Chronic pain can affect every aspect of your life, as it distracts you and takes up your energy. If you or someone that you love is suffering from chronic pain, then learning more about the condition can be a very useful step. The more you know about chronic pain, the better equipped you will be to empathize with a loved one and understand the steps that you can take to deal with the condition.
What Is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is categorized as pain that lasts for longer than 12 weeks despite the use of medications or treatments. People that suffer from chronic pain might be in pain all of the time, or the symptoms might come and go. Chronic pain can affect your ability to do everyday activities such as working, having a social life, or looking after yourself. It is also common for chronic pain to lead to mental health issues like depression and anxiety. It can also affect your ability to sleep, which in turn can negatively impact the symptoms of chronic pain.
Who Can Suffer from Chronic Pain?
Studies estimate that 20% of adults have chronic pain, and a further 7% of people had chronic pain that frequently limited their life or work activities. Chronic pain can occur in many different forms and can impact different parts of the body. Some of the most common types of chronic pain include:
- Arthritis
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Headaches and migraines
- Testicular pain
- Scar tissue pain
- Muscle pain throughout the body (common with fibromyalgia)
- Neurological pain
- Irritable bowel
There are a number of different risk factors that can increase your chances of suffering from chronic pain. Some of the risk factors of suffering from chronic pain include:
- Genetics
- Obesity
- Stress
- Smoking
- Previous injury
- Age
- Labor-intensive work
What Does Chronic Pain Feel Like?
What chronic pain will feel like depends on the individual who is suffering and what form of chronic pain they are experiencing. Some of the most common feelings that people describe include aching, burning, shooting, squeezing, stinging, and throbbing. It is also common for people who have chronic pain to suffer from anxiety, depression, fatigue, and insomnia.
How Can You Treat Chronic Pain?
As bioxcellerator.com explains, there are many different approaches to treating chronic pain, and these can include:
- Medication
- Stem cell treatment
- Exercise
- Diet
- Sleep
- Stress management
- Massage
- Meditation
Learning more about your condition and making informed lifestyle changes can be a very effective step when it comes to dealing with the effects of chronic pain. Planning your time around your condition and pacing yourself can be very important to ensure that you do not become overwhelmed.
Can You Recover from Chronic Pain?
Usually, chronic pain does not go away; that being said, there are strategies that can be used to reduce the effects of chronic pain. When you are looking to deal with the effect of chronic pain, it is important that you consult with your doctor to learn more about living with the condition.
