Did you know that according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one out of every four adults in America will experience at least a day of back pain in any given three month stretch of time? For the millions of Americans that suffer from chronic back pain, one day of back pain in three months probably sounds pretty ideal

Back pain can cause major disruptions in your personal life, work life, and in your mood. Back pain is not the only source of discomfort that people suffer from. If you cope with chronic pain of any kind, you know how debilitating it can be. Here are some pain management tips and strategies that can take some pain away.

Yoga
You can shrug it off if you’d like, but one of the main precepts of practicing yoga is breathing into the pain. When holding some poses in yoga, you will feel an intense burning muscular pain, but this can be good. It stretches, strengthens, and balances your body all while you pay attention to your breathing. Try to touch your toes without any yoga techniques. Now try to touch them while taking deep breaths, exhaling as you go down deeper into the stretch. You’ll find, when done correctly, you can reach much further with breathing techniques taught in yoga.

Meditation
Another pain management practice you can learn in yoga that is quite effective at blocking out pain is the practice of mindfulness. Mindful meditation is a mental state you can put yourself in that allows you to recognize that you are having a thought, a sensation, or even pain, and understand that it is there, but let it go. You know you are thinking something, but once you’re aware that you’re thinking about it, you aren’t really thinking about it anymore. The same technique can work with certain types of pain.

Physical Therapy
A more traditional approach to pain management is physical therapy. Chronic pain treatment for anything wrong with your joints, muscles, tendons, and even bones can be treated with a well regimented physical therapy program. A physical therapy center near you will be able to tailor the program to your needs.

Curse Away The Pain
No, literally swear at the pain. Get creative and get loud. A study discussed in Psychology Today shows that swearing actually does help with pain tolerance.

If you suffer from severe chronic pain and are unable to participate in any physical activity, you might consider making an appointment with a pain management center. The highly trained staff are truly empathetic and work hard to treat and rehabilitate anybody suffering needlessly. If you or a loved one is sick of the pain, call for an appointment today or try one of the techniques described above.