As we all know, America’s on lockdown. Everyone’s shut into their homes, practicing social distancing, and working to slow the spread of the current pandemic of COVID-19. Truly, it’s been an inspiring show of solidarity, especially here in Colorado where each night at 8pm, you can hear a chorus of whooping and howling for our essential workers who are keeping us all afloat.
That being said, this surreal time is also introducing a list of challenges that are foreign to our regular schedules. Not being able to spend the day casually shopping, go to self-care appointments, or even attend routine wellness appointments doesn’t just derail our routines, but it also removes the outlets we had to do those tasks.
Now, we’re unable to get our hair done by our stylist, we can’t spend an afternoon away from home, and perhaps most importantly, those of us reliant on physical therapy or other pain mitigation programs are unable to attend.
At Western Rockies Interventional Pain Specialists, we want to do our best to help people continue their pain mitigation routines while trapped at home. In today’s blog, we’re going to discuss just that, and give you some tips as to how you can continue to address your pain while stuck at home.
Continue Your Pain Management Regimen
Now, this may seem like an obvious tip, but it’s important to continue with your usual pain management routine the best you can while you’re stuck at home. Surely, there will be exercises or treatments that you can’t do at home, whether you don’t have the space, equipment, or assistant needed to do them. However, it’s likely that there are components that you can accomplish at home, on your own.
Stretches, modified workouts, and recommended diets are all aspects of a pain management plan that you can potentially adhere to. That being said, if the quarantine is preventing you from effectively continuing with your routine, don’t sweat it. If you’re able to substitute similar exercises, food items, etc., do that, and if not, try out some of our other tips!
Stretch And Stay Active
No matter if you’re trying to mitigate chronic pain, or you’re just looking to stay healthy while cooped up at home, it’s important that you stay active. Keeping active works to keep your immune system strong, and it helps with your physical health as a whole.
Doing basic stretches that stretch your arms, back, legs, and core are great for anyone and everyone at home right now. These can be as simple as general toe touches, calf stretches, and more that we all know from PE classes back in the day. That being said, you can also find targeted stretching routines by either consulting with our pain management experts, or by searching the internet for stretching exercises that target a particular area of your body.
As far as staying active goes, there is no limit to what you can do! If you’re equipped with an exercise related video game, this is the perfect time to break it out and get your sweat on! This goes for exercise videos too! Most times, these don’t require a lot of space or extra equipment, making them perfect for a quarantine.
If you’re able to go for a walk every now and then, that’s a great way to stay active while getting outside and socially distancing. If you are going out, please be sure to wear an adequate facemask and gloves to protect yourself and others!
Drink Lots Of Water
To be frank, most of us don’t drink nearly enough water during our regular day-to-day lives. While we should aim to drink more water all the time, it’s especially important right now. For one, water is so incredibly important to all of our bodily functions, so having enough water and being properly hydrated keeps you operating optimally.
On top of this, we’re all stuck at home. Some of us are working from home, some us are splitting our time between home and our essential jobs, and others aren’t working a job, but are working to keep their families cared for and sane during these trying times. What we’re saying here is that we’re all stressed, working hard at whatever’s in front of us, and probably not thinking about taking care of ourselves.
It’s easy to forget to drink water, especially when you’re relying on your coffee to keep you awake or get distracted by some chores to take care of. That’s why we recommend keeping a refillable water bottle with you at all times while you’re at home! While there is no set determination for how much water each individual should drink a day, the ballpark understanding is two liters.
So, have your refillable water bottle, and make it a goal to drink 2-4 bottles of water per day. We guarantee that once you’re properly hydrated, you’re going to feel so much better in a variety of ways!
Contact Western Rockies Interventional Pain Specialists
Finally, if you need to figure out a solution for your pain, feel free to contact our interventional pain management team today. We can discuss setting up a call, over phone or video chat, to discuss ways that you can effectively and healthily manage your pain at home as well as set up a time to implement a long-lasting solution once the lockdown is lifted.
We offer a variety of unique, non-invasive, and effective pain management solutions that have helped a seemingly endless number of people. If you experience chronic pain that hasn’t been improved via conventional treatments or medications, it’s time for a different approach. We don’t use narcotics or provide unnecessary procedures to mitigate pain. We use science-proven methods that yield long-lasting results. Be sure to contact us today so we can help you!
