You Don’t Have to Live with Chronic Pain

If you have ongoing pain, there are ways you can feel better. No matter the cause of your pain, we have strategies to help you improve your quality of life.

Contributed by: Michael Andrew, MD, MPH / Pain Medicine

Chronic pain is pain that sticks around for a long time — often every day. About 51 million adults in the U.S. live with it. Michael N. Andrew, MD, MPH, a pain specialist at MetroHealth, says that even though it’s common, you don’t have to just “live with it.”

What Causes Chronic Pain?

There are many reasons people experience ongoing pain, including:

Chronic medical conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, fibromyalgia and neuropathy or nerve damage, among others
Injuries from car accidents, falls, work or sports
Past trauma, psychological including emotional or physical abuse

How Pain Affects Your Life

Dealing with chronic pain impacts how you live your life. It’s the number one reason people seek medical care. A smaller group of chronic pain sufferers experience the kind of chronic pain that limits their daily activities on most days or every day. That’s called high-impact chronic pain. Many of those sufferers are unable to work or enjoy daily life.

People with chronic pain find it affects many aspects of life, such as work and school, or relationships and family life. Pain can also:

Cause you to avoid social events.
Damage your mental and emotional health. Chronic pain is linked with higher levels of anxiety and depression. It may also raise your risk for self-harm.
Lower your energy levels. Fatigue is common in people with chronic pain.
Affect your ability to get a good night’s sleep.
Increase your risk for Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
Put you at risk for drug and alcohol disorders.

Ways to Feel Better

You can take steps to manage pain and feel more like yourself again. Try adding these healthy habits to your routine:

Eat healthy foods.
Choose fruits, veggies, lean meats, fish and whole grains. Try to avoid sugary, processed snacks and fried foods.
Stay active.
Exercise can help reduce pain and this may mean you need less medicine. Ask your doctor or physical therapist what activities are safe for you.
Keep a healthy weight.
Extra weight can make pain worse. Your doctor may suggest medicine or other tools to help with weight loss.
Manage stress.
Stress can make pain feel worse. Try:
- Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). A type of talk therapy that helps you change how you think about pain.
- Mindfulness meditation. A calming practice that helps reduce pain and anxiety. Research found just four sessions reduced pain intensity by 40%.