Chronic pain is persistent pain that lasts for three months or more. Chronic pain causes include sprains, lingering injuries from fractures, post-surgical pain, car and sports accidents, and many others. It is so devastating because it interferes with one’s ability to go about their daily life. Often, a doctor will prescribe an opioid for this pain level. However, many people do not want to take such medication because of its addictive nature, so they seek alternatives. But, what non-pharmacological options are available for those with chronic pain?
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy helps people with chronic pain manage their pain, increase their range of motion, and improve their quality of life. When you get physiotherapy in Barnsley, a pain management specialist will talk with you to find out the cause of your pain and discuss the techniques that would work best for you.
Physiotherapy typically involves stretching, straightening, and manipulating the muscles and joints in different ways to relieve pain and prevent it from recurring. It is important to understand that physiotherapy is not aimed at curing the cause of the pain but rather at giving relief to those suffering from chronic pain.
Since pain is tied to the brain, visiting a physiotherapist South Yorkshire might also involve a psychological assessment of a patient’s pain to tailor the physiotherapy options better and offer a more holistic physiotherapy option.
Therapeutic Massage
Massages have long been regarded as an indulgence, but there is now enough evidence to show that they can be beneficial for relieving chronic pain caused by different factors. Massages relieve pain in different ways, including helping relax painful muscles, relieving stress and anxiety, relaxing joints, tendons, and joints, and impeding pain signals from reaching the brain.
They have also been used to treat other types of pain that have not yet reached the chronic stage. For example, a sports massage in Barnsley can help relieve pain associated with sports injuries. You can also get a deep tissue massage in Barnsley at the ATP Physio clinic to alleviate stress and anxiety, which are both strongly connected to pain.
Regular Exercise
While a physiotherapist will give you pain relief and help improve your range of motion, you can still do a lot on your own. Many people are rightly afraid of exercising while in pain, but gentle exercise has been shown to relieve pain. They relax muscles and improve blood flow; both have been shown to aid in pain relief and recovery.
You should talk to a Physio in Barnsley before starting any exercise so they can advise you on what is safe and what is not depending on your condition. That said, gentle exercises such as swimming, walking, and biking should be safe if you don’t overdo them.
Many people are not open to taking medication when in chronic pain due to the potential for addiction. For this reason, they look for alternatives for pain relief, and there are many of them. These alternatives have different rates of success and work in different ways to not only relieve pain but also improve one’s quality of life.