#36 Warm water training

 

It's fun, it's great exercise and you won't drown if you just keep your head above water. Warm water training, or Hydrotherapy as it's sometimes called, will make your muscles smile and reduce aches and pains.

A study done by scientists in Ireland in 2008 to examine the benefits of hydrotherapy for treating fibromyalgia states that "Positive outcomes were reported for pain, health-status and tender point count." A similar study was done in Spain the same year which found that "Patients (that had participated in an eight month test with hydrotherapy) had reduced pain, as well as increased strength, flexibility and endurance. They also had improved sleep, better mood and increased confidence in being able to perform their daily activities."

Hydrotherapy is one of the best forms of exercise if you suffer from rheumatism, and because water has 12 times the resistance of air, water training is great for building muscle. At the same time as you're targeting specific muscle groups your small stabilizing muscles get a great work-out just keeping you balanced upright in the water,  and the water supports the body's weight, reducing strain on joints and minimizing pain.

But be careful with heat if you have active inflammation, because it can increase your symptoms.

In Norway my rheumatology hospital organized warm water training for the patients who were well enough to train twice a week. The water was around 34 degrees celsius, so just below body temperature, and there was a physiotherapist who held the class and showed us what to do. It was quite fun, but didn't really feel like I was exerting myself very much - until I got out of the water... then I felt how much I'd been training. After a few weeks I found that I was getting noticably stronger and had less pain.

#35 Break your denial

  

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Recognizing and seeing through one´s own denial can be quite entertaining when it's at the "Problem? I see no problem?!!" stage, especially when it comes to breaking bad habits or just a general disposition of self-delusion. But sometimes it's way more than that, sometimes denial is a matter of life and death.

When you've been diagnosed with an incurable disease or have been seriously injured in an accident, denial is an essential survival strategy. Whether it's waking up in a hospital ward with tubes sticking out of your body, or sitting in the Doctors office being told that "The tests were positive" (positive, that means it's good, right??), the ability to filter the shock is a great strength. Your life is changing, you have no control over what's happening, and you just can't handle it all at the same time. That's why we have this built in denial-function that softens the blow and tells us "its not so bad, it will be ok". basically trying to normalize and stabilize in what feels like a life threatening situation.

In the Kübler Ross grief cycle, which is recognized by psychologists all over the world, denial is identified as the first in the five stages of grief.

I remember the nurses telling me about this as I was trying to learn to walk after breaking my back, they said: "You will most likely go through different stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance." Ambitious patient as I was, I smiled gracefully and thought to myself; "Yeah right, screw that. I'm not in denial, I've already accepted this" .. which was.. in hindsight... of course just my denial speaking.

For the next 7 years or so I refused to accept that my life had changed, and insisted on trying to live the same way I'd done before breaking my back, which of course just made it more difficult to get well. How could I get well, when I deep down wouldn't even admit that I was seriously injured in the first place?

Sometimes the ability we have to deny what's happening and construct our own reality is amazing, but in my experience denial is also a slow death. Because to stay in denial, with a cramplike "Everything is ok!" attitude, you need to suppress, filter or simply hide different aspects of your life. Basically you need to lie to yourself, and in order to lie to yourself, you also need to lie to the world.

With chronic disease the shock does not necessarily go away, many times you keep getting new blows (bad test results, the meds don't work, the operation failed) which means that you may have to keep your denial really strong for a long time. Gradually the filter spreads, from blocking out just the fear and grief, after a while it starts blocking positive emotions too. You may find yourself feeling distant from everything, not being able to feel strong emotions of any kind, just swaddled in a growing gray cloud of discontent.

I think all change starts with wanting change. So if you want to move forward and get better health, what can you do to break your denial? What can you do to start seeing things as they really are, so that you can focus your strength on getting better, instead of spending it all on maintaining your own illusion?

Red pill or blue pill? Choose wisely!

PS. It's completely normal and OK to get angry at people who mess with your self-deception. That's all part of the deal.

#34 Collect jokes

Exactly when you thought laughter was the least likely thing to strike you today, I'm going to give you a little challenge. Today's pain free tip is to start collecting jokes.

Dr. Morreall at humorworks explains that:

• Physically and mentally, humor is the opposite of stress. Laughter lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation, reduces muscle tension and pain, and boosts the immune system.
• Humor fosters mental flexibility, blocking negative emotions and allowing us to think our way through problems instead of feeling our way through them. It makes us more creative and better at coping with change.

Sounds pretty good, huh?

Humor increases our quality of life and improves our relationships, but just like any other capacity, it needs to be practiced. What better way than to start collecting jokes and spreading the fun? My father is notorious for sending out massive amounts of emails with witty jokes and pictures, sometimes several times a day. When I'm in my painful little bubble, filled with stress and worry, I can get rather annoyed at all these big emails crowding my inbox...

Then I take a look, and more often than not, I have a laugh... sometimes I even forget I am in pain.

So. This blog post is going to have a follow up further down the line...but for today:

1. Open a new word document
2. Sort through your inbox and find the very best jokes you have received
3. Drag and drop or cut and paste them into your word document
4. Save document under "my very own comic relief" or some other nice name...
5. Lean back, read and laugh

Here are a few links to get you started:
http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/183251/compilation/
http://funnyanimalpictures.net/
http://www.101funjokes.com/top_ten_lists.htm

Or some slightly weirder humor: the comic Axecop, written by a five year old, drawn by his 29 year old brother.

Then the nerdy humor (gotta love those nerds) XKCD  and just a very small Darth Vader pun... (can't help myself...)

If you're interested in this topic, check out this audiobook by Dr. Bernie Siegel about Humor and Healing, which can also be bought on iTunes music store.
 
PS: And this is a special challenge to my Dad: Paps, if you start a blog with a collection of your very best jokes and funny pictures, we can all share in the fun;)

#33 Weatherproof your pain

Humidity, temperature & barometric pressure affects joint pain, migraines and muscle pain (for example in fibromyalgia). 

What can you do about it? 

Well, apart from moving to the Sahara desert, or a similarly dry and exciting place, you can buy a good hygrometer and barometer, and notice how your pain scale is affected by the changes in weather.

Once you have some basic understanding of how your aches and pains respond to changes in the weather, you may be able to implement different strategies at an earlier time. Instead of being hit with the surprise super-migraine every time the pressure drops dramatically, and feeling like a giant failure for not being able to cope with your responsibilities that day, cut yourself some slack. Grant yourself a soft "stay-at-home-and-be-kind-to-yourself-day" - maybe using some of the other tips in this blog - when you see the telltale signs of a painful weather alignment coming on.

Bring out the dark chocolate, ointment, woolly clothes (or furry friend) and call your friends.

That way, the pain may still come, but you can limit how much it wears on you, and you won't necessarily feel so bad about it.

#32 Give yourself a massage

Massage helps chronic pain

Okay, so it's not exactly independent data, but interesting all the same: a few years ago The American Massage Therapy Association found that 47% of the people polled in a consumer survey were using massage therapy specifically to relieve and manage their pain, and 91% said massage therapy was effective in reducing pain.

In another survey done in 2005 patients rate massage as equally effective as medication to treat pain.

Some research on effective use of massage to treat pain:

• Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis - Parents massaged their arthritic children and found they experienced less pain and had less morning stiffness following the massage(Field et al, 1997).
• Fibromyalgia - Patients with fibromyalgia slept better and had less pain following a month of biweekly massages. (Field et al, 2002).
• Back Pain - Participants with low back pain were found to have a reduction in pain and an increase in their mobility after massage therapy (Hernandez-Reif et al, 2001).
• Labor Pain - Massage therapy was given to pregnant women during labor and they demonstrated a decrease in anxiety and pain as well as had shorter hospital stays (Field et al, 1997).

Do you have a good massage therapist? If not, maybe it's time to try?

Massage also works well if you do it yourself, but of course there are some limitations on what part of your body you can reach... Might be wonderful if you have a friend or loved one who is willing to practice their massage techniques on you, or maybe a masseur or physiotherapist in training?