Pain relief hints and tips

[Alastair]

PainSupport eNewsletter
'Flare-up' Action Plan

We all have 'flare-ups' of pain from time to time, when the pain becomes worse for a while These flare-ups are over faster and more easily dealt with if we have a well-planned strategy ready to put in place at the very beginning. Try my 'Flare-up Action Plan' next time your pain increases and you feel out of control.

1 Don't just sit there suffering! Face the flare-up and decide to take some action. This will help immediately because you have brought in a constructive attitude which puts you in charge again and willing to look for positive avenues to explore.

2 Find practical ways to help yourelf. Ask yourself what will help you right now. It might be a TENs unit or other device, it might be stretching exercises, some anti-inflammatory gel to rub on the sore place, or you might find frozen peas or an icepack alternated with a hot pack helpful. (Don't place directly on the skin, wrap the objects in a teatowel first. Use each for 3 minutes alternately, for about 15 minutes in all. Use four or five times during the day.)

3 Focus on deep, diaphragmatic breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing is the key to natural pain relief, it helps to relieve tension from your muscles, it relaxes your mind and encourages your body's own painkillers, endorphins, to flow. Check your breathing throughout the day to ensure you are breathing in this deep and natural way.

4 Flood your brain with positive thoughts, or affirmations. Write some on small cards to keep in your pocket to remind you - and repeat them over and over, such as:
'I can cope with this.'
'I am calm.'
'Be peaceful............be still.'
'Relax...........this will pass.'
'Breathe out and let go.....I float and flow with it.'
'I take one moment at a time and concentrate on what I am doing now.'
or simply,
'Peace', 'Relax,' or any other comforting words.

5 Find some relaxation tapes or use another form of relaxation such as a body scan or a visualisation, perhaps of you in a perfect place in perfect health. Total relaxation is central to natural pain relief. Use a method that suits you for twenty minutes at least once a day, preferably twice during a flare-up.

6 Fun and Feel-Good: Endorphins! Seek out and find endorphins as often as you can throughout the day. Endorphins are your body's own 'feel-good', pain-reducing chemicals. Concentrating on pain stops the production of endorphins. Endorphins are produced when you laugh, have fun, relax, breathe correctly and when you are feeling happy and positive. You can actively encourage the production of pain-relieving endorphins yourself. You need deliberately to distract yourself away from thinking about the pain and concentrate instead on activities which will produce endorphins.

These are examples of endorphin-producing activities: massage and aromatherapy, feeling joyful (take your attention to things that uplift you), being enthusiastic (involve yourself in projects/your interests), exercise, massage, diaphragmatic breathing, smiling, relaxation, visualisation, meditation, enjoying music, stroking a pet, laughing with friends, whistling, enjoying nature, laughing, singing. Most important of all is to distract your attention away from the pain by getting involved in an interesting project or task.

7 Friends: If you are seeking some extra support from someone else who understands what you are going through, why not join the PainSupport Contact Club where you can find a 'pain-pal' in privacy. I have a long list of members, all of whom are keen to contact like-minded people. There is sure to be someone for everyone. If you'd like to know more about the Contact Club please write to me: jansadler@painsupport.co.uk


TIP!! ADD THESE NOTES TO YOUR TOOL KIT - Your Tool Kit is your notebook of self-help pain relief methods - a special notebook to remind you of techniques and skills for coping with pain. Your Tool Kit is especially useful when pain flares up. It will help prevent panic and fear and give you constructive and positive ideas to focus upon.

TIP!! MORE INFORMATION - There is more information on pain-reducing activities on the PainSupport website, www.painsupport.co.uk or contact me for details of my CDs, tapes and books which contains many more methods for relaxation, pain and stress relief.


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WORDS OF WISDOM
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"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"
- - author unknown

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AND FINALLY... (sent to me by a US painSupport member - with many thanks for the laugh!)
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Oil Shortage
Some people are wondering how we wound up short of oil.
The answer is simple:
Nobody bothered to check it.
They didn't know we were running low.
And of course the reason for this is geographical.
All the oil is in Texas and Oklahoma -
and all the dipsticks are in Washington, D.C.

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Keep smiling!

Jan at PainSupport
www.painsupport.co.uk

[Harrison]

Good stuff, sir A! The diaphram breathing was especially helpful to me pre and post-op...