You Have Not Tried Everything
Your guide to conquering Chronic pain
As an ER nurse, I often hear people saying that they have tried everything there is to treat their pain and that nothing works. People tell me that they have tried lots of medications, physical therapy, and surgery. They believe that if these things didn’t work, nothing will work. The reality is that there are so many different ways to approach treating chronic pain, it is almost impossible to say that you have tried everything. That’s why I created this list. I want you to see how many options are actually available to you. You don’t need to try everything on this list. That would take forever. Take some time to read through this list and recognize that there is hope for treating your pain.
Treatment Options
Each person is different in what will work for them. Your journey to being pain free will require you to understand your body and what treatments work for you. The journey may be hard, but with discipline and perseverance, you can reach your goals.
1. EEG Neurofeedback Treatment
A technique aimed at training areas of the brain to work better and reduce pain. It has been known to decrease pain and improve quality of life.
2. Sleep
Quality sleep can be healing for mental and physical health. I always wake up with very little pain on the nights that I sleep well.
3. Anti-convulsants
Originally these medications were used to treat people with epilepsy, but research has shown that they also interfere with overactive pain signals. Gabapentin and Lyrica are well known examples.
4. Muscle Relaxants
Muscle relaxants have been used to treat back pain, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, skeletal pain, strokes, and cerebral palsy. Muscle tension and spasms can cause intense pain.
5. Heat and Cold Treatments
Heat and cold treatments include heating pads, icing, cold water immersion, and cryotherapy. These measures can reduce muscle tension and numb areas of pain.
6. Physical Therapy
Based on my personal experience, physical therapy is one of the most important methods that can be used to treat pain. Physical therapy is where you learn to trust your body and improve in physical movements.
7. Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy covers a lot of different areas to encourage healing. This includes pain education, functional goal setting, proactive pain control, safe body mechanics, and identifying environmental factors that influence pain levels.
8. Massage Therapy
Massage therapy relaxes painful muscles, joints, and tendons. It even reduces stress and anxiety. There are many different types of massages so experiment and find what works best for you.
9. Whirlpool Therapy
This treatment has been proven to improve circulation, nutrition, and soften skin. It has been known to reduce pain and edema. It specifically helps with osteoarthritis, but may be used for several other conditions.
10. Local electrical nerve stimulation
The most common form is a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit. It can be very effective in reducing pain. I have seen this work on people and it is amazing.
11. Exercise
Exercise is how we increase endorphin levels. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that reduce pain signals. Exercise can come in a lot of different forms, so find one that you enjoy and start doing it everyday.
12. Injection Treatments
There are multiple types of injection treatments. These include epidural steroid injections, nerve blocks, joint injections, and trigger point injections. I know several people who no longer have pain because of nerve blocks.
13. Psychotherapy
Pain is often worsened by anxiety and stress and anyone with chronic pain is at a higher risk for developing anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Therapies that can address this include operant behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness based stress reduction, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
14. Group Therapy
Group therapy has been proven to be effective in pain management. This may be due to decreased isolation and the ability to share resources and information to help each other.
15. Stress Management
Anyone who has chronic pain is also going to experience chronic stress. Increased stress has a negative impact on pain levels. Stress management techniques will aide in decreasing both stress and pain.
16. Relaxation Training
This includes breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided imagery. These exercises can be highly effective in decreasing stress and pain.
17. Meditation
There are several different types of meditative techniques that can be used to decrease stress and pain. Research has proven that meditation can be very effective in treating chronic pain.
18. Hypnosis
This may sound like an odd form of treatment, but several studies have shown that this is an effective way to treat chronic pain.
19. Biofeedback
Biofeedback allows you to learn how to control specific functions within your body such as your heart rate. You can learn to relax specific muscles and reduce pain.
20. Patient Counseling
Addressing emotions like anger and anxiety can reduce pain. Pain is often the cause of these emotions, but experiencing these emotions can definitely increase pain.
21. Family Education
Family members often don’t understand how to help their loved ones with chronic pain. It may be beneficial for them to be educated on chronic pain and what they can do to provide support.
22. Surgery
A lot of people with chronic pain believe that surgery is the ultimate solution. In the majority of cases, this is not true. However, if your doctor and physical therapist are encouraging it, surgery may be the solution for you.
23. High Intensity Laser Therapy
This is a non-invasive and painless method for treating chronic pain. It allows for deep tissue penetration and quicker tissue regeneration and healing.
24. Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been proven by several studies to be effective for treating chronic pain. The effects last for long periods of time.
25. Placebos
A placebo is a medical intervention that shouldn’t work, but does work due to the person believing that the treatment would work. Placebos can affect blood pressure, heart rate, pain levels, and other symptoms.
26. Spinal Manipulation
This is a technique were a licensed practitioner uses their hands or a device to apply a controlled thrust to a joint in your spine. This can be done by chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, and physical therapists.
27. Yoga
Yoga has been proven to be beneficial for several chronic pain conditions, including but not limited to, arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine, and low back pain.
28. Tai Chi
Tai-chi is a mind body exercise that can be used to decrease chronic pain. Tai chi involves slow motion movements, weight shifting, and mindfulness meditation.
30. Qi Gong
This is a traditional Chinese practice that focuses on the movement of energy throughout the body. There are different forms and each form has the potential to decrease pain.
31. Trigger Point Injections
This is a procedure used to treat painful areas of muscle that do not relax. These injections contain a small amount of anesthetic and steroids.
32. Art Therapy
Art therapy can lower your perception of pain that relaxes and alters your mood. This prevents pain from taking over your emotions. It decreases stress and anxiety.
33. Intrathecal Drug Delivery
This form of treatment involves implanting a small pump or catheter into the spine so that pain medication can be delivered directly into the spinal cord.
34. Spinal Cord Stimulation Implants
This is an implanted device that sends low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord. It reduces pain, improves sleep, and increases your quality of life.
35. CBD Oil
CBD oil is derived from the cannabis plant, but unless it contains THC, there are no psychoactive effects, meaning that you will not get high. People have used it to reduce pain, relieve anxiety and depression, and to improve sleep.
36. Marijuana
Marijuana can decrease chronic pain, specifically pain relating to inflammation and nerve damage. Different strains of marijuana may benefit different people better.
37. Bioelectric Therapy
Bioelectric therapy relieves pain by interrupting pain signals before they reach the brain. It also causes the body to release endorphins which decrease pain.
38. Dietary Approaches
Chronic pain is often caused or worsened by inflammation. A healthy diet can decrease inflammation. Foods rich in antioxidants can help soothe and prevent flare ups.
39. Guided Imagery
Guided imagery has been known to effectively relieve pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. The idea is to envision your pain receding and this will eventually occur.
40. See a Chiropractor
Chiropractors are often used to treat back pain, but they can help with other musculoskeletal-related pain as well. They can do manual or manipulative therapies, postural and exercise education, and ergonomic training.
41. Therapeutic Touch
This is an area that requires more research, but people have experienced pain relief with therapeutic touch. Touch therapies assume that healing depends on the flow of energy between the environment and the body.
42. Fish Oil
Fish oil contains Omega-3 which has strong anti-inflammatory properties. Some studies have shown that fish oil can reduce pain.
43. Herbs
Herbs that decrease pain usually do so by decreasing inflammation. These herbs include white willow bark, boswellia, devil’s claw, bromelain, turmeric, and ginger.
44. Go to a Pain Clinic
Pain clinics are health care facilities that can diagnose and manage chronic pain. Pain clinics have doctors, nurses, psychologists, physical therapists, occupational and vocational therapists, and nutritionists and dietitians.
45. Menthol
This a topical that can provide temporary relief from pain. On a personal note, I love this stuff. I use it everyday and my pain has greatly decreased. It comes in a lot of different forms and brands. I use BioFreeze.
46. Body Scanning/ Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This is a mindfulness exercise that can decrease pain. The goal is to get to know the body so you can learn from it and manage it.
47. Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises have been known to decrease stress and pain. There are several different types of breathing techniques and they all have the potential to be beneficial.
48. Combination Exercises
Combining different types of exercises such as cardio, strength, stretching, and aerobic exercises can decrease pain in the body.
49. Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy involves standing in a fridge that has temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The intense cooling induces physiologic changes that can lead to a decrease in inflammation and pain.
50. Sleeping Pills
A lot of people with chronic pain struggle with insomnia. Lack of sleep can increase pain in the body. Sleeping pills can allow you to fall into a deep sleep that allows your body to fully relax and heal.
51. Vagus Nerve Stimulation
The vagal nerve stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system which puts you into a state of relaxation and decrease pain. There are specific exercises that can be done to stimulate the vagal nerve.
52. Weight Loss if Overweight
Weight loss reduces chronic pain. Fat cells cause inflammation, so if you reduce the amount of fat cells in your body, you can reduce your inflammation and pain.
53. Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE)
This involves educational sessions that describe in detail the neurobiology and neurophysiology of pain and the nervous system. This can result in a decrease in fear of the pain and more willingness to move.
54. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This changes the way that people view their pain. People can change their awareness of pain and develop better coping skills. A lot of research has supported that cognitive behavioral therapy can decrease pain.
55. Gratitude Journal
Practicing gratitude can lower blood pressure, improve immune function, promote happiness, and decrease depression, anxiety, and stress. All of these potential benefits can lead to a decrease in pain.
56. Emotional Support Animal
Dogs have been proven to reduce pain, fatigue, and emotional stress. People with chronic pain can also get trained service animals that can perform specific tasks.
57. Anti-Inflammatory Medications
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are effective at decreasing inflammation and pain. These medications are often first line treatment for a lot of chronic pain conditions such as arthritis.
58. Back Brace
A back brace can help take some of the weight off of the lower back and reduce pressure on the joints and muscles. They can be flexible, semi-rigid, or rigid depending on what the person needs.
59. Virtual Reality
Recent research has shown that virtual reality is effective in reducing back pain. It uses cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce pain. The EaseVRx has been FDA approved.
60. Red Light Therapy
This is a treatment that uses low-level red wavelengths to decrease pain. It is safe and effective.
61. Walking
This may be hard for a lot of people, but with time, walking can promote healing. I really struggled with this in the beginning, but now I walk two miles every day.
62. Epsom Salt Bath
Epsom salts are made up of magnesium sulfate which breaks down in water. Soaking in this can relax stiff muscles and loosen joints.
63. Therapy Wheel
These are made for people with back pain. They are designed to help restore the natural curvature of the spine.
64. Myofascial Release Tools
Myofascial release tools include foam rollers and back wheels.
65. Ice Slurry
This is not an actual slurry. It is an injection made of ice, saline, and glycol. It targets the lipids that make up peripheral nerves and results in a decrease in pain.
66. Pain Medications
We have a lot of options in this area. Between NSAIDs, acetaminophen, Cox-2 inhibitors, opioids, and so many more.
67. Anti-depressant and Anxiety Medications
Anti-depressant and anxiety medications have been used in combination with pain medications. These address the pain and treat mental health problems that have been caused by chronic pain.