Pain can be physically and mentally draining, leaving you with less energy to attack the day. This can cause you to become more sedentary, which only tends to exacerbate pain and leave you feeling even more fatigued. So how can you break out of this cycle of pain and tiredness? We share some tips for controlling your pain and finding more energy to be physically active in today’s blog.
Controlling Pain And Boosting Your Energy
Pain can beckon fatigue and vice versa, but the inverse is also true. If you work hard to control pain, you may find that you are more energized. If you strive to help your body be energized, it may become easier to be physically active and control pain. Here’s what you’ll want to do if you want to decrease your physical pain and increase your energy levels.
- Force Yourself To Be Active – While exercise may not be your favorite activity, it can certainly help to control pain and boost your energy. Exercise and activity will make our muscles stronger, making it less likely that things like repetitive stress or poor posture will lead to pain. And even though exercise can be physically draining, it will also increase your heart rate and your circulation, which will naturally help you feel more awake and alert. If you can drag yourself out of bed for a run, a walk or 30 minutes at the gym, odds are you’ll find that pain sensations are less noticeable due to the release of endorphins and that you’re more energized due to your increased oxygen intake and heart rate.
- Eat Right – We can’t always control our pain or energy levels, but we can control what we put in our body. If we fall back on poor dietary choices because we feel like it’s the one thing we can control, it can lead to weight gain and feelings of lethargy, which only increase pain and fatigue. Conversely, if we let our diet fuel our body with healthy options, we may find that we are more energized to attack the day and become stronger, which can help control pain. Strive to make healthy food and drink choices throughout the day, and you may find more control over your pain and energy levels.
- Actively Confront Pain Through PT – Injuries or underlying health issues won’t always go away on their own with time. Instead, you need to proactively treat the problem, and oftentimes the best way to overcome a mild or moderate physical issue is through physical therapy. By connecting with a physical therapist who regularly monitors your progress and adjusts treatment to your strengths and deficits, you’ll be able to become stronger, expand your comfortable range of motion and increase your overall physical function. Pain control is one of the things that physical therapists specialize in, and when you have less pain, you may notice that you have more energy.
- Get Regular Sleep – Sleep is an incredibly important process to help regulate both pain and energy levels. Healthy sleep helps our body have better control over our pain sensitivity, and it’s pretty obvious how our sleep health is tied to our energy levels. Strive to go to bed and wake up around the same time each day, giving yourself at least 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. We don’t want you to lay in bed all day, but developing a regular sleep schedule can help calm pain sensations and leave you feeling more energized throughout the day.
- Limit Artificial Energizers – Don’t lean too heavily on artificial energizers like caffeine. It’s fine to have a little caffeine throughout the day, but if you’re constantly downing coffee and caffeinated sodas, you may end up feeling like your body is tired but your brain is wired, and that can amplify pain relays and make it harder to achieve healthy sleep. Work on reducing your dependence on artificial energizers and focus on improving some of the above aspects, and it may be easier to gain control over your pain and energy levels.
If you want professional help decreasing your pain and increasing your energy levels, make it a point to connect with a member of our team. For more information, or for help with a different physical issue, reach out to the team at OrthoRehab Specialists today at (612) 339-2041.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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