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What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic

When people experience pain, it may be as a result of hurting their fingers or hitting their toes on the edge of the table, and sometimes it disappears within days. But chronic pain is the one that refuses to leave. They’re usually described as lasting more than six months. This kind of pain takes its toll on people both physically and psychologically.

For people experiencing chronic pain, it’s a sure thing that they have tried all sorts of medication to relieve the pain, including pharmacist prescriptions, physical therapy, and sometimes surgery. However, these methods are only for treating physical pain, but how about emotional and psychological stress? Research should be conducted on how to address this aspect of chronic pain because it’s torture for patients.

Symptoms of chronic pain

These are some symptoms of chronic pain:

  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Joint pain
  • Discomfort
  • Sleep problems
  • Fatigue
  • Suicidal thoughts

The psychological and emotional effects of chronic pain can deal a huge blow to people’s overall daily activities.

Causes of chronic pain

Sometimes, people start feeling chronic pain after they have just healed from an injury or illness. However, below are some of the causes of chronic pain.

  • Fibromyalgia
  • Shingles
  • Diabetic neuropathy
  • Peripheral neuropathy
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Stroke
  • Radiculopathy
  • Pelvic pain
  • Migraine
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Lower back pain
  • Accidents
  • Sickle cell anemia
  • Autoimmune conditions
  • Epstein-Barr virus
  • Surgical trauma

Sometimes, even after the chronic pain has improved, maybe through the right therapy and medications, some people still experience that chronic pain. According to the doctors, they think that a nerve cell in their brain that’s in charge of taking care of sensory information is still sensitive to pain signals.

Prevention of chronic pain

● Reduce Stress: The amount of stress we put on ourselves sometimes takes its toll on us. Stress can affect our mental, physical, and emotional state and it keeps our bodies tense. This means your muscles are not relaxed and they’ll be strained. To reduce stress, you can engage in exercises, relaxation techniques, and massages.

● Get plenty of sleep: The power of sleep is sometimes underrated. Lack of proper sleep can contribute to your chronic pain because you’ve not given your body any time to rest. Also, while you’re getting your sleep, ensure you’re in good posture. Your posture can affect and even increase the pain you’re already feeling. Then try as much as possible to not get disturbed during your sleep. Disturbed sleep can cause chronic pain in people that weren’t feeling any pain in the first place.

● Maintain Your Health: By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you’re reducing your chances of getting chronic pain. Focus on eating healthy food and engaging in regular exercise. A good meal gives our body all the nutrients, minerals, and vitamins it needs. When your body lacks certain nutrients, it makes it difficult for it to fight against deficiencies.

● Practice the right posture: The way you sit, the way you walk, and the way you stand can contribute to chronic pain. Bad posture will affect your neck, back, and hips, and when you do this continually, it develops into chronic pain. You’ll want to learn the proper ways to sit, walk, and stand to prevent chronic pains.

Note: The information in this article is for educational purposes only. Medical Marijuana Cards California is not trying to give you any professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Do not use the information on this page to try to diagnose yourself or give yourself treatment. Before making a decision on how and where to treat a medical condition, you should always talk to a doctor.

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You can get a medical marijuana ID card with a physician’s recommendation. If you have one, your cannabis purchases are exempt from sales and use tax. Medical marijuana ID cards are valid for up to one year. Both patients and their primary caregivers can get a card.