Basic Tips To Prevent Physical Pain
How to prevent physical pain? Exercising regularly, maintaining a diet based on unprocessed foods, sleeping well, not exposing yourself to stress and maintaining emotional balance are things that undoubtedly allow us to lead a healthy lifestyle.
These are also the “building blocks” for preventing physical pain. However, on many occasions, the hustle and bustle of everyday life drags us and we overlook the most important thing: taking care of ourselves. So let’s see how physical pain can be prevented.
The onset of physical pain
Body pain or discomfort usually appears over the years and, although they are associated with multiple factors that we cannot always control, we have a lot to do to combat them.
Currently, there is a wide variety of scientific studies that relate pain perception to a mind-body set. When the pain is mild and temporary, it may be enough to change certain habits to fight it.
In the face of chronic pain, a more comprehensive approach will be needed, including stress management or the implementation of meditation techniques. What can you do? First, in the presence of pain that persists over time, you should consult your doctor.
Second, you can try to alleviate or prevent the pain from getting worse by incorporating healthy lifestyle habits into your daily routine. Are you ready to get to work and change your daily life?
regular practice of physical activity
Generation after generation, we are changing our pace in daily activities. We adults have increasingly sedentary jobs and children prioritize electronic devices over physical games in the park with friends.
But what is the problem? Humans were designed to be in constant motion. The National Library of Medicine of the United States points out that lack of physical activity can lead to several health problems, among which is the dreaded physical pain.
Therefore, it is important to be aware of the impact that lack of physical activity has on the body and to adjust habits as soon as possible. Small gestures can be very powerful! We can:
- Park the car further away and walk to work.
- Do not use the elevator or accompany children to the park.
- It’s weekend? Take a bike ride with the family!
There are a multitude of low-impact sports: walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, gymnastics, etc. The ideal is to find the one we like the most and makes us feel better. Over time, the discomfort should begin to subside.
Maintain a healthy diet to prevent physical pain
Good nutrition involves knowing how to eat. If we don’t stick to a diet with enough calories and rich in vitamins and minerals, how will the body function well?
Interestingly, in many cases, we pay more attention to our physical appearance than to the health of our organs… The mirror is in charge! But did you know that looking healthy on the outside starts with a balanced diet?
Society drives us to consume fast, high-calorie and delicious foods. It’s getting more and more complicated to do this, but it would be better to take the time to cook at home. Thus, we could increase the consumption of vegetables and fruits, in addition to minimizing the intake of less healthy foods.
What is considered a good diet? There are many definitions. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that “ the exact composition of a varied, balanced and healthy diet will be determined by the characteristics of each person, the cultural context, the foods available locally and the eating habits ”.
However, it can be said that the basis of a good diet are vegetables, fresh fruits and lean proteins. When we go to the supermarket, we must prioritize seasonal, local and unprocessed foods.
Maintain good stress management
What is the link between stress and physical pain? It is not easy to find out, as the causes of pain are multifactorial. Living with stress of any kind can weaken us in the long run. It doesn’t matter if it’s at work, emotional or physical. Being stressed means that the central nervous system is constantly in “alert mode”.
Stress not only makes us “more aware of our pain,” it can also make us more susceptible to injury.
A study published in Physical Therapy explains that a stressed organism releases more cortisol, the hormone that makes our bodies alert, more reactive and less efficient in movement.
Also, cortisol, in large amounts, would inhibit muscle repair and immune system function. The result? We don’t recover from exercise as we should and sleep is often less restorative.
sleep eight hours a night
The human body can survive for days without food, but not without sleep. The hours of sleep and, above all, its quality, play a very important role in physical health, as can be seen in the results of the study The association of sleep and pain: An update and a path forward.
While we sleep, our tissues recover. There are numerous studies linking poor sleep quality with an increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. This would also be linked to stress.
Sleep is vital in the growth and development phase. Deep sleep causes the body to release hormone that promotes normal growth in children and adolescents.
This hormone would also increase muscle mass and help repair cells and tissues at any age, to a greater or lesser extent. In fact, the immune system depends on sleep to stay healthy.
Emotional balance to prevent physical pain
This section is closely related to stress. However, there is also a close association with peace of mind, control of emotions and the importance of being good to yourself and living in a healthy social environment.
When we are sick, we become obsessed with pain and our thoughts turn to what we cannot do.
These thoughts negatively influence how we perceive ourselves. For that reason, it’s important to focus on what we can do to get a more realistic view of our own capabilities.
It’s an inside job that no one can do for us, but every minute we put into it will pay off for the rest of our lives. Simple activities like regular meditation and certain breathing exercises can help bring the balance and focus we all want to keep pain out of our lives.
It is possible to prevent physical pain
As we’ve seen throughout the article, physical pain is inseparable from emotions, sensations and experiences themselves. In addition to living a healthy life, it is important to take care of your inner life.
If we are not at peace with ourselves, it is possible for the body to manifest discomfort, discomfort and even pain. To prevent physical pain, we must first prevent emotional pain.