day to day I try to avoid taking medication unless I am in serious pain. If I have a lot of walking to do – say on holiday – I find paracetamol and brufen a good mix. I have taken naproxen before which is a stronger anti-inflammatory pain killer but it didn’t have a very good impact on my stomach even though I was taking omeprazole at the same time. The benefits didn’t outweigh the drawbacks for me on this one. I am allergic to codeine which means I normally have to skip a level of available pills and am prescribed tramadol. By golly it works but not practical if you’re not used to it and have things to get done in the day.

SWIMMING

I’m not able to go swimming by myself due to the plethora of hazzards I face just to get into the pool. When I do go though, even just becoming weightless in the water and being able to move my body is so helpful. Also being able to work out my whole body with zero weight bearing is perf.

CHIROPRACTOR AND OSTEOPATH

I had chiropractic treatment for years to keep my spine as flexible as possible. When I eventually had my spinal surgery it was hugely credited to the success of the reduction in my curves that was achieved. I always remember it being painful afterwards and not overly pleasant at the time. After I had my surgery I didn’t want to have such an ‘aggressive’ treatment and switched to seeing an osteopath. This was more focused on specific areas of pain rather than the whole body. 

KINETIC CHAIN RELEASE

I’ve had 2 of these now and absolutely love the feeling of realignment after. It’s a gentle practice using massage techniques (I think) and bodyweight to retrain your muscles and skeleton to be back in alignment and balanced properly. Pretty much pain free throughout and pain reduction after!!

WET CUPPING

Another new technique for me. Just had my second session where cups are suctioned onto my skin on top of tiny incisions made to allow stagnant blood, inflammation and gunk basically to be removed from the body. This focuses on areas of pain for me but also helps circulation and the body as a whole. It’s a strange sensation getting it done and I do feel achy afterwards but it feels good getting rid of all the debris contributing to pain.

PADDING

I get sore feet ALL the time from rubbing on my splints and shoes. I used to buy tape and gauze but discovered that cotton pads make for a good, cheaper dupe. The stick a little bit to my sock so I don’t need tape and I reuse them until my friends put them in the bin!

These are the main ones for me, have you had anything funky done too?