{"id":10301,"date":"2023-11-22T17:02:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T17:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=10301"},"modified":"2023-12-18T09:38:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T09:38:54","slug":"chronic-pain-management-turn-the-pain-volume-down-this-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/winter-health\/chronic-pain-management-turn-the-pain-volume-down-this-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Chronic pain management: turn the pain volume down this winter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-10302\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2023\/11\/07210058\/Martina-Irish-Independent.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2023\/11\/07210058\/Martina-Irish-Independent.png 240w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2023\/11\/07210058\/Martina-Irish-Independent-125x125.png 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Martina Phelan<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Chair, Chronic Pain Ireland<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The onset of winter can exacerbate the challenges for people living with chronic pain, which is pain \u2014 regardless of the condition \u2014 that persists for more than three months.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Although chronic pain issues can escalate in the wintertime, there are several management approaches that can help make the season more bearable and comfortable.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-moving-helps-chronic-pain\"><strong>Moving helps chronic pain<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As the cold and dark days roll in, it\u2019s understandable to want to hibernate at home more. For people with chronic pain, movement can be an important tool in lessening the impact and experience of pain. It\u2019s a natural inclination to want to move less when we feel pain.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, with months or years of persistent pain, if we move less and less, our bodies become deconditioned. This can lead to a vicious cycle where we feel pain, gradually move less and, in parallel, our pain increases. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Experiment for enjoyment<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Movement does not have to mean \u2018exercise,\u2019 and it can be as little as you feel you can manage on a particular day. Start small and congratulate yourself for making the effort, regardless of how much or how little you accomplish each day. Experiment to find a way of moving your body that you enjoy. For many, this may be walking, swimming or strength training. Find what works for you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Movement does not have to mean \u2018exercise,\u2019 <br>and it can be as little as you feel you can <br>manage on a particular day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Connecting with community<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People with chronic pain often describe feeling isolated, and this may worsen in the winter months. This often happens if pain interferes with a person\u2019s ability to keep a job or take part in sports and social activities. If you don\u2019t know how or when pain will strike, it can be difficult to commit to social events. However, getting out and meeting people can help with your quality of life, and this can help to lessen your experience of pain. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Seeking help for chronic pain<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People living with chronic pain need support, especially in the winter months. A multidimensional approach to pain management and recovery is needed including interventions that help reduce or manage pain, increase functionality and enhance quality of life. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chronic Pain Ireland (CPI) offers a range of supports including self-management workshops, a telephone support line, patient and public involvement (PPI) research partnerships, meetings and public awareness events.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"color:#32373c;background-color:#eb696c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-notice ab-font-size-18 ab-block-notice\" data-id=\"5e5432\"><div class=\"ab-notice-text\" style=\"border-color:#eb696c\"><p>Chronic Pain Ireland (CPI) is the national charity supporting people living with chronic pain. To become a member, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/about:blank\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.chronicpain.ie<\/a>\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The onset of winter can exacerbate the challenges for people living with chronic pain, which is pain \u2014 regardless of the condition \u2014 that persists for more than three months. Although chronic pain issues can escalate in the wintertime, there are several management approaches that can help make the season more bearable and comfortable.&nbsp;&nbsp; Moving &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/winter-health\/chronic-pain-management-turn-the-pain-volume-down-this-winter\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":10303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5883],"tags":[5874],"class_list":["post-10301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-health","tag-health-awareness-q4-2023"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2023\/11\/07210056\/GettyImages-1432161025-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2023\/11\/07210056\/GettyImages-1432161025-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10301"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10527,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10301\/revisions\/10527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}