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Living with Chronic Pain

Introduction

Pain management is a reality for many people, especially professional dance performers. In addition to incorporating practices to manage my muscle pains and aches, living with Ulcerative Colitis has greatly influenced my approach to diet, wellness and lifestyle habits. I have recently become inspired to share my journey with pain management in the hopes that others will use these resources as needed!

The Pain

I suffer from chronic pain radiating from my subscapularis muscle, wrapping laterally around my rib cage as well as down my thoracic and lumbar spine.

I experience weakness in my right arm and tension in my neck, jaw, ear and right side of the face. I also have a chronic snapping ankle, tight calf muscle and IT band, noticeably less mobility and limited outward rotation in my right hip and leg. All of these ailments are on the right side of my body.

Potential Sources of Pain

I sleep folded into a tiny ball save my extended right arm. I press my entire body weight onto my right arm. Dancing has made me very aware of a few poor alignment habits I know I have:

-Splayed ribs

-Abundantly flexible muscles and joints but a lack of strength

-Hyperextended elbows

Management

I have tried many different approaches with varied success. Below are examples of what I have found most successful:

-Chiropractic realignment: I have had the most success with this however scheduling and health care coverage have prevented me from keeping regular chiropractic visits.

-Tennis ball massage

-Foam roller

-Tiger balm: apply pre-activity

-Arnica cream: post-activity

-Stretching

-Diet

-Meditation

-Yoga

-Massage

-Rest

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

I am fortunate to have been raised by two Italian American parents who made cooking incredibly scrumptious meals from scratch a priority my whole life. I very much enjoy shopping mindfully, learning about and preparing different types of meals and I am thankful to date and love another great cook.

In the past year I have naturally gravitated towards following the anti-inflammatory diet. A great example of the diet can be found here.

I have made changes to this diet as I am restricted by my trigger foods due to Ulcerative Colitis. However, as I mentioned before, my family and friends have supported a diet low in processed foods and mainly comprised of fruits and vegetables, making the transition to committing to the anti-inflammatory diet pretty seamless. I must mention that I LOVE pasta and have accepted it as the vice I indulge in and do not judge myself for. All in moderation, friends!

Because of my personal restrictions to the diet, here are three foods I have added and eat regularly:

-Bone broth

-Pho

-Miso

Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Ulcerative Colitis

After being diagnosed in 2009, I was in remission and medication free from Fall 2015 until June 2018. A recent flare, which is persisting despite a long taper of a very high dose of steroids (which I could write another whole post about but the link below sums it up pretty perfectly), also serves as inspiration for writing this entry.

Being diagnosed with UC completely changed my outlook on nutrition, stress and life. My findings concluded that creating balance between my obligations, making rest a priority and not allowing the stresses of life to permeate and overcome the state of my mental and physical health are the steps I will take the rest of my life to manage my symptoms. There is conflicting evidence of how diet affects UC symptoms but my trigger foods include the following:

-Nuts

-Beans and legumes

-Whole grains

-Corn

-Some raw vegetables

-Coffee (sadly)

-Alcohol (unfortunately)

-Dairy

Nuts, beans and legumes are major sources of protein on the anti-inflammatory diet so I substitute these foods with high protein alternatives such as eggs, salmon, lean meats and poultry, and some red meat.

This study has served as a springboard to discovering my trigger foods.

Other Solutions

I know I should really be receiving regular alignments from the chiropractor supported by a physical therapy regimen. The transition from college to full-time work has not allowed me to incorporate these therapies into my life. I hope when I move to Chicago this fall I can find health care professionals that will accommodate my needs.

Conclusion

I hope the resources I have provided can yield success in others’ journey to managing chronic pain. The most important component of this process is accepting that inflammation is a part of life but there are ways to live and be well in the midst of it. I welcome any pain management practices you have tried with success! And I wish you love and luck on your own efforts at pain management.


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