1. Collaborate with your pain management team to design a realistic program to reduce your physical pain. The team can consist of your primary care physician, clinical nurse practitioner and a health psychologist or a similar team at a specified, pain management center.
2. Make sure you sleep on a comfortable matress. Determine the type of mattress that is most comfortable for you.
3. Start off slowly and have realistic goals and sub-goals. Don’t overdue It! Instead, lower your standards and use the physical pain scales to
discover and monitor positive patterns that make you feel better.
4. Establish a ritual when you get up in the morning. First, put on some upbeat, energizing music. Depending on what your team or specialist, like a physical therapist, recommends, massage any stiff muscles by using a foam roller, then stretch, using an elastic band.
5. Walk, walk, walk! I can’t tell you how many medical specialists recommend this, especially after surgery. If you can’t walk, even short distances, then try to walk or do aerobic exercises in a pool. You can eventually use waterproof ankle weights and foam, barbells for resistance.
6 Try exercising with a friend. It makes all the difference if you have someone else with whom to walk or exercise in other ways, especially when you don’t have the motivation at times.
7. Focus on weight-loss, weight-maintenance and healthy nutrition. Find an excellent nutritionist or lifestyle management program paid for by your insurance, if possible.
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