We’ve all experienced physical pain in one way or another. Whether you’re having a simple headache, a full-blown migraine, joint pain, or something worse, pain can really affect your day-to-day life and needs to be managed as quickly and safely as possible.
There are plenty of ways we can experience pain, but there are a few that are more common than others and affect people more than others. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the three most common types of chronic pain are arthritis/joint pain, back pain, and neck pain. All of these chronic types of pain along with more minimal forms of pain can be treated with prescription pain medications or over-the-counter medications. But, if you can’t get in to see the doctor, what options do you have?
5 Pain Relief Methods to Try If You Can’t See a Doctor Right Away
Whenever you’re in pain, the best option is to contact your physician and discuss your issues with them. From there, the doctor can choose to prescribe you something or have you come in and be evaluated before prescribing a course of action. Here are some pain relief methods you can try at home if you can’t see your doctor:
1 – Prevent it Before it Starts
One of the most common pain symptoms is back pain which has increased with more people working from home. Since not everyone is working at a desk or in proper chairs, postural changes have significantly increased back pain since 2020. In order to prevent back pain without seeing the doctor, try the following:
- Maintain good posture – make sure you’re sitting up straight with your shoulders back and your core engaged.
- Take breaks – taking breaks several times per hour to stretch, stand up, and simply move can keep back pain at bay.
- Stand as much as possible – if you can stand rather than sit while working, this is ideal. If not, stand as much as you can and keep your back engaged and straight.
2 – Exercise
Pain is not the same as the feelings of soreness which can occur after working out, especially if you haven’t exercised regularly. This soreness is your body’s way of telling you it’s adjusting to the exercise and will alleviate itself within a week or so of consistent exercise.
Even if you’re suffering from chronic arthritis or other pains, therapeutic exercises can help with this. Your body needs movement to stay healthy, so keeping things moving is the right way to do this. Purposeful exercises and movements are a great way to keep your joints active and healthy to avoid pain.
3 – Ice or Heat
Pain is your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. This could be a swelling response to a hard workout or injury or it could be chronic inflammation due to joint damage or from a past injury or accident. Knowing the difference between these two can help determine if you should use ice or heat. Icing an area that is swollen due to a recent injury or hard workout can eliminate the initial swelling response and help relieve pain. On the other hand, if you’ve been experiencing chronic pain, heat is the best course of action. Heat encourages more blood flow to the area and can help alleviate pain.
4 – Evaluate Your Commute
During your day-to-day commute, how do you get about? If you’re traveling in a car, chances are you’re not maintaining good posture and thus increasing your sedentary lifestyle. One of the simplest ways to keep pain at bay is to be mobile, maintain good posture, and choose more healthful options when traveling or commuting. This might mean opting to walk or ride a bike rather than driving your car or taking the bus.
5 – Medications
If you feel as though you are maintaining good posture, making healthful choices, and exercising regularly but are still experiencing pain, it might be time to consider medications for relief. Medications could be as simple as over-the-counter acetaminophen or anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. Or, you may need something stronger that can be prescribed and delivered to you quickly. If you still aren’t able to get to your local pharmacy, you can rely on an online pharmacy. If you choose to order your prescription pain medications from an online pharmacy, make sure you choose a reputable one which has been licensed and operating for a long time to ensure it’s safe, and that the medications come from licensed distributors. This method for acquiring pain medications is simpler than heading into a pharmacy and the medications arrive directly at your home.
The next time you find yourself in pain and waiting to see your care provider, try these tips to help alleviate the worst of your symptoms.
