Chronic pain is pain that persists for more than 3 months. It can affect any part of the body, and it often interferes with daily life. People of all ages suffer from chronic pain and seek ways to make it go away or manage it at the very least, but to treat chronic pain you need to understand it.
Why does chronic pain exist?
Pain exists to protect you. Your brain creates it when it detects a threat to keep you from remaining in danger. For instance, if you touch something hot, the pain instinctively makes you draw your hand away to avoid damaging the tissue. The thing with chronic pain is that your brain is hypervigilant about protecting you, even if the original injury has already healed. You need to retrain your brain so that it won’t cause chronic pain unnecessarily and impact your daily life so negatively.
Ways to improve chronic pain
There are several strategies you can implement to reduce chronic pain:
- Exercise – Being active can reduce pain perception through the release of endorphins.
- Sleep – Sleeping enough and sleeping well not only helps your body to heal but also improves cognitive function, altering the way your brain understands pain signals.
- Positive Thinking – Changing your attitude about pain can increase pain tolerance and alter how your brain processes pain signals.
- Chiropractic Care – There is plenty of evidence that chiropractic care can be helpful in managing and even eliminating it for some.