Senescence has a way of taking its toll on the body. You no longer have the same energy levels you once had, say 10 or 20 years ago. Simple everyday tasks such as getting out of bed or going for a stroll get harder. Perhaps you even begin to experience aches and niggly pains every now, and you wonder if there’s any way to get around the discomfort.
Well, the good news is there are ways to alleviate body pain even as you get older. Here are a couple of tips.
Seek Massage Therapy
This remedy might probably be the oldest in the book but is also a highly effective way of addressing any pain you might start to experience. Over time, your body may experience muscle tension and inflammation as a result of dysregulated immune responses. Your bones and joints may also shift as you age, meaning that your mobility decreases as your pain levels increase. Massage therapy tackles these issues by allowing tense or imbalanced muscles to relax.
Your massage therapist will most likely incorporate a massage oil into your massage regiment. But what makes an excellent massage oil, and why is it helpful? The best massage oils should make use of natural ingredients to deliver a soothing and moisturizing feel. Regular massage sessions can go a long way into improving your overall comfort levels.
Take Pain-Relief Medication
Pain meds can be an excellent way of mitigating pain in your body, especially if other therapies aren’t cutting it. There are several options that your doctor could prescribe, including fentanyl, oxycodone, buprenorphine, or morphine. The majority of these medications are taken orally and are available as over-the-counter drugs.
Pain-relief medication, such as anti-inflammatory drugs, is ideal for treating muscular issues. If you suffer from worse cases of pain, then your general practitioner might prescribe opiates to help manage your pain and improve the quality of life. If you’re looking for a long-term treatment option, then perhaps PEA could be of help. It’s a drug that can be found in naturally occurring substances and has a track record as an effective way of managing pain without the side effects of opiates.
Be Active
Being active might sound counterintuitive, especially if you’re already suffering from pain, but adopting a more active lifestyle could do you a world of good. Leading an inactive life could prove detrimental to your body since inactivity causes pain. That’s because your body requires to stay in motion to maintain a certain level of fitness. A lack of exercise causes your muscles to atrophy, meaning your muscles shorten and waste away.
Now, being active doesn’t mean spending twenty hours each week in the gym doing some insane workouts. You can start with simple tasks such as taking a walk around the block or down the street. Or if you’re up for it, take a morning swim or a jog. The point is to put in some level of physical activity. Aside from keeping pain at bay, exercise has the added advantage of overall better health.
Take Things Easy to Keep Stress Levels on the Minimum
Stress is a significant contributor to body aches. When you experience stress, your body triggers specific hormonal signals to release hormones such as cortisol. Cortisol is an excellent anti-inflammatory hormone that modulates inflammation, but continued stress triggers cortisol dysfunction causing widespread inflammation and pain in your body.
Stress also causes a spike in blood pressure while causing muscle tension. More tension in your muscles causes discomfort, which leads to even more stress. And so, the cycle becomes perpetuated, amplifying the pain. Try to regulate stress levels by indulging in your favorite activities or keeping in touch with loved ones.
Try TENS Therapy
TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and is a growing treatment trend to address short-term pain issues. It’s a form of therapy that uses electrical nerve stimulation and electrothermal therapy to manage pain. During the treatment session, a small battery-powered device is used to deliver low-voltage currents through electrodes placed on the surface of the skin. This electricity stimulates the nerves in the affected area and sends signals to the brain to interfere with normal pain perception.
The benefit of TENS therapy is that it has no side effects and is efficient at lowering pain to manageable levels. It’s fast becoming a popular choice to replace potentially addictive medication such as opioids. It’s a painless procedure and is particularly helpful for mitigating backaches.
Get Assisted Living
There’s no shame in getting help if pain levels become too much to handle. Suffering from pain can reach a point where basic self-care becomes a considerable challenge. That’s because pain may result in mobility issues making it difficult to carry out everyday tasks. At this point, elderly individuals may require a live-in caretaker or a group home to ensure basic needs such as hygiene and nutrition are met.
Assisted living provides for a comfortable environment where a caretaker handles everyday tasks on behalf of the patient. That way, the patient can relax without exerting too much strain and possibly making the condition worse. It’s also a great way of alleviating stress, allowing the body to remain at ease.
Incorporate the Right Diet
What you eat has a profound impact on how your body functions and a proper diet could help keep those body niggles at bay. Certain types of food are ideal at fighting inflammation and joint pains. Ginger, blueberries, and pumpkin seeds are all loaded with minerals, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory compounds. Salmon also contains anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids that are both heart-healthy and help to reduce joint pain.
A healthy diet goes beyond getting essential nutrients, but it is also a great way of fighting off the pain. Eating the right types of food lowers nerve pain, reduces sensitivity to pain, and reduces damage caused by an injury. Fatty diets increase lethargy and lead to weight gain, which places more strain on aging muscles and joints.
Aging comes with its fair share of issues, but don’t let pain be one of them. Follow a couple of these tips and live a pain-free life, even as your twilight years dawn.
Resources— HuffPost, Excedrin, WebMD, Las Vegas Recovery
