Dealing with chronic pain may be one of the toughest battles you face in your lifetime.
When you suffer from chronic pain, it takes both a physical and mental toll on your body. It impacts how you show up in your day to day life, and can even impact how you interact with others.
In honor of National Pain Awareness month, we want to highlight natural remedies for chronic pain. Oftentimes, when someone is dealing with chronic pain they’re told prescription medications and ointments are their only way to receive relief.
Although many conditions require medications, oftentimes there are also natural ways you can provide relief to chronic pain. These natural remedies can be used in addition to, or sometimes even in place of, prescriptions. Natural remedies are great because they typically come with little to no side effects. However, it’s always important to consult your doctor to make sure you’re using methods that are best suited for your health.
If you’re someone dealing with chronic pain, we want you to know you’re not alone.
Chronic pain is an extremely common problem that affects many people in different ways. Some people suffer from constant pain while others experience intermittent pain. The causes of chronic pain vary widely, but often include injury, illness, stress, and other factors.
Learning how to gain natural relief for chronic pain will help you navigate daily life with your illness. Here are a few ways you can experience natural relief for chronic pain:
Staying Active
We know this may seem counterintuitive when talking about chronic pain. But if your body allows you to exercise, this is an excellent way to gain natural relief for chronic pain. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins. Endorphins are essentially your body’s version of “natural painkillers”.
Endorphins help you feel your best and show up as the best version of yourself in your life. They can change how your brain perceives pain, and help you deal with difficult sensations. When looking for natural relief for chronic pain, sometimes simply adding in a daily walk or run can provide relief.
Turmeric
Turmeric has been used in many countries, such as India, for many years as a natural way to relieve pain and inflammation. This spice can be mixed into your tea, coffee, smoothie, or any of your daily meals. Alternatively, it can also be taken in capsule form as a supplement.
Turmeric is shown to provide notable relief for arthritis, chronic pain, and other patients who deal with inflammation. Remember, be sure to consult your physician before taking any supplements to ensure they work right for your body and your condition and don’t have interactions with any medications you might be taking, like Tamoxifen.
Heat Therapy
Heat therapy has been used for years to help provide natural relief for chronic pain. If you have body aches you can try taking a hot bath with Epsom salts.
If you find yourself feeling body pain while on the go, try using a device such as Brilliantly Warm. You can think of it like a wearable warming machine! This provides all day warmth that you can take on the go. So the next time you’re at the office or running around, you don’t just have to rely on ointments or medications to manage your pain throughout the day. Devices like Brilliantly Warm can be worn under your clothes, so you can experience natural relief for chronic pain—without having to wear bulky layers.
Practice Mindfulness
The truth is, the mind and body are highly intertwined when it comes to dealing with chronic pain. Having a clear headspace helps you better manage chronic pain symptoms, and helps alleviate anxiety.
A great way to receive natural relief for chronic pain is incorporating meditation into your daily routine. Meditation helps you be more present in your life, and helps provide natural anxiety relief. Meditating helps improve your mood, reduce your negative thoughts/feelings, and reminds you to live in the present moment. Have you tried out our free guided meditations, Brilliantly Calm? We just love them!
If you want to learn more ways to naturally reduce anxiety, be sure to check out our blog on "7 Natural Ways to Reduce Anxiety" where we dive deeper into this practice.
Water Exercise
Water exercise, such as gentle swimming or pool exercises, is an extremely effective way to receive natural relief for chronic pain. Sometimes your chronic pain symptoms may be so severe that you’re unable to go on a walk or run.
This is the perfect time to take advantage of gentle pool exercises. This is a great way to get your body moving and release endorphins, without overworking yourself. You could even try checking your local pool to see if they offer pool exercise classes you may be interested in.
Not only will this help you get moving, but it will also help you build a community which has great benefits for your mental health. You may find other participants are dealing with similar issues, and this can help you feel less alone in your journey.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine technique used to relieve pain by stimulating points along the body's meridians. These points are believed to help balance energy flow throughout the body.
Oftentimes, those suffering with chronic pain turn to acupuncture for natural relief. Acupuncture is also a great way to calm anxiety naturally. Exploring acupuncture and see if it’s the right fit for you could provide you with many different health benefits.
Aromatherapy
Essential oils are extracted from plants and herbs and are often added to bath salts, lotions, and other products. They are also used as aromatherapy treatments. In addition to relieving stress, essential oils can improve sleep quality and reduce anxiety. This also helps naturally reduce pain because your body is placed into a more relaxed state.
Try finding what essential oils work best for you and see if they help alleviate your pain. This can be a great addition to your daily routine and help you alleviate your chronic pain symptoms naturally.
Therapeutic Massages
Oftentimes when we think of getting a massage—we think of it as a treat for ourselves. However, therapeutic massages can be an excellent addition to your pain relief plan if you’re struggling with chronic pain. We’ve seen massaging being used to alleviate pain for many different types of conditions, such as breastfeeding pain that many new mothers face.
Regularly receiving massages helps release tension in your muscles. This helps relax your body and improves different areas of your health overtime—such as your sleep quality. Massages help stimulate nerve fibers and disrupt your body’s pain loop. This can provide natural relief for chronic pain.