The importance of pacing in pain management
Wendy Favorito, living with arthritis
Pacing is another strategy that I've learnt more as an adult I think than as a child I don't think medically it's ever been taught to me that pacing is a really critical tool to use in managing pain and arthritis in general so for me I recognise that I have a limited capacity in the day because of pain and fatigue so I need to prioritise what is it that I want to do so it's caring for my family is my first priority and then working is my second priority and everything else is next in the queue housework, socializing all of that other stuff is the last thing to be done if I've got the energy left. So, for pacing I will make sure I limit the number of physical activities I might do in a day or I will make sure I can build an arrest at some point so that might be quite literally lying down in bed and having asleep or it might be just taking a moment to sit put my feet up have a cup of tea read a book can just relax physically but also mentally as well.
Judith Nguyen, living with arthritis
You do have to pace yourself with pain management because when you're too busy to active that's when inflammation happens and it's necessary to slow down and rest so that the inflammation has a chance to subside and you know hot packs cold packs all those things are really useful.
Vidyamala Burch, mindfulness teacher
And then I also paced myself and that's been really, really important for me and I have this little slogan which really works for me which is take a break before you need it, because temperamentally I'm the sort of person who will go and go and go until I’m completely exhausted and then I'll stop. Well that really doesn't work if you've got a chronic pain condition it's much better to stop before you get into that state of desperation. Have a break and then come back to the activity and then you can actually achieve far more over time.
Pacing in everyday activities
Matthew Williams, physiotherapist
Pacing can also be used to manage your daily tasks, for example if you've got heavier tasks, for example vacuuming or taking out the washing you may choose to spread these evenly throughout the week rather than trying to do them all in one day leaning towards a flare-up.
Vidyamala Burch, mindfulness teacher
Pacing has been absolutely central to my successfully managing my condition and managing my pain. I'm someone who would I was a classic boomer and buster so on a good day I'll go and go and go and then I'd have a great big crash and feel completely wrecked as a consequence so learning how to balance my activity and balance my energy has been absolutely central to my rehabilitation. I've trained myself through doing investigation keeping diaries and so on I've learned that if I sit for more than 20 minutes my pain gets a lot worse so now I use a timer and I stand up or lie down after 20 minutes and that's had a huge effect on my life because it means I don't get into that really, really strange state you know your pains getting worse and worse and worse and you're kind of typing away more and more manically, sweat pouring off, you know I can be really sweaty breath holding tense, it’s such a horrible state to get into and if I do this pacing where I used a time after 20 minutes it's made a huge difference and in fact I've written two books using that method work for 20 minutes and then have a break for 15 minutes work for 20 minutes have a break for 15 minutes who would have thought it would be possible to write two books like that and yet I have and I came out of those periods of writing their books in a reasonable state as opposed to just been completely shuttered which is what would have happened if I just pushed myself through.
Pacing and exercise
Lucinda Moody, exercise physiologist
To give yourself the best possible chance to maximize the benefits that you will receive from your physical activity or exercise have a think about your day and when you feel at your best so if your pain is worse in the morning perhaps try and get your exercise done in the afternoon vice-versa if you're experiencing pain in the afternoon try and get that over and done with early in the morning so having an understanding of your body how it responds to your daily tasks and how you can best fit in your exercise to make sure that you don't have a prolonged rest period so you don't work really hard on your exercise one day and then you can't actually do anything for the rest of the week. Consistency is the key with exercise and osteoarthritis so making sure that you have enough energy to last for the whole week and continue with your exercise long term.
Matthew Williams, physiotherapist
Pacing is a way to find a balance between activity and rest. In an exercise-based program that requires say 30 minutes of walking all in one go this may not be possible at first so break up the exercise into five lots of six minutes for example with a one-minute interval of rest in between. You can then progressively increase the amount of exercise over a period of time with minimal pain and reduce fatigue.
Vidyamala Burch, mindfulness teacher
I use pacing for exercise so when I go swimming, I'm a good swimmer I like swimming and what I used to do is I would just swim as far as I could then I'd have a huge flare-up, and I wouldn't go swimming again for ages. Now what I do is I always swim at least 10 lengths and never swim for more than 20 lengths no matter how I'm feeling because I’ve learned those are good parameters for me. Swimming 20 lengths twice a week that's fine that's enough that keeps me, fit enough so that's been really, really helpful. So, I’m a mindfulness teacher I meditate and yeah I would say that pacing has probably changed my life more than formal meditation because of course pacing is you know all your waking hours or is if you meditate for 20 minutes 40 minutes a day and then the rest of the day you're going crazy well that's not going to have a great effect. Meditation plus pacing well that’s been life changing that's been fantastic.
