Pain can often put most people off doing activities and thus can lead to immobility.

Its important to rule out the causes of pain via your G.P or health professional. However chronic pain can often be caused by inactivity, poor posture and sustaining positions or activates that we are not use to for too long. This can lead to irritability, lack of sleep and low mood.

So… in order to help yourself regain control, you can try the following tips

• PACE and GRADE your activity and move position regularly.
• Have a think about what positions and activities aggravate your pain.

PACE

Time each activity and note when the pain comes on.

Do slightly less and let your body get use to the activity… then steadily increase your activity time. This will give your body chance to accommodate and get use to doing the activity. It will also allow your brain chance to switch off from the pain. The brain can remember pain but it can also forget it too. We just need to give it chance to forget.

GRADE

Don’t expect your body to do 2 hours in the garden digging if you have not previously done this regularly. We all do less gardening in the winter and then suddenly spring time arrives and out comes the spade and fork. PACE this activity by starting off with a short time of activity that we have not done for a while.

THINK about changing your position regularly. Our bodies are not designed to hold positions for long periods of time. Try to move position every 20-30 minutes.

As we get older the majority of people slow down and do less exercise. This leads to weakness and stiffness. Respect your body and don’t do sudden movements. For example, slowly lowering yourself to sit in your chair rather than suddenly sitting down and jarring your back will not only prevent PAIN it will increase the power in your legs each time you do this activity.

By PACING and gaining CONTROL of our PAIN by GRADING our actives and maintaining good posture, it will allow your body to relax and have a good night sleep. You will also feel better in yourself and increase your wellbeing and life longevity.