Pain Management

Pain management. It’s something we all have to deal with from time to time. It could be recovering from surgery, an injury, ongoing illness and a myriad of other possibilities. Pain is crippling and takes center stage as something you need to deal with NOW. Today, I’m going to touch on things you can do for short-term pain. And, of course since it’s what I’m dealing with now, it will also deal with ways to recovery from surgery.

RICE, Healing Foods, Herbs, Vitamins

RICE.Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. Simple things in theory.
Rest. Sleep – stay in bed – watch TV – read. Sounds easy right? Perhaps for the first day or so. But things get in the way. Discomfort from being in the same position or confined to bed. Pain (pain management herbs and ideas below). Boredom. Or if you’re like me, I hate sitting still. I have things I want to get done if I’m not in Big Gun Yosemite Sam pain and damn; I’m just irritated because I have to stay in one place. Patience. One must find patience and projects and meditation and talking to friends and doing anything you can think of to take your mind off your discomfort/pain/irritation.

Ice. That is simple. Ice as often as the doctor prescribes or in the beginning as often as you like. It’s best to take some breaks from it, which allow for blood flow to return. But ice is great. First, it’s great for pain management. Ice numbs the area, helps alleviate inflammation and simply makes your pain more tolerable and thus your body more comfortable.

Compression. If you have had surgery, you don’t have to worry about compression, the doctor has taken care of that for you in the soft cast, hard cast, ortho bootie, or whatever they have put in your body to keep that area still. If not, you need to use ace bandages. If it’s tendon or muscle related you do not want to keep it completely immobilized but if it’s a break, you MUST keep it immobilized.

Elevation. Ideally, keep it above your heart. This isn’t always possible all the time but try to do this at least some of the time. If I had to keep my foot higher than my heart the entire three weeks, I’d only be able to lie down and I’d go stark raving mad. Plus I could get up to go to the bathroom. But it is the ideal and you should spend as much time in that position as is feasibly possible.

PAIN MANAGEMENT

Healing foods:

Probably my favorite pain reducing method is apple cider vinegar.I was amazed with the results while I was recuperating from tendinitis. It has all sorts of healing properties not the least of which is it reduces inflammation. There are lots of recipes. I’m a purist and I simply take two teaspoons twice a day. If my stomach is sensitive that day, I’ll make sure to have some crackers or yogurt afterwards.

Many people put the two teaspoons in water with a bit of honey or molasses. Do it to taste. Apple Cider Vinegar works wonders.

Pineapple and papaya, juice or fruit is good for treating inflammation. It must be fresh. But it does interfere with aspirin and penicillin.

All berries are big in antioxidants, which promote healing.

Herbs for Pain Management

Vitamins