NSAIDs (such as Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, and their generics) are an amazing innovation in modern medicine.
But a lot of people either don’t feel safe taking them due to their side effects, or have taken them so much for their chronic pain that they’ve lost their effectiveness.
So if you want to manage pain without them, it may seem like an uphill battle. But not to worry!##MN_RESP##
There are some remedies you may not even have thought of that can actually help you relieve pain.
- Breathe. This is undervalued, especially when you’re experiencing sharp or persistent pain. All you want to do is hyperventilate, since your breath naturally shortens when you get hurt. But breathing slowly and deeply can provide much-needed oxygen to your blood and decrease your stress hormones, making your pain more manageable.
- Listen to music. Recent research shows that listening to your favorite music is actually a really effective pain reliever when it comes to chronic pain. It helps you slow your breathing and, you guessed it, releases stress hormones.
- Go to sleep earlier. Sleep decreases pain sensitivity, according to a recent study. And it seems like the longer you sleep, the less pain sensitivity you have. So it may be worth it to catch those extra Zs.
- Express your pain out loud. Some research has shown that cursing and yelling can actually help perceive pain as less intense. However, much like a pain reliever, cursing’s effectiveness wears off with overuse.
- Smell a green apple. The aroma of green apples has been found to ease the pain of headache. This is true of several smells that you may find pleasant, so try smelling something you like next time you’re in pain.
