As an integrative medicine practitioner, I spend a lot of time discussing the importance of diet and lifestyle with those suffering from chronic pain. Because while prescription pharmaceuticals like opioids, or even just over-the-counter analgesics are a great solution for acute pain, they can end up doing more harm than good with longterm use for chronic conditions.

Instead, a team-based approach to patient-centered care is the best way to deliver relief through a combination of evidence-based traditional and integrative disciplines. It touches on all potential contributing factors, including how we eat, feel stress and sleep.

A recent article on Medical News Today by Kenneth J. Bender, Pharm.D., M.A. takes a deeper look at relieving chronic pain with the use of behavioral strategies including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness treatments.

Behavioral strategies for chronic pain sufferers can help reduce a patient’s feelings of helplessness, improve pain tolerance and reduce the perceived intensity of pain.

You can read more about behavioral strategies and their impact on pain in the full article on Medical News Today.