Whether you have the occasional headache or you suffer from chronic pain, you’re more likely to be advised to take pain medication. If your pain is severe, you could have some of the more effective pain relief prescribed to you. Not everyone wants to take these medications and there’s still no knowledge of the long term effects. With that in mind, here are some natural and non-medication methods to ease pain.
Get Active and Boost Your Natural Chemicals
The body can naturally fight again pain and ease it. This is through the release of chemicals in your brain.
Activity and exercise are the ways to get the brain to release more of these. You will also feel happier, which can help to ease the pain that you feel.
Distract Yourself
If you try to make your body forget about the pain, you stand a chance of getting rid of it. Find something to distract your mind from it.
Keeping active is often the way forward—so you can mix this in with point one. However, you could also start baking or do something that you really enjoy, like reading a book or doing some crafts.
Listen to Music You Love
Doing stuff you love will instantly boost the chemicals in your brain. Listening to music is a great way to focus on something else, enjoy what you’re doing and ease the pain in your body.
There are psychological studies into listening to music and pain relief, with many psychologists favouring it over offering medication.
Apply Heat or Cold
Depending on the type of pain, you will usually find one or the other works for you. With the majority of muscles aches and pains, heat is preferred but try both to see which eases the pain for you.
There are plenty of pads that you can buy or you can use a hot water bottle or soak in a bath. When it comes to cold, don’t put any ice directly onto your skin; always have it wrapped in something. This protects your skin from freezer burn.
Look Into Acupuncture
There is a reason the Chinese focus on their natural methods—they work. Acupuncture is great for relieving pain, especially if you have chronic pain and can’t work out why.
You may not need many sessions to deal with it and just book sessions as you feel it getting worse; or you could have it regularly to keep it at bay for the rest of your life.
Make Sure Your Spine Is Aligned
Misaligned spines are the cause for a lot of pain. The alignment affects the neck, shoulders, legs and hips, so you could feel pain all over your body, including headaches. Make sure your spine isn’t out of line.
You will need to see a professional chiropractor to check for this and help put your spine back in the right place. Don’t try to do it yourself or ask someone who is unqualified as there are risks that you will make it worse.