Relaxation, meditation, positive thinking, and other body-related techniques can help reduce the need for medication when experiencing pain. Pills are a great option to get rid of pain, but they often have unpleasant side effects, even dangerous when are being used for a long time. If you have back pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis or other chronic pain that interferes with your everyday life, you could try ways to control pain without pills.
Research suggests that pain involves both the mind and the body, which is why body-therapies may have the ability to alleviate pain by changing the way you perceive it. The way to perceive pain is influenced by your genetic construction, emotions, personality, and lifestyle, but it is also influenced by previous experience.
The following techniques can help you get your mind back from pain, and also help you get over the initial pain signals:
Deep breathing
This is essential for all techniques, which is why you will have to learn it first: Inhale deeply for a few seconds, then slowly exhale. To enhance the concentration process, you can use a word or phrase (mantra) to help you. For example, when you inhale, you can think about the word “peace,” and when exhaling, you can think about “tension.” There are also a variety of smartphone and tablet applications that use sounds and images to help keep the pace when doing this breathing exercise.
Meditation with guided imagery
Start meditation with deep breathing, paying attention to each inhalation and exhalation. Then listen to soothing music and imagine that you are in a restful environment. If you feel that your mind wanders and your thoughts invade you, give yourself a “refresh” and access the previously imagined frame.
Yoga and Tai Chi
These mind-body exercises incorporate breath control, meditation, and movements to stretch and strengthen the muscles. You can start practicing alone, at home, with tutorials found on the internet or guided by a coordinator in specially organized classes.
Positive thinking
When we are sick, we often tend to become captivated by what we are not able to do. It is vital to focus on what we can do instead of what we can not do, thus engaging our thinking in a positive form. One way to do this is to keep a diary where we note everything we could do and for which we are grateful.
Make a change in your diet
Many pains arise from an unhealthy lifestyle and an unbalanced diet. Therefore, to prevent pain, it is good to implement a few healthy habits in your life: giving up processed foods including sugar, artificial sweeteners, fast food, sausage, bad fats (mayonnaise, margarine, fatty meat, pastry), white bread, white rice, and carbonated juices.
To get rid of pain it is necessary to replace unhealthy food with a regular addition of vegetables and fruits, whole grains and lean meats. Hydration is also important, so make sure you drink enough fluids during the day.
Migraine and headache
If you suffer from chronic migraine, make an infusion of a Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) from a teaspoon of dried plant in 250 ml of boiling water. Leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Drink 2-3 cups a day for three weeks.
If you have extreme headache, you can drink an infusion of Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). The plant contains salicylic acid, vitamin C, flavonoids, essential oils and has an anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and anti-fever action. Prepare it as follows: 1 teaspoon of dried plant in 250 ml boiling water. Drink 2-3 cups a day.
To reduce the risk of headaches, it is advisable to eat the following foods which are rich in magnesium: oatmeal, wheat germ, garlic, cabbage, banana, melon. It is also good to consume peas, turkey meat, whole grains, nuts, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds because they are a rich source of tryptophan, which stimulates the brain to produce serotonin required for well-being.
Fatty fish, flax seeds, avocados are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation and constriction of capillary vessels in the brain, thus preventing migraine and headache.
Neck pain and inflammation
You can combat neck pain by applying heat or ice to the painful area. You can use packs of ice for the first 48 hours, then you need to use heat. Heat can be applied with packs of warm water or short hot showers. You need to be careful not to fall asleep with a hot pad or ice bag on your neck.
Another technique you can use to fell better is to make a few slow exercises with your neck, moving your neck up and down, left to right, and from ear to ear. This will make your neck muscles release some of the pain. Have someone slowly massage your painful areas. Sleeping on a firm mattress and using a pillow specially designed for neck support can also be of great help.
Joint pain
Sometimes joint pain can prevent us from doing our daily work. The reasons that cause joint pain varies from the presence of joint inflammation or a muscle stretch. You can try a remedy using birch leaf. The plant is rich in methyl salicylate, which is a substance similar to the salicylic acid used to produce aspirin.
Birch leaves have anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antispasmodic effect. Tea from birch leaves is good for the treatment of arthritis and rheumatism. Prepare it as follows: put one teaspoon of plant into 250 ml of boiling water. Leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes. Drink 3-4 cups a day.
Menstrual spasms
Before or during menstruation, some women have abdominal cramps and breast pain. To combat these symptoms you can use primrose oil, which is a rich source of gamma-linolenic acid. Also, evening primrose vegetable oil is also indicated in reducing rheumatic and stomach pains, but is also beneficial for rheumatoid arthritis.
The product is found in herbal stores and can be found in the form of oily tablets. Before you start a treatment with evening primrose oil, ask your doctor for advice. Do not try evening primrose oil if you are taking antidepressants or if you are prone to bleeding or convulsions, or if you suffer from high blood pressure.
Sore throat
A sore throat is the first sign that your throat is inflamed. This can make the pain hard to bear, and you can not swallow solid food anymore. Try the chamomile infusion. It reduces inflammation, and due to its antioxidant properties stimulates the immune system to fight infections.
How to prepare it: put one teaspoon of the plant into 250 ml of boiling water, leave it infused for 15 minutes. Drink 2-3 cups a day.
You can also get rid of sore throat by chewing a few cloves.