Living with persistent pain at home

This is general information, not medical advice. Speak to the GP about any pain that is new, severe or changing, and before starting or stopping any medicine.

Persistent pain is pain that sticks around for months rather than days. In later life it often comes from arthritis, an old back injury, nerve pain or the after-effects of surgery. It does not always show, which is part of what makes it hard. A person can look fine at the door and be quietly dreading the walk to the bathroom.

The good news is that pain and independence are not a straight trade. Plenty of people find ways to keep doing what matters with the right mix of help.

Start with a proper review

Pain that has been around a long time can slip into the background of GP appointments. It is worth booking a visit about the pain itself. Useful things to bring:

• a short note of when it is worst and what makes it better or worse
• a list of everything taken for it, including over-the-counter tablets, creams and supplements
• one or two things the pain is stopping, such as gardening, sleeping through or getting to church or the club

Our list of what to take to a GP appointment covers the rest. If several medicines are involved, ask the GP about a home medicines review with a pharmacist.

Movement, pacing and the body

It sounds backwards, but gentle, regular movement is one of the most reliable helpers for many kinds of persistent pain. A physiotherapist or exercise physiologist can build something safe and specific, and an occupational therapist can change how tasks are done so they hurt less: a perching stool at the bench, a long-handled sponge, a different way in and out of bed. Our guide to allied health at home explains who does what.

Pacing matters as much as exercise. Many people do everything on a good day and pay for it for three days after. Breaking jobs into smaller pieces and resting before the pain peaks tends to give more good days overall.

Heat packs, warm showers, a supportive chair and a good pillow are small things, but they are often the ones people reach for first. Ask a health professional which are safe for you, especially with heat and any loss of feeling in the skin.

Sleep and mood

Pain, poor sleep and low mood feed each other. If the nights are bad, say so at the GP. If the pain is wearing someone down, a psychologist or counsellor can help with coping strategies, and that is a normal part of pain care, not a sign it is “in your head”. Our guide on sleep problems in later life has more.

Healthdirect’s information on pain, at healthdirect.gov.au, is a reliable starting point for reading further.

Help at home that works with the pain

The tasks that pain makes hardest are usually the physical ones: showering, vacuuming, changing sheets, hanging out washing, carrying shopping. Handing over one or two of those can free up energy for the things a person actually wants to keep doing.

How the help is given matters too. At Aldera, the same small Care Circle visits each week, so the people helping learn that Tuesdays after hydro are tired days, or that the left shoulder is the bad one. Those details live in our One Story record, so nobody asks the same painful questions twice, and the Care Lead can raise a pattern with the family or GP early. You can read about that approach on the Aldera way.

If the pain has changed what a day looks like, a good first step is to note which three tasks have become hardest. That list is the starting point for a conversation with the GP, an assessor through My Aged Care, or with us.