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If you live with chronic pain, you don’t have to just take pain medication to find relief. There are natural ways to get the pain relief you need, and many of them you can do in your own home. You can even do several of these in conjunction with one another, and since they are natural pain relievers you don;t have to worry about over-dosing and can use them when needed.
Get Active
Endorphins are natural chemicals that block pain signals from reaching your brain. In short, they are the body’s natural pain relievers and they work wonders. These little chemicals also help alleviate stress and depression, and they can be released by simple cardio workouts- like walking or aerobic exercise. You may think that if you’re in pain you should rest, but this is the time when you need to get some type of physical activity in the most so that your body can fight the pain naturally with endorphins.
Go Eat Red Grapes
If this sounds silly to you, consider that Scientists at Rush Medical University showed that red grapes, which contain resveratrol, help relieve pain. Resveratrol is a powerful compound that blocks the enzyme that is responsible for tissue degeneration, so it literally can stop what is causing your pain. It’s also found in cranberries and blueberries.
Eat cookies
Yep, this is serious, too. Cookies, chocolate, or ice cream have been shown to reduce the sensation of pain. And that doesn’t mean you have to consume them, because it has also been shown that the smell of something sweet and pleasant reduces the brain’s of pain.
Cool Down and Heat Up
Apply heating and cooling pads to the area that hurt, alternately. Many people think that just doing one will help, but for best results you need to relax the muscles and cool off the inflammation. Use a heating pad, then give your body a one hour break and swap to the cooling pad. Wait a couple of hours, then go back to the heating pad if needed.
Get Depression Relief
Even if you aren’t depressed now, depression can occur in people who have chronic pain as part of the effects of the pain. To hep alleviate the depression, which in turn will help with the pain, get outdoors, talk to a friend, or even see a counselor. Whatever you can do to make yourself feel better and calmer you should do so that you can be ready to face any pain that may come your way with a clear head. If you start to feel pain, try to find a quiet place where you can meditate and focus. This will help ease the pain as much as possible without using medications.
What are some of your favorite ways to naturally relive pain?
We rely a lot on heating and cooling. Unfortunately, my husband has neck and shoulder issues but obviously he couldn’t work with pain killers in his system. Heat and ice help him get through the day.
I am always looking for ways to ease the pain. I live on my heating pad. I need to get some good ice packs.
I generally don’t do too much–maybe massage the area that is hurting or take an aspirin or two. It is interesting about the Red Grapes-I have ti tell my Mom-she is always eating them. Maybe she should be eating more to alleviate the arthritis pain in her hands.
I am always looking for natural remedies instead of buying over the counter products or prescription medications. Thanks for this information.