Take Control of Your Chronic Pain in 2021

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It’s that time of year again! Time to make (and hopefully keep) some New Year’s Resolutions. Your pain management doctors in Asheville North Carolina made a New Year’s Resolution too. Our goal this year – and every year – is to help you on your journey toward a healthy, active and happy life. We aim to improve your quality of life by listening to you, creating custom treatment plans and educating you as we learn more about your conditions.

We’re not wasting any time on making that resolution happen, either. Let’s get right into some of the top ways you can begin taking control of your chronic pain in 2021.

 

Attitude is Everything

Half the battle in managing chronic pain happens in your mind. Some days that will mean wrestling with being comfortable asking for help. Other days that might mean taking concrete steps to conquer your stress, anxiety or depression. Take it from our Asheville pain psychologists - to treat pain effectively, you must address the physical, emotional and psychological aspects.

Here are a few great places to start:

  • Mind-Body techniques: As the name suggests, these techniques target both the mind and body simultaneously. Common types include meditation, relaxation, guided imagery, hypnosis, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral therapy to name a few.

  • Biofeedback: This therapy teaches people to gain control of some of their body’s functions in order to make changes that may affect pain levels.

  • Psychotherapy: Therapy focused on helping people cope with the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that accompany chronic pain and helping them to develop new ways to think about problems and to find solutions.

  

Tech & Tools

We are huge fans of assistive tools and technology for helping chronic pain. It doesn’t have to be complicated, either. Here’s a small sample of pain management technology that we frequently recommend to our patients:  

  • Cold & Heat Packs

  • TENS

  • Lontophoresis

  • Ultrasound

  • Cold Laser Therapy

  • Supportive devices

Be sure to schedule a time to meet with your care team to get a feel for which of these popular options could be a good fit for you. If you don’t currently have a pain management team, we have several pain management doctors in Asheville North Carolina who are currently accepting new patients and would love to help you with your chronic pain.

  

Activity-Based Therapies 

Another excellent medication-free option to try out this year is the activity-based therapy category. These options are centered around gentle and effective pain management techniques that involve increased heart-rate, improved flexibility, and maintaining a healthy weight. In short, we’re talking about exercise. Some great ideas in this area include:

  • Walking

  • Weightlifting

  • Yoga

  • Tai Chi

This category also comes in as our most budget-friendly recommendation for success with your 2021 pain management goals. You can easily find multiple variations of each of these styles and more in your local library or on your streaming service. Before beginning any exercise program, remember to consult your pain management care team so that they can advise you on the best way to stay safe while getting healthy!

 

Medications

Often used in combination with many of the therapies mentioned above, medication can be an effective way to manage the symptoms of chronic pain. There are a wide variety of options that range from over-the-counter medication to opioids and everything in between. Your care team will be able to best advise you on which may offer you the best results.

  • Acetaminophen

  • NSAIDs

  • Anti-seizure meds

  • Antidepressants

  • COX-2 Inhibitors

  • Opioids

  

Asheville Pain Clinic 

If you’re already doing many things on this list, we hope this post confirmed that you are on the right path. If you are new to chronic pain management, we hope you found this piece to be full of new and exciting options to talk with your doctor about. Wherever this post finds you in your pain management journey, we are so excited to begin 2021 with you in this way. If there is anything we can do to better serve your chronic pain needs, please don’t hesitate to give us a call!

Get in touch with us by calling 828-483-4438 

Disclaimer: You should always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health care provider before beginning any exercise program. The information contained in this article does not constitute medical advice, nor does reading or accessing this information create a patient-provider relationship.  Comments that you post will be shared with all visitors to this page. All comments are not governed by HIPAA and you should not post any private health information. 

Lauren Fischer