SELF HELP COPING TIPS:

Self care tools are activities you can do at home to reduce pain and help with relaxation. DISTACTIONS: such as music, the sound of wind, water, or "white noise" can be used alone or as part of meditations or relaxation breathing. WATER THERAPY: Spa's, baths or showers. Hydrotherapy can reduce pain and increase circulation. THERMAL: treatment of cold or heat that influences circulation. How to Apply Heat or Cold: Always position yourself comfortably. Apply heat or cold to the area of pain and monitor areas of your skin that have poor sensation closely to avoid burns or frostbite. HEAT: Never use heat for periods longer than 20-30 minutes at a time because its benefits decrease. However, it is okay to use heat several times a day. Moist heat is generally more effective than dry heat. A splochy or mottled appearance of the skin indicates over use of heat. Some effective methods of heat are: Warm bath Hot shower Heating pad Moist heat pack (bed buddy) FOR TRAVEL- Therma Care Heatwraps COLD: Cold may be used for 10-20 minutes at a time or until the area becomes numb. Use maximum once an hour. If the skin becomes whitish, irritated or painful discontinue treatment. Cold may be used several times a day. Methods of applying Cold: Ice packs PACING: Pacing is the ability to control your daily life without an increase in pain. Pacing techniques are to be incorporated into your daily routine. Purpose: Pacing helps increase awareness of what activities you do and how you do them. Pacing helps decrease stress which may result from rushing or crowding activities. Good pacing can decrease fatigue and muscle strain and and decrease episodes of increased pain. Proper pacing allows you to be productive without an increase in pain or undue fatigue. GENERAL GUIDELINES: Conscious planning decreases unnecessary fatigue and discomfort. Plan ahead. Make a calendar for the week and spread major activities throughout the week. Make a flexible daily schedule. Prioritize activities, allow adequate time for each activity, allow for breaks before there is an increase in your pain and incorporate work efficiency techniques into your plan. Pacing should be an automatic part of your life. Do not "over-do" an activity because you are "feeling good." Body mechanics and pacing need to be consistent to be an effective pain reducing strategy. REMEMBER: Some fatigue is normal, avoid over-fatigue. Relaxation can be utilized by stopping and resting or a change in activity at work. Give up worrying about things you cannot change & have no control of. Stretch and change positions frequently. Use visual aids to help remind yourself to use proper body mechanics (i.e. stickers, notes, timer, etc.) TAI CHI: Tai Chi is a form of Chinese exercise with rhythmic flowing movements that is thought to have a therapeutic effect on the internal organs rand balances the body's energy. It may help to reduce high blood pressure, stress and decrease the incidence of osteoporosis. Tai Chi also may improve coordination and balance and best of all our sense of well-being. These are systems practiced for health maintenance, healing and increasing vitality. EXPRESSIVE ART THERAPIES; People experience pain in all sensory modes: Visual (seeing), Auditory (hearing) and Kinesthetically (movement). The brain is very important in helping us cope and modify pain. Pain management can be affected by utilizing these sensory modes. MUSIC ( auditory) Therapy: It has been suggested that music and pain are processed along the same neural (brain) pathway. Music has been shown to decrease heart rate and blood pressure and stimulate endorphin production. All of which, contribute to decrease pain perception, depression and anxiety. Music has also been shown to rapidly and significantly affect the immune system and the body's chemical responses. A person in pain has a higher body rhythm than usual. By matching music with a similar speed then gradually lowering the speed, the body begins to regulate it's own rhythm. Music can also boost productivity. In a study at the University of Washington, it was shown that people listening to light classical music for 90 minutes increased accuracy by 21.3%, while those listening to a popular commercial radio improved by only 2.4%. The accuracy of those working with office noise did not change. Interestingly, those working in silence were 8.3% less accurate. Art/Image (Visual) Therapy Research supports the Immunilogical benefits of art therapy. art therapy has successfully been used to help individuals with cancer, arthritis and chronic illness. Externalizing pain in image form serves to counteract the isolation and subjective experience of the pain. It also gives it a concrete form that can be inspected and perhaps altered. For example: draw yourself. then draw your pain, then draw what you want to do with or to the pain. Dance ( Kinesthetic) Therapy People with chronic pain tend to be more guarded and rigid. This decreases smooth, fluid movement. Initiating movement in rhythms help to regain control of the body and find new ways of movement. Aroma Therapy: Essential Oils are powerful antioxidants. Some essential oils have been shown to pass the blood brain barrier enabling them to effect parts of the brain, including the limbic system, the system that influences our management of pain. Essential oils are used topically or through smell. They are NOT to be ingested! Some essential oils that have been effective with pain are: Birch, Eucalyptus, Jasmine, Spruce, Helichrysum and Rosemary.