Realistic chronic pain management

We’ve had a number of requests to do a main feature on managing chronic pain, so here it is!

A quick (but important) note before we begin:

Obviously, not all chronic pain is created equal. Furthermore, we know that you, dear reader with chronic pain, have been managing yours for however long you have, learning as you go. You also doubtlessly know your individual condition inside out.

We also know that people with chronic health conditions in general are constantly beset by well-meaning unsolicited advice from friends and family, asking if you’ve heard about [thing you heard about 20 years ago] that will surely change your life and cure you overnight.

It’s frustrating, and we’re going to try to avoid doing that here, while still offering the advice that was asked for. We ask you, therefore, to kindly overlook whatever you already knew, and if you already knew it all, well, we salute you and will not be surprised if that’s the case for at least some readers. Chronic pain’s a… Well, it’s a chronic pain.

All that said, let’s dive in…

How are you treating your body right now?

Are you hydrated; have you eaten; are you standing/sitting/lying in a position that at least should be comfortable for you in principle?

The first two things affect pain perception; the latter can throw a spanner in the works if something’s not quite right.

Move your body (gently!)

You know your abilities, so think about the range of motion that you have, especially in the parts of your body that hurt (if that’s “everywhere”, then, our sympathies, and we hope you find the same advice applies). Think about your specific muscles and joints as applicable, and what the range of motion is “supposed” to be for each. Exercise your range of motion as best you can (gently!) to the point of its limit(s) and/or pain.

• If you take it past that limit, there is a good chance you will make it worse. You don’t want that.
• If you don’t take it to the limit, there is a good chance your range of movement will deteriorate, and your “safe zone” (i.e., body positions that are relatively free from pain) will diminish. You definitely don’t want that, either.

Again, moderation is key. Yes, annoying as the suggestion may be, such things as yoga etc can help, if done carefully and gently. You know your limits; work with those, get rest between, and do what you can.

For most people this will at least help keep the pain from getting worse.

Hot & Cold

Both of these things could ease your pain… Or make it worse. There is an element of “try it and see”, but here’s a good general guide:

Here’s How to Choose Between Using Ice or Heat for Pain

Meditation… Or Distraction

Meditating really does help a lot of people. In the case of pain, it can be counterintuitively helpful to focus for a while on the sensation of the pain… But in a calm, detached fashion. Without judgement.

“Yes, I am experiencing pain. Yes, it feels like I’m being stabbed with hot knives. Yes, this is tortuous; wow, I feel miserable. This truly sucks.”

…it doesn’t sound like a good experience, does it? And it’s not, but paying it attention this way can paradoxically help ease things. Pain is, after all, a messenger. And in the case of chronic pain, it’s in some ways a broken messenger, but what a messenger most needs is to be heard.

The above approach a) is good b) may have a limit in how long you can sustain it at a time, though. So…

The opposite is a can be a good (again, short-term) approach too. Call a friend, watch your favorite movie, play a video game if that’s your thing. It won’t cure anything, but it can give you a little respite.

Massage

Unless you already know this makes your pain worse, this is a good thing to try. It doesn’t have to be a fancy spa; if the nature of your pain and condition permits, you can do self-massage. If you have a partner or close friend who can commit to helping, it can be very worth them learning to give a good massage. There are often local courses available, and failing that, there is also YouTube.

Here’s an example of a good video for myofascial release massage, which can ease a lot of common kinds of chronic pain:

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Some quick final things to remember:

• If you find something helps, then it helps, do that.
• That goes for mobility aids and other disability aids too, even if it was designed for a different disability. If it helps, it helps. You’re not stealing anyone’s thunder (or resources) by using something that makes your life easier. We’re not in this life to suffer!
• There is no such thing as “this pain is not too much”. The correct amount of pain is zero. Maybe your body won’t let you reach zero, but more than that is “too much” already.
• You don’t have to be suffering off the scale to deserve relief from pain

Good Things Come In Small Packages

“Sprouting” grains and seeds—that is, allowing them to germinate and begin to grow—enhances their nutritional qualities, boosting their available vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and even antioxidants.

You may be thinking: surely whatever nutrients are in there, are in there already; how can it be increased?

Well, the grand sweeping miracle of life itself is beyond the scope of what we have room to cover today, but in few words: there are processes that allow plants to transform stuff into other stuff, and that is part of what is happening.

Additionally, in the cases of some nutrients, they were there already, but the sprouting process allows them to become more available to us. Think about the later example of how it’s easier to eat and digest a ripe fruit than an unripe one, and now scale that back to a seed and a sprouted seed.

A third way that sprouting benefits us is by reducing“antinutrients”, such as phytic acid.

Let’s drop a few examples of the “what”, before we press on to the “how”:

• Enhancement of attributes of cereals by germination and fermentation: a review
• Sprouting characteristics and associated changes in nutritional composition of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)
• Phytic acid, in vitro protein digestibility, dietary fiber, and minerals of pulses as influenced by processing methods
• Effects of germination on the nutritional properties, phenolic profiles, and antioxidant activities of buckwheat
• Effect of several germination treatments on phosphatases activities and degradation of phytate in faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and azuki bean (Vigna angularis L.)

Sounds great! How do we do it?

First, take the seeds, grains, nuts, beans, etc that you’re going to sprout. Fine examples to try for a first sprouting session include:

• Grains: buckwheat, brown rice, quinoa
• Legumes: soy beans, black beans, kidney beans
• Greens: broccoli, mustard greens, radish
• Nuts/seeds: almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds

Note: whatever you use should be as unprocessed as possible to start with:

• On the one hand, you’d be surprised how often “life finds a way” when it comes to sprouting ridiculous choices
• On the other hand, it’s usually easier if you’re not trying to sprout blanched almonds, split lentils, rolled oats, or toasted hulled buckwheat.

Second, you will need clean water, a jar with a lid, muslin cloth or similar, and a rubber band.

Next, take an amount of the plants you’ll be sprouting. Let’s say beans of some kind. Try it with ¼ cup to start with; you can do bigger batches once you’re more confident of your setup and the process.

Rinse and soak them for at least 24 hours. Take care to add more water than it looks like you’ll need, because those beans are thirsty, and sprouting is thirsty work.

Drain, rinse, and put them in a clean glass jar, covering with just the muslin cloth in place of the lid, held in place by the rubber band. No extra water in it this time, and you’re going to be storing the jar upside down (with ventilation underneath, so for example on some sort of wire rack is ideal) in a dark moderately warm place (e.g. 80℉ / 25℃ is often ideal, but it doesn’t have to be exact, you have wiggle-room, and some things will enjoy a few degrees cooler or warmer than that)

Each day, rinse and replace until you see that they are sprouting. When they’re sprouting, they’re ready to eat!

Unless you want to grow a whole plant, in which case, go for it (we recommend looking for a gardening guide in that case).

But watch out!

That 80℉ / 25℃ temperature at which our sprouting seeds, beans, grains etc thrive? There are other things that thrive at that temperature too! Things like:

• E. coli
• Salmonella
• Listeria

…amongst others.

So, some things to keep you safe:

1. If it looks or smells bad, throw it out
2. If in doubt, throw it out
3. Even if it looks perfect, blanch it (by boiling it in water for 30 seconds, before rinsing it in cold water to take it back to a colder temperature) before eating it or refrigerating it for later.
4. When you come back to get it from the fridge, see once again points 1 and 2 above.
5. Ideally you should enjoy sprouted things within 5 days.

Want to know more about sprouting?

You’ll love this book that we reviewed recently:

The Sprout Book – by Doug Evans

Enjoy!