Your body is like a road map of nerve bundles, muscles, and bones. They communicate with each and help send signals to your brain particularly feeling pain. Importantly, we are going to discuss simple remedies to help you become more attuned to your body and alleviate some pain. By being more attuned to your body, you can help alleviate some of this pain and be able to explain the pain better to your chiropractor.
The Neck: Your Body’s Top Connection
Let’s start with your neck. We have become a technology society and with most of us staring hunched over a computer screen or phone–no wonder we have painful stiff necks! Prevention magazine’s 2018 National International Health Interview Survey reported that 16.1 % of adults had neck pain in the past three months.
Here are some quick and easy at-home remedies for a sore neck:
- Apply Heat or Ice – Use ice for the first 48-72 hours of your onset of neck pain, then apply heat.
- Take Over-The-Counter Pain Relievers
- Keep Moving – Remember, gentle movements not jerky or quick ones.
- Engage in Gentle Massage
- Use a Proper Mattress and Pillow
- Soft Neck Collar – This should be for temporary support, not long-term use.
Other methods to relieve this area of body pain include neck stretches. Here are a few good stretches for your neck that you can do anywhere:
- Roll your shoulders backward and down 10 times.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together 10 times.
- Push your head backward into your chair or hands, then hold it for 30 seconds.
- Tilt each ear to your shoulder 10 times.
The Back: Source of Much Body Pain
Your back is the core of the structure of your body. When it hurts, it can seem like you have body pain everywhere. There are several factors to keep in mind to maintain a healthy back. Some of these include:
- Nutritional supplements such as Vitamin C and B6 as metabolism boosters and aid in hormone regulation.
- Anti-inflammatory supplements and drinks like cherry juice and ginger green tea.
- Relaxation and rest promoters like melatonin, L-theanine, and valerian improve sleep.
- Healthy habits to alleviate back and body pain include maintaining good posture when sitting and standing, gentle yoga practice at YOUR skill level and meditation for relaxation and energy.
The Legs: When Your Body Pain Starts in Your Bottom Half
Leg pain is something everyone experiences many times over in their lives. Generally speaking, this body pain could be from overworking the muscles in the gym, in the garden, or on a bike ride. In addition, simply being on your feet for too long a time can contribute to body pain.
If you want to prevent pain in the legs, you have options, including;
- Stay Hydrated – avoid caffeine, salt, and carbohydrates
- Soaking – spend time in a hot tub, whirlpool, or Epsom salt bath
- Massage – personal or professional; rubbing your legs toward your heart helps alleviate some of the pain and excessive fluids
- Movement – keep moving, just adjust the intensity of your exercise and activities
- Stretch – gentle stretching keeps the blood flowing
The “Other” Problem with Legs
Swelling is another source of body pain. From time to time, body fluids collect in the legs and make them swell and hurt. With this in mind, to keep chronic swelling under control, try these things:
- Avoid tight clothing around the thigh
- Wear compression socks
- Walk around every hour
- Keep your feet up when sitting or higher than your head when lying down
When Your Knees Contribute to Body Pain
Knees take a lot of wear and tear throughout our lives. We bend and twist them. We over-work them. That’s why they wear out. In fact, it’s the inflammation we cause them. However, to keep yours strong and functional, stretch, engage in physical activity (at your level), check your posture, and keep your weight at a healthy level.
A Message about Arthritis
Body pain is not just limited to overworked and injured muscles, tendons, bones, and nerves. There are many conditions that create body pain on a chronic level. One of those is arthritis. Significantly, arthritis can affect any joint and cause body pain that is unrelenting. Here are a few suggestions to help you live with arthritis:
- Consume collagen, gelatin, pectin, and raw foods.
- Avoid dairy, acidic foods, and nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant.
- Keep moving! Exercise and regular activities all contribute to relieving body pain from arthritis
Keep Your Head in the Game
Keeping yourself free of body pain is not something anyone will ever master completely. Without a doubt, it is inevitable that you will experience some (or many) kinds of body pain. In reality, the best you can hope for is applying common sense in diet, activity, and mindset. Mindset is VERY important because we all try to “do too much” today even when we know we are going to hurt tomorrow.
Diet, activity, and nutrition all play a part in relieving body pain in almost every area. In addition, another strategy we employ here at MDR Medical Associates is kinesio taping. It is used not only to support joints and muscles and relieve stresses that cause body pain, but it is also good for increasing blood flow and lymph drainage. The beauty of kinesio taping is that it can be used for almost every part of the body – for relief and for prevention.
Here are MDR Medical Associates, we have traveled the body pain journey as humans, and as health care practitioners. We truly understand and are ready to relieve pain when needed and help every patient navigate life to keep the body pain at bay.
Call us today at 561-731-3361 to schedule a free consultation. Don’t find the need to limit your fun in the sun because of any pain in your body!
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Disclaimer: The information included in this article is for educational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
