Bad Habits That Can Cause Chronic Pain
“A single bad habit will mar an otherwise faultless character, as an ink-drop spoileth the pure white page”, said Hosea Ballou. Such is the power of a habit.
Your habits form your character. The good ones lead you to success, while the bad ones unlock the door of misfortune and failure. But do you know that a bad habit can give you chronic pain?
Unlikely it may seem, but it is true. Certain bad habits can exacerbate your chronic pain. They may also cause more severe complications that could affect your daily life. Let us walk you through them.
Smoking
Smoking is one of the most injurious habits one can ever have. Not only does it affect your lungs, but also worsens your chronic pain. Several studies back this fact.
If you don’t have chronic pain, smoking can make you susceptible to developing it. According to some studies, smoking makes you three times more vulnerable to developing chronic back pain.
Consuming nicotine and tobacco interferes with the amount of oxygen reaching your muscles. As a result, the muscles become less efficient and weak, causing pain. If you live an active lifestyle or strain your body often, you may feel exhausted.
Additionally, your muscles may take longer to recover, which means you’d feel sore for a more extended period than usual.
Leading A Sedentary Lifestyle
Leading a sedentary lifestyle is one of the biggest reasons for chronic pain. For one, your body may be more prone to becoming weak and more sensitive to discomfort if you’re inactive.
Household helps, mean machines, and modern gadgets have restricted our movements. Today, we only need to move our lips to express our wish, and Alexa does your job. It even pairs with your smart home devices and spares you the trouble of walking to them and getting things done. So, we are left with only two jobs- sitting at our desk in the office and sitting on our couch at home. No wonder more and more people are falling into the trap of chronic pain.
To break this awful habit, all you need to do is get some movement. Exercise every day. Create a workout program including aerobic exercises and strength training. If you don’t have a lot of time to squeeze in an activity in your daily routine, you can try moving at home. For instance, you can perform a quick yoga session and meditation with items like these to wake up your muscles and clear your mind.
Additionally, you can talk to your doctor or therapist to create an exercise program that suits your needs. Keep in mind that regular movement is beneficial for your mind and body. So, it can be an excellent addition to your lifestyle.
Eating Unhealthy Food
Again, we all are guilty of munching salted chips, nachos, candies, and other highly-processed items. These unhealthy food items can comfort our taste buds and tummy for a while, but they are very injurious to health.
Apart from giving you many extra pounds, they can also worsen your chronic pain. Foods that trigger chronic pain include sugar, white flour, dairy products, and more. So, if you start to feel soreness or discomfort in your body, it may be a good idea to switch up your diet.
Stop eating unhealthy food and make it a habit of eating healthy meals. Include anti-inflammatory foods like nuts, fish, olive oil, leafy greens, and berries in your diet. Overall, it may help make your meal plan more balanced to still enjoy foods you like without compromising your health.
Stop eating unhealthy food and make it a habit of eating healthy meals. Include anti-inflammatory foods like nuts, fish, olive oil, leafy greens, and berries in your diet.
Stressing Out Too Much
Stress can harm our mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing. It causes our heart to beat faster, breathe to get faster and shallower, and muscles to get tighter. It can lead to anxiety, which exacerbates pain.
Furthermore, stress triggers the release of cortisone, a kind of stress hormone that causes pain and inflammation.
Learn to avoid stress by relaxing techniques, such as meditation and deep breathing. Stay away from situations or environments that trigger your stress or anxiety. Doing so may alleviate your chronic pain. You may also explore other stress management techniques that work the best for you.
Not Seeing Doctor
Many people have a habit of trying every home remedy but not seeing a doctor. They try to be their own doctor until their pain becomes excruciating and interferes with their daily lives. Doing so may cause more severe discomfort and lead to more critical health conditions.
So, if you’re in pain, see a specialist for pain management in Spokane Valley. They will find out the underlying cause and plan a suitable treatment for you. Ensure to visit your doctor every week so that they can monitor your progress and alter the treatment plan as per.
Takeaway
Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow. If you have any of these bad habits, say goodbye to them today and make your tomorrow pain-free.