How To Reduce Body Pain?
Explore various methods to alleviate body pain, including exercises, stretches, and pain-relief remedies. Discover effective solutions for faster recovery and comfort.
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Last updated on 3rd Jul, 2025
Body pain is not only discomforting but also disrupts day-to-day activities. In severe cases, it may worsen and cause other symptoms, like fever, decreased mobility, swelling, and many more. It occurs due to several contributing factors. The most common causes are physical injuries to bones and muscles, infections like flu, restricted blood flow to the limbs, hypothyroidism, and excessive physical stress. Apart from these, a few more severe factors can also cause localised muscle and bone aches, like fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyositis, and psoriatic arthritis.
Types of Body Pain
Body aches can be categorised into three groups based on severity and persistence.
1. Acute Pain
This is a short-term pain with sudden onset due to injuries to the tissues and muscles. Once the root cause is treated correctly, the pain generally subsides. Some of the common causes of acute body pain are:
Burns
Cuts
Labour and childbirth
Surgery
Physical injury to the muscles and bones
2. Chronic Pain
Sometimes, a person’s body pain can last for more than six months even when the root cause is treated. Chronic pain can vary in terms of intensity and severity. For instance, some days, patients may feel mild aches, while the next day, the pain can worsen. Low back pain, frequent headaches, arthritis pain, and fibromyalgia pain are some of the examples of chronic body aches.
3. Neuropathic Pain
Dysfunctional or damaged nerves tend to generate incorrect pain signals, causing sudden aches in different parts of the body. These sensations are not generated in response to any specific injury or cause. Sometimes, external stimuli like cold air touching the skin can also cause pain. Some of the significant symptoms of neuropathic pain are:
Stabbing or shooting sensation
Weakness in the upper and lower extremities
Tingling sensation
Sudden onset of numbness
Lifestyle Changes to Alleviate Pain
Small but meaningful changes to diet and increasing physical activities go a long way in alleviating body pain. Described below are the three most effective lifestyle modifications that have the potential to improve a person’s health by helping reduce chronic and acute body aches.
1. Importance of Regular Exercises
It helps lose weight and reduces strain on the bones and ligaments, especially in the lower back region and the legs.
A person’s body becomes more flexible and mobile. As a result, the chances of sudden muscle injuries will decrease significantly.
Reduce stress and anxiety, thereby balancing cortisol levels in the body, which are essential to alleviate physical aches.
2. Maintaining a Balanced Diet
Consuming the right food groups, at the right time and in the correct quantity will provide proper nutrition which will help to manage pains. Avoid eating foods that can cause muscle inflammation, swelling in the ligaments, or increased weight.
3. Adequate Hydration and Rest
Proper rest, such as sleeping 7-8 hours every day, promotes the healing of strained muscles. A rested body and a relaxed mind are powerful tools to reduce day-to-day pains, enabling people with aches to continue their daily errands and activities. Hydration is also essential as it helps flush toxins, which keeps the nerves healthy and reduces neuropathic pain.
Home Remedies for Pain Relief
Manage the pain at home by using different methods, like thermal and cold compressions, herbal supplements, and mindfulness exercises.
1. Application of Heat and Cold
Heat therapy can help reduce muscle soreness and provide discomfort from acute and chronic pains. If the pain is caused by swelling or inflammation, apply cold compression on the affected area to get relief.
Herbal remedies and supplements
A few herbs contain anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving elements that can help counterattack the localized aches and discomfort.
Lavender essential oil
Rosemary essential oil
Peppermint essential oil
Turmeric
Cloves
Capsaicin
Ginger
2. Mind-body Techniques
There are many forms of exercises – it’s best to consult your doctor before beginning a routine. Yoga is suitable for pains and aches as it improves mobility and flexibility of the bones and muscles. For instance, stretches can soothe the muscles and provide comfort from neck and lower back pain.
People experiencing chronic pain can get relief by practising mindfulness exercises, like meditation. These help manage stress and anxiety, which are known to affect physical health significantly.
Medical Interventions
In some cases, home remedies, exercise and mindfulness may not effectively reduce body aches and provide comfort. For such instances, medical intervention may be needed.
Over-the-counter pain relief options
Over-the-counter pain medicines to relieve sudden acute pain, like headaches, muscle soreness, and bone aches.
Prescription medicines
Pain medication taken as prescribed by the doctor can help manage the symptoms and provide comfort.
Physical therapy
People suffering from neuropathic and chronic pain can get relief from physical therapy. It can address the root cause of the ache and improve the affected body parts' mobility, flexibility, and strength.
Alternative Therapies
Body massage, chiropractic care, and acupuncture have proven to be effective in alleviating body aches and improve mobility and flexibility.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture, a Chinese remedy, uses sterile stainless steel needles to stimulate the human body's fourteen meridians or energy flow channels. It is believed that the needles release pain-blocking chemicals like endorphins in the body.
Chiropractic care
Chiropractic treatment is a non-invasive process using different techniques to improve blood flow, reduce nerve stress, and alleviate muscle strain.
Massage therapy
Body massage from certified massagists can provide comfort and relief from chronic body aches. The correct pressure and technique are essential for relaxing the nerves and improving the blood flow to different parts of the body.
Body Pain and Mental Health
Mental health is essential in regulating our physical health, be it metabolism, sleep cycle, or hormone levels.
The connection between stress and pain
When you are stressed, the body increases the production of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to prepare for fight or flight. Prolonged release of these hormones can lead to muscle aches and soreness. Also, reduced dopamine and endorphin hormones in the blood contribute to chronic body aches in many people.
Role of cognitive behavioural therapy
Stress management using cognitive behavioural therapy can significantly alleviate body aches and inflammation. In this therapy, certified therapists and doctors focus on reducing mental distress and body aches by analysing and modifying physical responses to various stimuli.
When to See a Doctor?
Consult a general practitioner or a pain specialist in case chronic pain lasts for more than 1 week despite taking medication.
1. Recognising pain that requires medical attention
Pain is due to inflammation in joints, like the finger joints, knee, and so on.
Muscle pain and internal swelling persisted for more than 6 months.
Extremely difficult in slight movements of the limbs, neck, and pelvic region.
Tingling sensations in the arms and legs.
2. Diagnostic tests for persistent pain
Some of the diagnostic tests that doctors recommend to find the root cause of persistent body pain are:
CT scan
MRI
Nerve block tests
Discography
Myelogram
EMG
Bone scans
Long-term Management of Chronic Pain
Chronic pain can affect day-to-day activities and reduce life quality. That’s why a long-term pain management plan can help alleviate the symptoms.
Developing a pain management plan
Work on creating a pain management plan through which you track pain intensities, patterns, and symptoms. Setting accurate goals and focusing on different pain management techniques is essential for the most effective results.
Utilising pain management clinics
Several professional pain management clinics can help develop a proper plan and focus on both physical and mental healing.
Conclusion
Addressing the symptoms can help doctors find the root cause and determine the best treatment methods for both acute and chronic body aches and pain. A few lifestyle changes and preventive measures can alleviate localised body aches, providing comfort and relief. It is, therefore, necessary to identify the type of pain before starting a treatment plan. For severe cases, medical intervention will be needed.
Consult Top General Physicians
Consult Top General Physicians
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