Are You Experiencing Chronic Pain? Improving Your Diet Could Help You Out!

Stop feeding your chronic pain!

Do you live with chronic aches and pains? Do they make it difficult for you to enjoy your daily routine? Is it hard for you to do things that you once loved doing with ease?

If your discomfort has been continuously worsening, you may want to reconsider your eating habits! We truly are what we eat.

Inflammatory responses can be triggered by eating too much or the wrong foods, which can lead to muscle, nerve, or joint discomfort.

Although physical therapists are not dietitians, providing dietary recommendations to patients is an important part of their job. Dietary adjustments can make the biggest difference in decreasing or eliminating pain in some chronic diseases.

By adopting a healthy nutritional strategy as part of a holistic physical therapy program, you can begin to make the changes necessary to live a more full, comfortable life.

Call GoodLife Physical Therapy today to learn more about pain management and dietary changes you can make to feel better!

How is my diet linked to my pain?

Certain kinds of foods are known to cause or aggravate inflammatory responses and chronic pain. You may be doing yourself more harm than good if you regularly consume the following kinds of foods:

  • White bread or other highly-processed carbs
  • Alcohol
  • Red meat
  • Foods heavy in processed sugars and/or trans fats (including cookies, donuts, and margarine)
  • Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and other members of the nightshade family
  • Caffeinated foods and drinks

These foods can harm you in a variety of ways. Sugar and aspartame, for example, enhance insulin levels while also increasing pain sensitivity.

Caffeine and tomatoes both increase acidity in the body, which promotes inflammatory discomfort. However, the bottom line for all of these items (and a few more) is the same: an increase in your aches and pains.

Poor dietary and nutritional choices can also increase your pain by increasing your waistline. Excessive quantities of rich, fatty, sugary or starchy foods can cause your weight to balloon, especially if you lead a sedentary lifestyle.

This extra weight can accelerate joint degeneration, aggravating arthritis pain. It can also place undue strain on your muscles as they struggle to support your heavier body. Obesity can even encourage the development of bulging or herniated discs, leading to neurological issues such as sciatica.

Physical therapy and nutritional pain relief

Certain foods have been known to alleviate inflammation, where some foods can aggravate it. In fact, according to Harvard Health Publishing, “A lot of chronic pain is the result of chronic inflammation, and the evidence is quite strong that your diet can contribute to increased systemic inflammation.”

The good news is that the correct foods can help you battle inflammation just as much as the wrong foods can make it worse. Simply switching to a Mediterranean diet can put you on the road to better health and less pain.

Fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, and healthy oils like olive oil are all wonderful options with great nutritional content and low inflammatory potential in this diet.

Even the spices you use can make a big difference in how comfortable you are; turmeric, for example, is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory. Your physical therapist can advise you on the best dietary modifications to make to help you manage your pain.

Weight control is another vital aspect of pain management. Your physical therapy plan may include recommendations on how many calories you should consume, what kinds of foods you should eat to avoid getting fat, and any other necessary changes to your eating schedule or patterns.

Increasing your physical activity will help you get the most out of your new nutritional routine. For example, strength training that builds muscle boosts your metabolic rate, helping your body burn calories more easily.

Other physical therapy techniques to ease chronic aches and pains will help you become that much more mobile – enabling you to boost your workout regimen, lose more weight, and take more strain off of your joints and tissues.

What conditions can be improved with a healthy diet?

There are a number of common conditions in America that are directly related to diet and nutrition.

Here are some conditions in which nutritional advice will likely be a part of the patient’s physical therapy regimen:

  • Diabetes. More than 90 percent of patients with diabetes also experience neuropathic pain. Diet and nutrition will play a key role in managing these conditions.
  • Osteoarthritis. Obese patients are more likely to develop arthritis, especially in the knee. Once a person has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee, managing their weight becomes the most important key to managing the arthritis and pain.
  • Inflammation. American diets tend to have a lot of vegetable oils and other inflammatory foods in them. This can make the pain from inflammation even worse. In many cases, a physical therapist will prescribe a diet with more antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods to help manage pain.
  • Autoimmune disorders. The combined total of various autoimmune disorder patients (such as Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis) now outnumber cancer patients in America by a wide margin. Autoimmune disorders are frequently linked directly to deficiencies in a patient’s diet.
  • Obesity. Being overweight causes a patient pain, so they become more sedentary. Becoming more sedentary causes them to gain more weight, which leads to more pain.

Request an appointment with us today!

Eating for health can include eating for pain management. Contact our physical therapy center to make this strategy work for you!

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5 Tips To Help You Address Your Chronic Back Pain Problem

A physical therapist could help you feel better, faster!

Did you know that approximately 80 percent of Americans have experienced (or will experience) back pain? It’s true! In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 1 in 5 people have chronic pain.

If you experience pain and discomfort on a daily basis, we encourage you to consult with a physical therapist who can work with you to address the symptoms and causes of your pain and help you gain better function.

Do you live with chronic back pain? Here are five of our top tips for handling it, all backed by research and relatively easy to implement!

Request an appointment with one of our skilled physical therapists at GoodLife Physical Therapy in Evergreen Park today, and let us help you find true relief from your back pain.

Why does back pain occur?

“Back pain” is an all-encompassing term used to describe a vast number of conditions that cause pain in the upper or lower back. Sports-related injuries, poor posture, and car accidents are just a few of the many ways that someone can develop back pain.

The most common cause of back pain is from sustaining an injury. This can happen in one of two ways – from an instant, sudden trauma, or from a repetitive-use injury that develops gradually over time.

Approximately one-quarter of U.S. adults reported having low back pain lasting at least one whole day in the past three months, and 7.6% reported at least one episode of severe acute low back pain within a one-year period.

More than two-thirds of back strains are caused by lifting and other exertions, such as pulling and pushing. Most cases of back pain are mechanical—meaning they are NOT caused by serious conditions, such as infection, fracture, or cancer.

Regardless of the reason for your back pain and discomfort, the good news is that there are several ways you can manage your problem!

Tips for managing back pain

1. Practice deep breathing exercises.

Deep breathing is beneficial to your health because it allows you to receive enough oxygen into your tissues to heal them.

The following exercise, known as four-square breathing or box breathing, has been shown to help manage pain. Sit in a comfortable position and follow these steps:

  • Breathe in through your nose for 4 counts.
  • Hold your breath for 4 counts.
  • Breathe out through your mouth for 4 counts.
  • Hold at the bottom of your exhalation for 4 counts, then repeat the cycle for 2 minutes.

Deep breathing also stimulates the area of the neural system that helps you relax, which is an excellent approach to relieve tension and pain.

2. Eat healthy food.

Yes, food is truly medicine! You are what you eat, and according to research, limiting overly processed foods and increasing your intake of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, high-quality protein, and healthy fats will help you feel better.

One explanation for this is that eating a varied diet rich in nutrient-dense meals guarantees that our tissues receive the raw ingredients they require to mend and repair.

Plus, when we minimize or eliminate foods in our diet that tend to promote inflammation, including alcohol and sugar, then pain our pain levels can naturally go down.

3. Study your posture.

Do you constantly slouch in your chair or hunch over your phone? Are you using proper body mechanics when picking up objects—whether it’s a heavy box, a pencil on the ground, or even your child or grandchild?

There are numerous ways we move our bodies on a daily basis that may not appear to be troublesome. However, if we regularly put our bodies through certain forms of strain, we might develop tissue damage and chronic discomfort.

See a physical therapist and have your posture, movement mechanics, and ergonomics evaluated. They can assist you in identifying patterns and behaviors that are causing your pain even if you aren’t aware of them.

4. Get a good night’s rest!

Sleep is necessary for your body’s healing and regeneration processes to run smoothly. It’s also a good technique to deal with stress.

Getting enough sleep can help you experience less discomfort for these reasons.

Is it difficult to fall or remain asleep while you’re in pain? To make it easier, use these sleep hygiene tips:

  • Sleep in a pitch black room with the bedroom temperature set to 65 to 68 degrees.
  • Dim the lights and power down your electronics for at least an hour before bedtime.
  • Go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up at the same time every morning (weekends and holidays included).

5. Exercise daily for at least 30 minutes a day.

It’s helpful to talk to a physical therapist if you have chronic pain before starting an exercise program.

Your physical therapist can provide services that naturally alleviate your chronic pain and maximize your function so exercise is easier and safer for you to do.

Exercise can alleviate pain by increasing blood flow, stimulating the release of hormones and neurotransmitters that provide natural pain relief, and increasing joint strength and stability.

So get active—around 30 minutes of exercise on most or all days of the week.

Request an appointment today!

If you’re sick of dealing with your back pain on your own, know that help is available to you at GoodLife Physical Therapy in Evergreen Park. If you are ready to schedule an appointment, contact our physical therapy clinic today!

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3 Ways Physical Therapy Can Help You Combat Long Term Pain

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 1 in 5 people have chronic pain. In fact, approximately 80 percent of Americans have experienced (or will experience) chronic back pain. Physical therapy can help eliminate chronic pain.

As you can see, chronic pain is incredibly widespread, with over 100 million patients in the United States alone, so you are not alone if you are suffering from it. \

Standard pain drugs have so many drawbacks that you can’t rely on them to adequately relieve your pain, leaving you to wonder whether you’re doomed to live with it.

Fortunately, there is another option to consider. Physical therapy has been demonstrated to help people with chronic pain reduce or perhaps eliminate it.

With the right treatment plan at GoodLife Physical Therapy in Homer Glen you may be able to greatly reduce your discomfort!

Request an appointment at our physical therapy clinic today, and let us help you combat your back pain once and for all!

What is chronic back pain?

Back discomfort that lasts longer than three months is referred to as chronic back pain. It’s a steadily worsening pain that becomes worse with time and fundamental daily activities.

In addition, the exact reason for back discomfort may be unknown. It’s possible that no one knows what produced it or where it came from.

However, most people can recover from back pain by understanding its causes, especially those that do not derive from an incident, such as a car accident.

Where does back pain stem from?

Chronic back pain may arise from two issues, including a sudden, traumatic injury or repetitive stress on the vertebrae.

Age, weight, bad lifting techniques, and even mental health difficulties can all raise the risk of back discomfort, and it only takes one injury for a condition to progress into the realm of long-term issues.

Pain includes sensations, such as a prick, burn, tingle, sting, sharp pain, and aches. Acute pain is typically an expected bodily response to a severe injury.

However, the repeated use of joints after an inflammatory response may lead to the worsening of symptoms and disease progression, explains the NINDS.

According to the Mayo Clinic, people with particularly poor posture, bulging or ruptured discs, arthritis, skeletal abnormalities, and osteoporosis are more likely to experience chronic back pain than their peers.

How can physical therapy help me?

Physical therapy can improve your life in several ways! If you are struggling to do things you once loved doing without experiencing debilitating pain, it’s a good idea to contact GoodLife Physical Therapy to see how we can help you.

1. Increasing your physical strength

Depending on your condition, your physical therapist may teach you some exercises designed to strengthen your muscles and soft tissues.

It may seem strange that getting stronger is recommended by medical science when you are in pain – since exercising may be painful in and of itself, especially at first. But there are good reasons to try and make you stronger.

Often, the cause of chronic pain is pressure on nerves in your joints, whether your spine, knees, hips, elbows, or some other joint.

When you make the muscles around those joints stronger, they are better at providing support – which can take some of the pressure off of your nerves.

2. Electrical therapy and cold/hot therapies

Physical therapists have a variety of tools at their disposal to treat your immediate pain as well.

They can use things like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), hot and cold therapies to help reduce inflammation and ease some of the pain you are feeling.

These therapies can also help improve your body’s ability to heal.

3. Teaching you how to move safely

Most people are not fully aware of how they move in their day-to-day activities. You could be bending over, lifting, walking, running, sitting, or moving in some other manner that is contributing to your chronic pain.

Learning how to improve the issues with your movements can significantly decrease the pain you experience.

Your first session with your physical therapist will include an exam where they watch the way you perform different activities – like walking – to identify any possible problems.

Once they know where things are going wrong, they can teach you how to improve so that you do not unknowingly increase your chronic pain.

4. Improving your flexibility

Improving your flexibility can also help reduce your pain. When you are suffering from an injury, it is common for your body to compensate in some way to avoid the pain – which can lead to unhealthy movement patterns that you may not even be aware of.

The way your body compensates may help right after the injury, but over time it will lead to wear and tear on other parts of your body. If you feel really tight or locked up in one way or another, you are probably experiencing this type of situation.

Physical therapy can gently relax your body so that you can return to moving in a healthy manner.

Your physical therapist will work with you to ease the tension so that your body can move correctly and increase the strength of the muscles surrounding the joint so that you can maintain the correct movement patterns.

Ready to find relief for your chronic pain?

If you are struggling with chronic pain, we want you to know that we are here to help. Our physical therapy team can design an individualized treatment program to help alleviate your pain and improve your life. Call our clinic today to schedule an appointment, and let us help you return to living your best life possible!

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