Managing Chronic Pain

Do you remember when you could pop right out of bed and feel great without any pain?  Neither do I.  As I get older, I find that I have to work hard at managing my pain.  I hear “it’s just part of getting older” from a lot of people, especially from people older than I am….people from my parent’s generation.  I refuse to accept that answer.  I won’t be another person that has to take daily medication or limit what I do because of pain.  That’s not how I choose to live my life.  So where does that leave me?  Where does that leave all of us?

What is Pain?
Pain is your body’s way of communicating with you that you need to give extra care to that part of your body.  It’s an automatic form of communication from your brain.  Pain can be from injury, infection, genetics, or general wear and tear on your body, but it can also be an indication that you may have been making some choices that aren’t serving your health.  Many times, chronic pain comes from inflammation somewhere in the body.  Inflammation is incredibly important to the healing process because it cushions the damaged area to protect it from further injury or damage while it’s healing.  However, inflammation becomes a problem when it’s chronic, meaning it never seems to go away.  So often I see this classified as “autoimmune disease”, which is quickly becoming a catch-all for a lot of conditions.

Your Immune System
Your immune system is in place to protect and heal your body.  It fights bacteria and viruses, and a myriad of other things.  So then what is autoimmune disease?  Autoimmune disease is said to be “when the body attacks itself”.  Instead of attacking the microbes that intend to harm us, it attacks healthy cells in the body.  In reality, our bodies are not meant to work like that.  Our bodies do everything they can to keep us alive and healthy, so why would they attack themselves??

The answer is that we are changing our cells into something our bodies feel are threatening to our highest health. I know what you’re thinking….I would never intentionally change my cells into something dangerous to my health!  But many people do, every single day.  You may hear warnings about the dangers of smoking, or maybe you’ve read articles about how household cleaners cause cancer.  There are a lot of other theories in mainstream media.  What you don’t hear a lot about is how our broken food system is causing the incredibly influx of chronic and deadly diseases.

I often call most things in our food system “frankenfoods”. These are highly processed, manufactured foods that hold little to no nutritional value. (I.e. every aisle in the center of the grocery store) They are loaded with manufactured chemicals that are literally tearing your body up from the inside out.  They cause rapid aging, weight gain, inflammation, chronic diseases (like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, GERD, Crohn’s disease, food allergies, anxiety, depression, etc…), and lethargy.  Where does that leave us?

Reducing Your Inflammation
Lowering your inflammation, and in turn lowering your pain, takes some conscious effort.  Changing some old habits can make a world of difference to your quality of life.  The upside is you don’t have to make a bunch of changes at once.  You can start as small or as big as you want to, but I do recommend making little changes. Making small changes can make things so much easier on you.  If I had made all the changes I have over the last 10 years all at once, I’d have driven myself crazy!

Here are a few things you can do to reduce chronic pain and inflammation:

1. Incorporate more healthy fats into your diet.  I know, you’ve probably been taught that fat is bad for you and causes weight gain.  However, it’s just the opposite.  Healthy fats like avocado, salmon, coconut oil, and even nuts provide lubrication to your joints, nourish your brain and liver, and help you shed unwanted belly fat.  Try to replace highly processed snacks with more real foods like fresh fruit or veggies and dip.  Even if the dip is crappy, eating veggies is better than eating a bag of chips.
2. Get your body moving.  Regular exercise, even gentle exercise like yoga, reduce pain dramatically over time.  At first, it may seem impossible because it hurts!  Be gentle with yourself.  Start small, but be consistent.  Get in a 20-30 minute workout at least 3 times per week (5 times per week is better).  Can’t do 20-30 minutes yet?  No worries.  Start with what you can.  You will get there.
3. Drink more water.  And no, adding flavoring to your water doesn’t count!  (I can already hear my husband arguing)  Filtered water (not tap!) flushes out all the “junk” that your body is holding onto.  It clears the cells, keeps digestion working properly, and keeps your joints healthy.  If you have a hard time getting plain water down, add some fresh lemon or cucumber slices.  Start your day by drinking a glass of water on an empty stomach, too.
4. Sleep.  So many of us are sleep deprived.  We push ourselves to the point of exhaustion where sleep doesn’t even make us feel rested anymore.  There are a few things you can do before bed to help you rest better.  Stop using screens an hour or more before bed.  If you absolutely have to use your phone (I read on my Kindle app in bed), then use the blue light filter that is built into most phones now.  If yours doesn’t, there are free apps out there.  Also try meditating.  Download an app called Insight Timer.  It’s free and packed full of free guided meditations.  It makes a world of difference.
5. Try supplements.  Things like ginger, turmeric, and CBD are incredible at reducing inflammation and symptoms of arthritis.  You can either take ginger and turmeric in pill form (any health food store will have them) or cook with them!  The more the better.  Spicy curry has become one of my favorite things.  CBD can be found almost everywhere now too but be careful to choose a good quality supplement.  The cheap ones can do more harm than good.  Although CBD is one component of the marijuana plant, it does not have psycho-reactive properties and will not show up on drug tests.

These are great beginning steps on your healing journey to being pain free. Take one suggestion at a time.  Replace one snack.  Take the steps instead of the elevator. Replace one sugary drink with a bottle of water. Be gentle with yourself too.  You didn’t get to this point overnight, and it’s not going to go away overnight.  All long lasting changes take time, but you are totally worth the effort.

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