Pain management techniques
- backtalkssg
- Sep 18, 2021
- 3 min read
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well.
Today I wanted to share my pain management techniques. I know some people don't have pain with their scoliosis but theres other people, like myself, who may experience pain everyday. Since my last surgery, my pain has improved significantly. I can do a lot more than I could before surgery and my pain is less frequent now.
I am now able to recognize what typically causes me more pain and how to avoid that. However, if I do experience more pain for whatever reason, I also have a few techniques that I can turn to to help manage the pain.
The following tips are actually based on information from a continuing education course I completed for managing chronic pain. I wanted to share this information first and in a future post I want to share techniques that I have personally learned over the years. If you have any questions about the following information or would like a dedicated, in-depth post about one of the techniques then please let me know.
Disclaimer: please remember that everyone's story is different and everyones pain is different. You may need to experiment with different tips/techniques to find what works for you!
If you have any tips for managing pain that I did not mention please share them below.
Proactive problem solving: this involves learning to anticipate problems and creating a proactive solution/plan to decrease pain. For example, if you know that cleaning the entire house at once hurts your back (like it does for me) then you may want to break up the cleaning into multiple days or do it all in one day but remember to take breaks throughout the day in order to decrease the amount of pain later that night.
Recognize your own limits and identify triggers that increase pain. Personally, there are some things that I would love to be able to do with my fiancé or friends but I know it causes pain or might cause pain. For example, I love kayaking with my fiancé but it causes low back pain so we usually only do it for 2 hours or less unless we are able to get out of the kayak and give my back a break.
Progressive muscle relaxation and muscle tension reduction: this includes learning how to relax the muscles and calm the mind to relieve stress on the body and decrease pain. I have tried this technique a few times. You are typically able to YouTube this technique but if you would like more information I can make a whole separate post about this technique!
Safe body mechanics and posture: learning how to safely perform daily activities within the home or at work in order to reduce joint strain and decrease repetitive movements. I work as an occupational therapist and a lot of low back pain is caused from repetitive movements or poor body mechanics at work, even for those who don't have scoliosis! For example, when lifting something from the ground you want to have your feet shoulder-width apart, bend down at your knees, and keep the object close to your body as you lift it. If you want more information on good, general body mechanics I can definitely make a post about that as well!
Pacing activities and activity modification: learning to take breaks or taking your time when performing activities. Some examples include taking frequent breaks throughout the day (like I talked about earlier for cleaning the house), activity shifting (creating a balance between low, moderate, and high activities during the day), activity simplification or using adaptive equipment to make activities easier (shower chair, long handled sponge, etc). If you sit a lot during the day and sitting causes low back pain, take extra breaks during the day and take a lap around the office or complete a few stretches. Even if it is a short break, completing multiple shorter breaks throughout the day can help!
Comments