The saying that your health is your wealth should motivate you to always care for yourself. When you are experiencing any form of pain, such as low back pain, joint pain, or muscle pain, it is crucial to learn how to combat it at home. You can do this in several ways, and below are some of them. Let’s discuss how we can combat pain at home to get health-wise.
The Importance of Managing Your Health at Home
The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the significance of prioritizing one’s health at home. Read on to learn some reasons why you should manage your health.
• Early Illness Detection
When you monitor your health at home, you can easily recognize abnormalities or changes in your body. It also enables you to identify potential health issues in their early stages. With this information, you can seek treatment before the illnesses become severe.
• Allows You To Engage in Preventive Care
Another advantage of regularly managing your health in your home environment is that you can adopt routines that can help you protect yourself from contracting diseases. For example, you can work out, manage stress, or maintain a healthy diet to reduce the risk of developing health issues like diabetes.
• Reduces Healthcare Costs
Taking proactive measures to monitor your health reduces your healthcare costs. This is because you are less vulnerable to illnesses, hence minimizing the need to seek expensive medical services.
How To Help Yourself Health Wise to Combat Pain at Home
Here are some of the ways you can relieve pain at home.
• Engage in Gentle Exercises
Naturally, you can hesitate to become physically active when in pain. However, participating in simple activities like walking, dancing, or gardening can block the pain signals the body sends to the brain and help you feel better. These activities also relieve pain by relaxing and strengthening the stiff muscles and ligaments.
• Use Natural Remedies
Several ingredients, such as cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric, can help to relieve pain because they contain antioxidant properties.
• Over-The-Counter Medications
Today, you can find different types of pain relievers at your local pharmacy or store. These drugs, commonly referred to as analgesics, interfere with the development, transmission, and interpretation of pain messages in the human body. Besides controlling pain, they also reduce inflammation.
Topical pain relievers, such as gels, sprays, and creams, are suitable for strained muscles or aching joints. On the other hand, oral pain relievers, such as aspirin, help to relieve moderate pain, which sometimes causes swelling.
• Cold or Hot Compresses
You can use a homemade cold or hot pack to relieve pain at home when you develop an injury. The two methods work differently. Cold packs constrict the blood vessels, which helps to numb the pain and reduces the swelling. This is why you should consider using a ice on a sprained ankle or arm. Alternatively, you can submerge the affected area in ice water.
On the contrary, heat reduces pain by relaxing or loosening muscles. It also increases the flow of blood to the injured area, hence promoting healing. Therefore, consider using a heating pad or taking a warm bath after an injury.
Other Ways To Help Pain at Home
Other ways include;
• Deep Breathing
When you are experiencing intense pain, you are likely to take rapid, shallow breaths. However, this can cause you to panic or make you feel dizzy. To relieve the pain, consider breathing slowly. It will keep you relaxed, prevent anxiety and muscle tension, and leave you feeling better.
• Distract Yourself
Another effective way to combat pain at home is to shift your attention to a hobby or an activity you enjoy. Examples include knitting, painting, or photography. Engaging in these activities will ensure that pain is not the only thing on your mind.
• Relax and Meditate
Health experts indicate that practicing mindfulness can help to reduce pain at home. This approach enables you to differentiate the physical pain you are feeling from your emotional response to it. Therefore, you can listen to relaxing music, meditate, do yoga, and other relaxation techniques.
Dealing with pain is difficult and can make you feel anxious and depressed. The above information proves that you can help yourself by managing the pain at home through various techniques like exercising and taking pain relievers. Ensure that you manage your health to ensure preventive care, detect health issues as early as possible, and reduce healthcare costs.
Written by Taylor McKnight, Author for ProHealthCareProducts
Published by International Pain Foundation, Team iPain, iPain Blog
