Help With Arthritis Pain-Stress!

• Many of us are aware of the link between stress factors and pain. Any or all pain will be worsened by our own state of emotional health. High stress positions or high stress lifestyles can exacerbate conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and even arthritis.

• A study sponsored by the University of Florida in Gainesville found that pain and stress may lead later to complicated illness. This study was one of the first to find that a strong link exists. The study proved that healthy people who withstood stress and short term pain had changes in their immune systems and some level of subsequent illness. The study was done on patients who were under stress receiving a root canal treatment but were otherwise healthy in the beginning of the study.

• The chief investigator of this study, Henrietta L. Logan, went on to say, "We now need more research on nonpharmacological interventions prior to these procedures that will help lessen patients' stress and anxiety and improve recovery.” The conclusion seems to have been what many have known inherently all along - to promote the holistic health of any patient, but particularly those with pain inducing disease process. It is essential to include in care planning the risk factors that stress can add to a long term illness.

• Also, there is a proven link between stressors and pain and it is long been established that pain leads to stress, and can interfere with daily activities, even with smallest aspects of life. Therefore, a way needs to be determined to control the stress that the pain generates, to avoid further pain and to avoid the immune system response to the two which may lead to poor overall health. There are several methods which are accepted medically outside of the medication factors. Among them are relaxation therapy, hypnosis or self hypnosis, guided imagery, and even those as simple as deep breathing or focusing on other things. Other things which have been used as interventions in stress therapy with some success are meditation, mild exercise such as walking, or reading.

Guided Imagery

• There is a great deal to be said for the power of the mind when used to combat stress or pain. Guided imagery makes use of the mind’s limitless ability to control its own emotions and pain processes. Using the power of our mind, we can see perhaps a tart candy or lemon, and our body’s response is that the saliva begins to develop in our mouths. The same principle that causes this effect can also aid us to control our stress factors and as a consequence, our pain. Imagine the stress melting as an ice cream might melt on a hot day. We obviously can’t “see” that physically but mentally we can. In a trial which was used on women who were suffering from the first stages of breast cancer, guided imagery was used to help them ease their frustration and stress regarding radiation and chemotherapy. The imagery was used with some real success in helping them to deal with their very real fears about the disease and the pain they were dealing with. While guided imagery does not always work, there are no risk factors involved as with many other types of therapy. The only thing one can lose is time if one is not helped by the process.

• There are several other, methods that help to reduce stress and pain, which are simple yet effective for many people

Writing

• The keeping of a journal of fears regarding a disease process, the frustrations it can engender and the stress which arises from it. This can help to put fears into proper perspective. As a result, when one notices that the failures are accompanied by a record of small victories over the pain, the impact can be greatly reduced. Massage Therapy This has been used to relieve the tension and to reduce both stress and fatigue. There are types of massage which focus on the muscles as well as the joints and may help to increase flexibility and range of motion in the affected body part.

Private Time:

• A break from the normal daily routine will help to alleviate stress, even if one works from home, or is a full time parent. A day spent fishing is something out of the ordinary enough to generate feelings of well being and help to alleviate the stress of day to day life Moderate Bath A warm bath will aid in relieving tensed muscles which can be drawing on the tendons and bone that are also involved in creating the joint pain from arthritis. This will assist in more than one area and will help to combat fatigue which can result into both stress and further pain.

Heat Therapy

• Using such tools as whirlpools, spas, heated pools or alternating hot and cool compresses will relieve muscle tension and reduce stress. It will also aid in sleeping and in alleviating pain.

Treat With Endorphins

• Endorphins are chemicals which are released in the brain and interact with it to provide a lessened feeling of pain, and heightened sense of well being. Certain foods may induce the release of endorphins. Most notable of these is chocolate, but certain types of spices and peppers will also induce the same endorphin production. This chemical release after eating chocolate may explain why people tend to associate chocolate with comfort and security and eat moderate amounts of it in particularly stressful times.

• Nearly every disease process which affects humans carries with it certain predisposing factors. Among those is stress over an extended period of time which can worsen arthritis.

• Stress can not only predispose one towards a certain diseases but can worsen those which do exist, increase the pain and add more stress because of it. Very often stress can lead to worsened pain, which will create depression when the two factors, stress and pain become seemingly insurmountable. Learning to deal with stress in a positive active way will help to alleviate pain and stay healthier for longer.

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