Chronic pain is, sadly, a condition that affects many people – and it’s one that can be hard to manage unless the right treatment options are used. It’s believed that over 10% of American adults go through chronic pain, which works out at around 25 million or more people. For seniors who experience pain, it can often be combined with a number of other major conditions – such as arthritis, cancer, sciatica and more. If pain exists for seniors, there’s often a risk that it won’t go away unless targeted interventions take place. But what do these look like, and how can they help seniors?
Lifestyle changes
In the first instance, the way to go might be lifestyle changes. These may well turn out to be a key component of any recovery program: cutting out alcohol and unhealthy foods may help, as can increasing the amount of exercise you do – if that’s possible to fit around your pain experiences. Sometimes, lifestyle changes can be less obvious in nature: it’s been noted, for example, that tight-fitting clothing can contribute to pain related to the digestion tract. Before making any significant lifestyle changes, though, it’s important to speak to your physician and ask whether or not there could be any long-term repercussions from doing it this way. If not, and you’re good to go ahead, then you may find that your pain is more manageable with just a few short changes.
Medication options
In the modern age, the go-to pain relief item is medication – and with so much medication now licensed and available, there’s likely to be one that works for you. In some cases, specific medical conditions require specific pain relief medications: arthritis patients, for example, can be prescribed disease-modifying anti-rheumatic medications which are specifically designed to reduce pain. In other scenarios, a senior who is experiencing pain could be prescribed one of the many general-purpose medications out there, such as relatively low effect medications or high-effect medications.
Assisted living
In some circumstances, it’s not possible for the standard interventions to go far enough. But if the prospect of a care home or another fully residential location seems like an assault on a senior’s independence, assisted living – or an independent residential space for seniors – is often a good alternative. That way, seniors can be monitored to ensure that pain medication drugs have been administered correctly and that any spike in pain is noted – while also giving the senior in question a chance to remain independent.
Seniors who are experiencing a chronic health condition can often find themselves feeling helpless – and without proper care, their problems can quickly get worse. But there are options available, ranging from serious interventions such as assisted living to lifestyle-related changes such as cutting out unhealthy foods.
By Chrissy Phillips
