Strengthening the arch of your foot can help with a number of foot and toe problems, including trigger toe.
Always consult with appropriate healthcare professionals before starting any new exercise.
Keep making the most of it!
Tag: exercise
How to Use Your Body’s Natural Pain Killers More Effectively.
The other day I was walking into work and there was an older gentleman, probably in his late 70s, looking for the hearing clinic. Honestly, I don’t pay attention to the dozens of businesses in the building, so when he asked I said I wasn’t sure where it was. He ended up not following me into the building. When I went in, I quickly looked at the directory, and then ran back outside and down the street to get him. I went with him to the hearing clinic, before going down to my office. He was very grateful, and I felt good. I also had been in a lot of pain that day (my hip) and I noticed (awhile later) that the pain had drastically reduced. Why did this happen? Because my body released endorphins when I performed an act of kindness.
Endorphins are literally our bodies natural pain killers. We produced around 20 or so different types of endorphins, and they are all released by two parts of our brain – the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland – when we are stressed or in pain. Endorphins bind to our body’s opioid receptors which then gives us some pain relief. Opioid medications basically imitate endorphins when they enter our bodies, also clinging to the opioid receptors. And actually, when we take opioid medications, our body produces few endorphins because it doesn’t think it has to produce as many anymore (part of the reason it is easy to become addicted to opioid medications). Now, you might be saying, if these endorphins are so good, why am I in so much pain? Why would I need pain medications, including opioids, if these endorphins actually worked?
Here’s the thing, endorphins do work pretty well. There is a reason our bodies evolved to have them. Chronic pain is weird though and can affect many areas of our lives, which can increase pain (biopsychosocial approach) that make it more difficult for endorphins to work. Also, when we have chronic pain, we end up doing a lot of things that are the opposite of what would be helpful. We lie in bed all day, we withdraw from others, we become depressed making it hard to laugh for example, we stay inside, etc. Doing a lot of the opposite actually helps to produce more endorphins. Here are some examples of activities and practices that cause our bodies to produce more endorphins naturally:
- exercise – particularly moderate exercise. I find I always feel good when I work out. There is an uphill walk called the Coquitlam Crunch when I live and I swear it is an endorphin boosting activity (probably why a lot of locals do it). However, if you struggle to exercise, any activity to start will likely get some endorphins going.
- acupuncture – I get acupuncture at least once a month because it reduces my stress, so it makes sense that it produces endorphins (a lot of people find it helps to reduce pain as well)
- meditation – I’m a big meditator, if you follow this blog you know that. This is another activity that I always feel good after.
- Sex – I mean it’s physical activity and an enjoyable activity so it totally makes sense this would produce endorphins.
- Music – singing, dancing or playing an instrument gets the endorphins going. So, if you’re in the kitchen, blast some tunes and take a few moments to dance! (I love kitchen dancing). Every time I play the piano I feel really good.
- Laughter – as I mentioned, if you have a low mood this can be difficult, but perhaps turning on a funny movie or calling a friend who always makes you laugh might be helpful. As a therapist, I try to utilize laughter in client sessions as much as possible (and appropriate).
- Sunshine – yep, getting outside, even if it’s just to sit on your deck or balcony, or sit in a park for awhile. In the winter, investing in a UV light. All of this can boost our natural pain killers.
- Aromatherapy – particularly scents of lavender and vanilla. I often use lavender in my diffuser, which I always have on when I do telehealth counselling sessions at home. It’s a scent that is meant to help you feel more relaxed, and understanding how this work (endorphins!) is helpful for me at least.
- Altruism – so my opening story is one about doing a kind act for a stranger. Likewise volunteering (I used to volunteer at a children’s hospital, and then at a crisis lines for kids and teens) also produces endorphins. Honestly, while I love volunteering, I find that even holding the door open for someone feels good. And this is why!
- Chocolate -it actually contains a type of endorphin within it, which is why it helps to produce more. While I’m not saying you should eat a chocolate bar every day, the occasional chocolatey treat might be a good idea!
Okay, so I’m not saying that doing all of these things will mean you don’t have to take any pain medications anymore. What I am saying is that it can (a) reduce your need for some meds (I went off one from honestly exercising and meditating), or (b) can make you feel even better, while you still take medication. And look, none of this is a guarantee, everyone is different, and there are a lot of factors that affect our pain levels, but I’m always looking for what can help. That way we can all keep making the most of it!
Ways to Determine Acts of Self-Care From Acts of Health Care
First off, the media’s portrayal of what is self-care is VERY different from what mental health care professionals think of as self-care. Self-care in the media is bubble baths and spa days and bottomless brunches. I am not against any of this! In fact it all sounds quite fabulous. Counsellors and therapists such as myself think of self-care more in terms of activities of daily living (ADLs) like getting showered and dress and eating meals, etc. And then there is this weird grey area of overlap. For example, I see meditation as a form of self-care. It’s not an ADL, and the media would categorize it as self-care, and yet it can be extremely beneficial for mental and physical health. So I see things like that really as acts of health care.
Here are some activities that I see as health care (that are sometimes categorized as self-care):
- meditation and mindfulness – contacting the present moment to be here-and-now
- self-compassion – taking a moment to be kind to yourself through touch or words
- massage therapy – having a registered massage therapist do deeper work (than just purely going to the “spa”)
- acupuncture – it has been around around for thousands of years and sessions are usually between 20-45 minutes
- swimming and other forms of exercise – water therapy, strength, cardio
- baths – more water therapy!
For all of these, research actually supports that they are important for health and mental health. Mindfulness and self-compassion can release tension in the body, make us feel calm and centred and present. Massages and acupuncture can reduce physical sensations of pain and also create relaxation in the body. Exercise reduces pain and increases strength. Baths, swimming and in general water therapy is supported for pain because of its strength, flexibility, heat and relaxation effects (depending on what you’re doing).
Thinking in terms of how these things will benefit my health, as opposed to just being things to enjoy (I mean, these are all things I do also enjoy) makes me more motivated to do them. It’s funny, because the idea for this topic came to me as I’m having a massage later today (I write these about a week before they’re posted). Getting a massage purely for pleasure hasn’t occurred to me in the longest time. Instead I always consider my massage therapist part of my healthcare team. I’m just like, hey, it’s time to take care of those muscles, especially because I have fibromyalgia and I’ve been neglecting them recently! And honestly, this type of health care is also self-care. I think we can get pulled into all these labels, rather than just going with what we need, regardless of whether it’s real self-care or media self-care or health care or anything else. What will make your mind, body and spirit feel better today? Do that, and keep making the most of it!
Video: Daily Exercise – Hip Abductors
Disclaimer: Please consult your appropriate healthcare professionals before making changes to your exercise routine.
This is a new exercise given to me by my physiotherapist that I have found helpful for hip strengthening and pain reduction. What are your favourite hip exercises? As always, keep making the most of it with your exercise routines!
5 Easy Chronic Pain Self-Management Skills
Today I want to take a slice of Pete Moore’s Pain Toolkit and share it with you. Who is Pete Moore? He’s a chronic pain warrior who came up with this incredible Pain Toolkit to help others struggling with chronic pain. Here’s the website: https://www.paintoolkit.org/ . The truth is, we can learn to self-manage our chronic pain. Like Pete, I have also learned to do so to a point where, yes I have pain, but no it does not affect my day-to-day life (that’s not to say I don’t have bad days, heck I had bad pain the other night and had difficulty sleeping). One thing we want to do when we have chronic pain is cultivate resilience. Now, I’ve written about resilience before in the past, so I’m not going to go into detail here. For those who aren’t familiar with what resilience entails, here are a few things: optimism, self-belief, willingness, self-control, being able to adapt, psychological flexibility, problem-solving, emotional awareness, social support, and humour, to name a few. So, here are 5 ways we can learn to do this.
- Goal Setting and Action Planning – I often set goals for myself, even on days that I’m not feeling great. In our third atmospheric river (basically several days of torrential downpour) since November in BC, Canada, I’m again feeling it in my body. But I know my body also needs to move. So I set a goal for how far I will walk in the rain (which is less than my goal would normally be but appropriate for the weather, my body at this moment, etc.). So, set your goals, and prepare for barriers to them. Here’s a podcast episode I recently did on that.
- Engaging in Activities of Daily Living – Getting out of bed, having a shower, eating breakfast, etc. All the regular stuff we do in our lives. It can be really hard to want to do them when you have an illness or pain, but doing them can also improve our overall well-being. Check out this episode of the podcast for more.
- Problem Solving – Problem solving can include a lot of different things. Pacing is important and I’ve done a post on that (December 1), prioritizing and planning your days, and really importantly, having a setback plan. What are you going to do when things don’t go the way you planned (in your goal setting and action planning stage). When I was recovering from hip surgery last year, I had to problem solve how to do all of my daily activities because I couldn’t put any weight on my left foot (for 6 weeks!) and I live alone. I still had to figure out how to cook, shower, dress, and even get to some appointments.
- Be Active – this will mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but it really means to move your body. It could be walking, exercise/going to the gym, stretching, yoga. Exercise itself is an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain (here’s the podcast episode). It can be light movement, as long as it’s movement. I can’t go a day without moving my body. Even when I notice I’m having the thought that I don’t want to move or I’m in too much pain, I inevitably actually feel better if I go for a walk or do some restorative yoga.
- Be patient with yourself – offer yourself some compassion. Change is slow. Like it’s an average of 10 weeks for someone to start noticing differences (in their minds or bodies) when they start to make any changes. If you find you’re having difficulty being patient with yourself, try this mindfulness exercise. I’m definitely guilty of wanting change to occur quickly for myself. But interestingly, when I offer myself patience and compassion instead of criticism, change seems to actually occur more quickly than when I’m only hard on myself.
I hope this helps you with some pain management. I know it’s things that have helped me and many others. So, just keep making the most of it!
Video: Daily Yoga – Supported Fish
I find yoga to be helpful for chronic pain and my mental health. This is another one of the yoga poses I really like for my upper back. Please speak to your healthcare team about any changes to your exercise routine. This content is for educational purposes only.
How resilient have you been feeling lately? Anything less than an 8/10, then check out this podcast episode on how to cultivate resilience.
Keep making the most of it!
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Video: Pacing & Action Planning for Exercise
If you’re thinking about exercising to help with your chronic pain or overall health, it is important to consider two things: (1) pacing – so that you don’t over exert yourself one day and pay for it the next; and (2) action planning or goal setting so that exercise is realistic for you. Also, remember to always talk to your healthcare team before starting any new exercise routine! If you’re having thoughts about your ability to exercise that are causing you distress, check out this podcast episode.
Keep making the most of it!
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Video: Daily Yoga – Sphinx Pose
This week we’re exploring one of my favourite yoga poses. I find it to be a great stretch for my back as well as my chest as it acts as a back bend and chest opener. Make sure to check with your healthcare team before doing any new exercise routines. The information in the video is based solely on my experiences. Stretches can be great for pain that is muscular – check out this podcast interview with Dr. Yass about muscular pain. As always, keep making the most of it!
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Video: Daily Exercise – Cleaning
If you never thought of cleaning as exercise, I’m about to blow your mind. So we all know that movement is important. And when you have a chronic illness, even getting some light exercise in daily can be extremely beneficial to your health and overall wellbeing. Cleaning is a great way to do that. Sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, taking out the garbage…you’re literally moving your whole body while you do these chores. This is one of the places where changing our outlook on something can really help us! If you’re feeling a bit hopeless about where to start or about whether you can do some cleaning for exercise, check out this podcast episode on creative hopelessness.
Hopefully you can get your body moving this week and keep making the most of it!
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6 Ways I’m Managing a Weather-Caused Flare (+ 5 More Ways I Could)
Long title, I know. But nonetheless I thought I’d share some of my tips with you, plus a few other evidence-based ones I found online as I’m trying to get through this. I’m writing this exactly one week before it will be published so fingers crossed that it’s over by the time you’re reading it, but if not, then I’ll just have to accept it as it is. My flare is likely caused by a few things. First, I recently moved and moving is stressful (even a relatively easy move like I had) and stress can cause a flare. Second, I moved from a dry climate in the interior of British Columbia to the wet, lower mainland of BC. I always notice my symptoms, especially pain gets worse when it rains… but then I knowingly moved to a rainy climate (*face palm*). All jokes aside, my symptoms are increased pain, increased fatigue, really bad jaw pain, my left foot is super veiny and sore (my calf is fine though so unlikely anything super serious). How the heck can I manage all of this?
- Acceptance. Yes, I know some of you are rolling your eyes or saying that this is ridiculous or unlikely to work. But I find it does. I accept that my pain is here, while knowing that the intensity changes hour by hour, sometimes even minute by minute, and I know that when my flare is over I’ll go back to baseline. Acceptance is helpful. I’ve been doing body scans and other mindfulness activities to help with the acceptance, but honestly just acknowledging my experience without getting wrapped up in it is helpful. Check out this acceptance practice.
- Exercise, Movement and Stretching. If you read this blog regularly you know that I like to exercise. And I still pace myself by trying to stay consistent with what I do. I definitely increase my stretching during flares. Particularly I focus on the areas that seem to hurt or need it the most. For example, my jaw is the worst today as I write this, and I’ve made sure to do jaw stretches throughout the day. For more on jaw pain specifically, check out this podcast episode with Dr. Shirazi.
- Warm Baths. I LOVE my baths. I literally take a bath 4-5x a week in the winter months. And with the rain, I’m definitely needing them. They help relax my muscles, keep me warm, and are very relaxing. Trust me when I say I could never (and would never) live in an apartment without a bathtub. Knowing what is vital to your self-care is essential to dealing with a flare. Check out this podcast episode on it.
- Dressing Warmly and in Layers. Vancouver, if you’ve never been, is a city where everyone dresses in layers. It will likely rain at some point during the day, though you never know exactly when. It could also start off cool and warm up, or vice versa. So I’ve been making sure to put on 3 layers when I go out, and have a pair of mittens on me. I need to remember a hat and/or an umbrella, but I’m working on it!
- Hydration. I tend to drink a lot of water. Admittedly more when I’m working. Staying on top of my water intake is so important to managing my flares and really my health! I’m trying to drink 5 full glasses of water a day minimum. I basically keep a glass of water next to me all day and every time it’s empty, I refill it. Listen to my podcast conversation with Beau Berman about gut health and how important drinking water is to him.
- Omega-3’s and Vitamin D. I typically try to get these from the foods I eat. Lots of fish mostly (rich in both), as well as mushrooms, spinach, avocado and tofu and really a variety of others foods are rich in vitamin D. These are really important for reducing inflammation naturally and honestly are just really good for you! Also, Vitamin D is a way to combat with the “winter blues” (which I often get) and the more severe, Seasonal Affective Disorder.
So those are the 6 things that I am doing, but what are the 5 things that I’m not but probably should be?
- Acupuncture. This is actually an evidence-based and recommended treatment for chronic pain. I’ve had it in the past and I’m hoping to start back up with bi-monthly sessions next month. Listen to the podcast episode on recommended treatments for chronic pain for more info.
- Massage. I miss getting massages. It’s been nearly a year since I had one, and this is also a service I used to get bi-monthly. I’ll likely also start these back up soon as well. Clearly I need to. The benefits of massage can be heard in the podcast episode with Danielle Potvin.
- NSAIDs. I’m not a fan of these drugs to be honest. They can cause stomach problems when on them long term. I’ve drastically cut back on them and only take them to supplement the more natural medications I take (i.e., CBD). If you’re aware of the risks and find them helpful then this can be a helpful solution.
- Natural supplements. The only natural supplement I currently take is magnesium bis-glycinate which is a muscle relaxant (and I mainly use it when I’m menstruating). Other recommended supplements are fish oil, ginger (which I sometimes have in food and/or tea), turmeric (which I sometimes have in tea), and gingko. These are definitely worth checking out to use in addition to some of the other suggestions.
- Limit Stress. Oh I can’t wait until I’m passed the stress of the move and starting up new counselling practices. The truth is there is always some kind of stress in our lives and it really comes down to how we manage stress. I typically do a good job with mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and relaxation practices. So this might just be a reminder to do a bit more of that. And also, if you are able to avoid stress then that’s a good plan (I do not plan on moving again for quite some time!).
So that’s it! 11 ways in total to manage a flare. Keep making the most of it everyone!
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Chronically Living 