Therapies I’ve Tried Over the Years
Since I was 16, I have been working on my physical health. After injuring my hip, I attended physical therapy and maintained exercises outside of our sessions. I had to continue the sessions following my hip surgery, four years later, and struggled with them due to the newly developed chronic pain I was experiencing, this was not from my hip pain or the surgery. This was the newly found fibromyalgia pain.
I am lucky to have a mother in the medical field who did a lot of research and joined a lot of support groups to find the best ways of managing my pain. She found an amazing osteopathic doctor , who performed acupuncture, trigger point therapy, prolotherapy, anything you can think of. Most of it I don’t understand how it works even to this day. Some people even believe it’s a placebo effect, but for me if it works, it doesn’t matter. I’m just happy that it works!
Over the years, I’ve managed my pain through these therapies and medication‘s. After five years of being on medication, I decided to try going off them and managing my pain in 100% holistic way. I found an amazing physical therapist/chiropractor who would help me reduce my hip pain so I could continue working out. I became determined to improve my mobility and maintain a normal level of flexibility to be able to dance in musical theater, shows and work out in the gym. He helped me work on my alignment and body mechanics while working out and making small adjustments that were tailored to the way my body moved and was made structurally. It took about five years, but I was finally able to lift heavy weights with moderate to know Pane. I had to develop some mental toughness to understand that there is no longer an injury in my body, but my brain was still sending pain signals. So if I knew rationally that what I was doing was safe I had to tell myself that over and over again to try and drown out the pain.
A few years ago I began cryotherapy along with infrared sauna. I decided to try cryotherapy for my whole body but unfortunately it cost too much pain in my body temperature dropped too quickly that they had to pull me out. I should’ve known this since I’ve always had a sensitivity to cold, and I am always the one bundled up in jackets and blankets. I did continue to use local cryotherapy on my arm as I developed chronic arm pain Following the Covid booster. I do not believe the booster gave me this pain but it was the only event in addition to doing CrossFit that could’ve caused anything at that time. Unfortunately, I’m still trying to figure out what is causing the pain or if it truly is a random fibromyalgia pain that I have no control over. The local cryotherapy did work, but only temporarily. The infrared sauna, however, always made me feel good, and it’s some thing I have continued, especially during the winter months. It helps me reduce the inflammation in my body and makes my body feel safe and supported. This winter I will be purchasing a sauna blanket, which I got to try at a local facility And will allow me to continue these therapies, but by having it be a blanket instead of an actual sauna, I’m able to spend more time in the heat without overheating myself through breathing in hot air.
Almost all of these therapies other than physical therapy have not been covered by insurance unfortunately. I am fortunate that I am able to afford these therapies and I do make them a priority when it comes to budgeting my life expenses. I am still constantly searching on how to improve my pain but I can say with certainty that even with the new chronic arm pain, I am 80% better than I was 10 years ago.
Therapies to Try:
Prolotherapy
Acupuncture
Cupping
Physical therapy
Medications
Cryotherapy
Hot therapy
