Headaches? Your Doctor Can Help You More Than You Think

Dealing With Chronic Pain? 4 Methods To Help You Obtain Relief From The Debilitating Pain

If you're dealing with chronic pain, and you're worried about using opioid medications, it's time to consider other pain relief options. While opioid medications are an excellent way to obtain relief from chronic pain, they do come with some health risks, including a substantial risk of addiction. To avoid the risk of addiction to opioids, here are four other methods you can use to obtain relief from chronic pain.

1. Enroll in a Yoga Class

If you've been dealing with a never-ending cycle of chronic pain, you should enroll in a yoga class near you. It might seem counter-productive to look at exercise as a form of pain relief, but yoga is much more than exercise. It's a way to get your mind and body working together to relax your muscles and joints, slow down your heart rate, and control the activity of your nervous system. Through yoga, you'll not only become more limber and relaxed, you'll also see a dramatic decrease in your level of chronic pain.

2. Talk to Your Doctor About Antidepressants

If you thought antidepressants were only good for combating depression, you were mistaken. Antidepressants are also good at controlling chronic pain. That's because antidepressants work to control depression by targeting the neurotransmitters in your brain. By targeting the neurotransmitters, the chemical changes that bring on depression are controlled. Those same neurotransmitters can also control the pain that you're experiencing. If chronic pain is interfering with your life, it's time to talk to your doctor about the benefits of antidepressants.

3. Get Steroid Injections

If you're suffering from chronic pain that affects your neck and arms, or your back and legs, it's time to talk to your doctor about steroid injections. Steroid injections placed into the epidural spaces of your neck or spine. One of the benefits of steroid injections is that you can obtain almost immediate relief from the pain, although you will need to have the treatment repeated for continued relief.

4. Consider Deep-Brain Stimulation

If you're experiencing debilitating pain on a regular basis, deep brain stimulation may be the answer. Deep brain stimulation targets the central core of your brain, where pain receptors are located. This type of treatment uses electrodes to provide relief without damaging brain tissue. During surgery, small electrodes are inserted into the area of your brain that controls pain. Next, a pacemaker is implanted in your chest. Finally, small wires are used to attach the electrodes to the pacemaker. The electrodes receive messages from the pacemaker which allows pain to be controlled.

Don't let chronic pain keep you from enjoying life. If you suffer from chronic pain, use the methods described here to obtain relief. To learn more, contact a pain management center like Headache and Pain Center


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