Several types of therapy can help ease your pain. Occupational therapy teaches you how to pace yourself and how to do ordinary tasks differently so you won't hurt yourself. Not doing physical activity or trying to do too much can hurt chronic pain patients. It can also help get rid of stress. Doing these exercises helps your muscles relax and lessen the pain.
Lifestyle changes are also an important part of therapy.
Getting regular sleep at night and not taking daytime naps should help. Stopping smoking helps too because the nicotine in cigarettes can make some medicines less effective. Smokers also have more pain than nonsmokers. Most pain treatments will not take away all of your pain. Instead, treatment should reduce how much pain you have and how often it occurs.