WHAT IS PAIN SELF MANAGEMENT?
Self-management is the foundation of the care you will receive at PAIN.
Your team will teach you a range of strategies that you can use to reduce the impact of pain on your daily life, improve physical function, and enhance overall well-being, helping you take control of your own health.
Here are some common features of pain self-management:
1. Education
Learning about your body, your pain, and things that might influence your pain such as stress, mood and sleep is an important first step in pain self-management. The next step is learning what you can do to help yourself and manage your condition!
2. Lifestyle Changes
Becoming physically active , adopting a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and reducing stress is critical to pain management.
3. Self-Care Strategies
Relaxation techniques, deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness are self-care strategies that can be helpful in managing pain. These strategies help reduce the impact of pain on your daily life, and help you become a happier, healthier person.Â
4. Medication Management
It is important that you work with your doctor to develop an individualised medication plan that is safe and effective for your pain. This means learning what your medication is supposed to do, how much of it you can and should take, and also learning about potential side effects and risks.
5. Self Compassion
Self-compassion means compassion for yourself: relating to yourself with acceptance, forgiveness, and kindness. Instead of judging yourself harshly when you’ve made a mistake, it’s remembering that you’re only human - and being human is bound to involve some errors and learning curves. It also means taking care of yourself in general.
WHO WOULD DO SELF-MANAGEMENT?
YOU!
Pain self-management programs are normally facilitated by someone on your team, such as a pain specialists, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, who will tailor the program to your specific and individual needs.Â
Self-management is an approach to managing chronic conditions that can be used by anyone.Â