Whether you have sprained your ankle, hurt your neck in a car accident, or wrenched your back while playing with your dog, you may need injury treatment services.
A professional will evaluate your injury to determine the best treatment option. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do at home to stay more comfortable. Here are three simple methods for pain relief and how they can help you feel better.
Control Your Allergies
Whether you are allergic to pet dander, mold spores, pollen, or dust, you are probably well aware of the symptoms they produce. They include sneezing, watery eyes, scratchy throat, runny nose, and sometimes, coughing. In addition to these, an allergic reaction can trigger systemic inflammation.
When this happens, you may experience joint pain and sore muscles, which can further aggravate your existing injury. To dampen your allergy symptoms and curb systemic inflammation, take an over-the-counter antihistamine and keep your doors and windows closed on days when pollen, ragweed, and mold counts are high.
Not only will you notice a difference in your common allergy symptoms, but you may also notice that your injury is not as painful. While natural remedies can help, they should not be your first choice for injury treatment. You will need to be examined by a medical professional who will evaluate the seriousness of your injury and implement an effective treatment plan.
Avoid Nightshade Foods
If you decide to treat yourself to a large pizza with extra tomato sauce or indulge in a dish that contains green peppers or eggplant, you may wonder why you're feeling so poorly afterward. Tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant are in a classification of foods known as nightshades.
The skins on these foods contain a chemical that can irritate the joints and muscle tissue in those who have sensitivities or allergies to nightshade foods. If you still want to enjoy nightshade foods, cook them before eating them because cooking may help minimize the reaction a bit.
If you have recently sustained a painful injury, you may want to abstain from nightshade foods altogether to avoid a potentially painful reaction. Certain people may develop joint or muscle pain after eating tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant even if they do not have a sensitivity or allergy to nightshades.
Try Eating Almonds
Almonds and other nuts are nutrient-dense foods and are also rich in magnesium. This nutrient is essential to heart health and can also help ease the pain of muscle strains and sprains because it has potent anti-inflammatory properties. Magnesium may also help ease the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
If you are not able to tolerate nuts because of a digestive problem or allergy, talk to your health care provider about taking magnesium supplements or a multivitamin that contains it. While usually tolerated well by most people, talking large doses of magnesium can lead to abdominal cramping and diarrhea.
In addition, magnesium supplements can also affect the way your blood clots, so unless you have medical clearance to do so, avoid taking magnesium supplements with aspirin or prescription anticoagulants. Doing so may put you at risk for abnormal or prolonged bleeding.
If you suffer a painful injury, seek medical attention from an injury treatment services professional. In the meantime, consider the above interventions that may help ease your discomfort while you are waiting to see your doctor.
If, however, your pain is severe, or if you are bleeding profusely, become dizzy, experience shortness of breath or tingling sensations, or if you develop chest pain, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room for evaluation and treatment. The sooner problems related to your injury are recognized and treated, the less likely you will be to experience serious or lifelong complications such as permanent disability.
