5 Tips for Managing Chronic Pain At Work

Managing chronic pain while having a job can be difficult. Here are 5 tips to help you manage chronic pain while at work:

Practice self-care: take time to stretch, deep breathe, use heat or ice, or anything else that you find is helpful for your pain. 

 Discover your triggers: If you know your triggers, it can be easier to avoid these things or prepare to manage a flare-up if you have to do something you know can be a trigger. 

 Bring medication: It can be helpful to keep any prescription or non-prescription medications on hand in case your pain gets worse. 

Tell your employer/co-workers: It can be scary letting people know that you have chronic pain. You may be fearful of judgment or repercussions. However, if people know about your pain it is more likely that accommodations can be made to help you succeed. 

 Schedule Tasks: If you know that your pain typically gets worse later in the day, you can strategically plan more difficult tasks in the morning. Or the opposite, if your pain gets better throughout the day you can plan easier tasks at the beginning of the day.

Have you used any of these tips at work? Is there anything else you find helpful at work not on the list? Let me know by commenting below!