Self-Care for Chronic Pain: Small Habits Lead to Big Relief

Most people who walk through our doors at Cloud Peak Chiropractic are dealing with some kind of chronic pain—often pain that’s been lingering for months.

It could be a stiff neck that just won’t loosen, knees that ache by the end of the day, or old injuries that still decide how you move. 

And it’s not just one type of person. We see ranchers, welders, teachers, veterans, athletes, retirees, and office workers—just about everyone—with some sort of consistent pain.

People live different lives and do different work, but the patterns are surprisingly similar.

A lot of chronic pain comes from:

• Doing the same motions over and over

• Staying in one position too long

• Old injuries that never fully healed

• Stress that keeps your muscles braced all day

• Joints that aren’t moving the way they’re supposed to

You might think you need an intense routine or an hour of exercise every day to feel better, but you don’t.

The truth is: small habits done consistently make the biggest impact in pain management.

I’m going to tell you how to manage specific types of chronic pain type here, but to be clear:

These recommendations are generalized—simple things almost anyone can try. But everyone’s body is different. 

If you want personalized guidance, our doctors can help you build a plan that makes sense for your body and your daily life demands.

Below are the most common pain areas we treat—low back, neck, hips and knees, limited mobility, and dizziness—with recommended things you can do. 

Recommendations are organized by when you should do them:

• Daily Habits

• Weekly Habits

• When you’re hurting

These recommendations take very little time but can make a noticeable difference in your pain, mobility, and stress levels.

You can jump to the section that applies most to you (or someone you know) here:

Low Back Pain

Neck Pain & Headaches

Hip & Knee Pain

Limited Mobility / Post-Surgery Pain

Vertigo / Dizziness

Keep reading to learn about ways you can reduce chronic pain and feel better in your body. Many of these techniques can also reduce or eliminate the need for strong pain medications. 

Low Back Pain

Low back pain often comes from long days on your feet, hours of sitting, lifting, twisting, stress, or old injuries. That’s why keeping your back moving and supported matters so much.

Daily Habits

• Take small movement breaks
  Movement pumps nutrients into your spinal discs and reduces stiffness

• Drink water throughout the day
  Hydration keeps spinal discs plump and flexible

• Practice slow, deep breathing
  Calms your nervous system and relaxes tight back muscles

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Traction Roller Table
  Gently stretches tight muscles and decompresses the spine

• Chiropractic adjustments
  Restore normal movement and reduce mechanical strain

• Orthotics
  Help reduce back stress caused by poor foot alignment

• Topicals
  Calm irritated muscles and offer quick relief

Throughout the week

• Do some gentle mobility work
  Keeps your back from stiffening

• Try yoga or movement classes
  Builds support for your spine without overloading it

• Find a mobility buddy
  Makes movement easier and more consistent

• Evaluate your footwear
  Worn shoes can tilt your hips and overload your back

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Chiropractic check-ins
  Keep things moving the way they should

• Acupuncture
  Calms inflammation and nerve irritation

• Infrared sauna
  Relaxes tight tissues and improves circulation

• Traction Roller Table sessions
  Supports spinal movement and flexibility

When you’re hurting

• Rest with your legs elevated
  Unloads pressure from joints and discs

• Use heat for tightness, cold for sharp pain
  Match the treatment to the problem

• Move gently
  Prevents your back from seizing up

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• ASAP chiropractic visits
  Quickly restore motion during flare-ups

• Ice packs
  Help calm inflammation and sharp pain

• Infrared sauna
  Soothes tight, protective muscles

• Topical pain relief
  Provides fast symptom relief

Neck Pain & Headaches

Neck pain and headaches come from screen time, driving, looking down, stress, tension, or old injuries. When your neck tightens, your head often feels it too.

Daily Habits

• Take micro-breaks to move your neck and shoulders
  Prevents the small muscles at the base of the skull from tightening

• Relax your jaw
  Less jaw tension means less strain on the neck

• Practice grounding or slow breathing
  Calms the tension cycle that feeds headaches

• Keep screens at eye level
  Reduces forward-head posture

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• NeckBone pillows
  Help maintain neutral alignment at night

• Ergonomic advice
  Supports better posture at work or home

• Chiropractic adjustments
  Improve joint motion and reduce neck strain

Throughout the week

• Do longer posture resets
  Helps undo the tension of sitting and looking down

• Do light strengthening
  Supports the neck without overworking it

• Interrupt the stress cycle
  A calmer nervous system = fewer headaches

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Chiropractic adjustments
  Restore movement and reduce pressure

• Infrared sauna
  Softens tight muscles

• Acupuncture
  Calms tension and headache pathways

• Traction Roller Table (upper back tension)
  Helps loosen the upper back, reducing neck strain

• Pillowise pillows
  Custom-sized support that keeps the neck aligned

When you’re hurting

• Use heat for muscle-driven headaches
  Relaxes guarding muscles

• Hydrate
  Dehydration is a common headache trigger

• Reduce screen exposure
  Lowers sensory and postural strain

• Gently relax the upper neck
  Calms tension that radiates into the head

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• ASAP chiropractic
  Helps reduce headache tension quickly

• Hydrotherapy table
  Provides gentle motion + heat for upper back and neck

• Topicals
  Relieve tight upper-back and neck muscles

• Infrared sauna (if no migraine)
  Reduces muscular tension

Hip & Knee Pain

Hip and knee pain come from repetitive movement, kneeling, old injuries, sitting too long, or just normal wear and tear. These joints do best when they get steady movement.

Daily Habits

• Take gentle walking or standing breaks
  Keeps joints lubricated

• Avoid long periods in one position
  Reduces stiffness and improves circulation

• Transition between movements or positions mindfully
  Avoids sudden overload on irritated joints

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Orthotics
  Support balanced alignment

• Chiropractic adjustments
  Improve hip/knee mechanics

• Topicals
  Ease aches and calm irritation

Throughout the week

• Add easy mobility or flexibility work
  Keeps joints from stiffening

• Choose low-impact activity
  Reduces pain without pounding joints

• Review footwear
  Worn shoes can throw off joint alignment

• Move with a friend or take a gentle class
  Consistency helps joints stay happier

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Orthotic reassessment
  Ensures your support stays accurate

• Infrared sauna
  Reduces stiffness

• Acupuncture
  Helps calm inflammation

• Weekly chiropractic check-ins
  Help keep joints moving

When you’re hurting

• Reduce load
  Protects irritated tissues

• Use cold for swelling, heat for stiffness
  Calms joints appropriately

• Move lightly
  Prevents painful locking

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• ASAP chiropractic
  Helps restore joint motion

• Migun table
  Relaxes surrounding muscles

• Infrared sauna
  Eases chronic tightness

• Topical creams
  Calm irritation quickly

Limited Mobility / Post-Surgery Pain

Limited mobility happens after surgeries, fused discs, old injuries, or years of overuse. Movement helps—but only gentle, consistent movement.

Daily Habits

• Move joints gently without forcing
  Improves circulation and reduces stiffness

• Hydrate and support anti-inflammatory habits
  Helps tissues move better

• Protect fused areas or surgical sites
  Safe mechanics prevent new irritation

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Gentle chiropractic
  Restores safe motion where possible

• Infrared sauna
  Softens stiff tissues

• Topicals
  Reduce irritation

• Traction Roller Table (if appropriate)
  Provides gentle decompression

Throughout the week

• Do light mobility work
  Helps maintain what motion you have

• Add gradual, comfortable activity
  Supports strength without overloading

• Check in with pain patterns
  Helps prevent flare-ups

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Chiropractic
  Ensures progress is safe and steady

• Acupuncture
  Helps chronic stiffness and nerve sensitivity

• Infrared sauna
  Reduces tissue tightness

• Migun table
  Provides relaxing, low-force support

When you’re hurting

• Avoid twisting + bending + lifting together
  Protects vulnerable joints

• Use comfort positioning and heat
  Soothes protective muscle tension

• Move gently
  Prevents locking up

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Gentle, targeted chiropractic
  Helps restore comfortable motion

• Infrared sauna
  Increases circulation

• Migun table
  Calms muscle guarding

• Topicals
  Provide quick relief

Vertigo / Dizziness

Vertigo and dizziness often come from upper neck tension, hydration issues, visual strain, or old injuries affecting balance.

Daily Habits

• Prioritize hydration
  Even mild dehydration can worsen dizziness

• Reduce neck and jaw tension
  Upper neck muscles influence balance

• Grounding or slow breathing
  Helps regulate the balance centers

• Maintain good posture
  Reduces irritation to the upper cervical spine

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• NeckBone pillow
  Supports neutral sleeping posture

• Ergonomic guidance
  Reduces strain on the neck

• LMNT electrolyte packets
  Help support proper hydration

Throughout the week

• Reduce screen strain
  Helps calm irritated balance systems

• Use gentle neck mobility
  Keeps muscles from tightening

• Avoid quick elevation or head position changes
  Prevents sudden symptom spikes

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• Chiropractic
  Supports upper neck balance

• Infrared sauna (if appropriate)
  Relaxes neck tension

• Acupuncture
  Calms dizziness patterns

• LMNT electrolytes
  Support proper nervous system hydration

When you’re hurting

• Stay in a neutral head position
  Keeps the inner ear stable

• Breathe slowly
  Calms your nervous system

• Hydrate
  Dehydration worsens symptoms

• Rest in a low-light environment
  Reduces sensory overload

• Sip electrolyte supplements
  Quickly replenishes electrolytes that support balance

Helpful Cloud Peak Chiro products & services 

• ASAP chiropractic
  Helps address neck-related dizziness

• Topicals
  Reduce upper-back tension that worsens symptoms

• LMNT electrolyte support
  Helps stabilize symptoms related to dehydration

If you’re experiencing any of the above mentioned conditions on a regular basis, I’d like to encourage you to begin to integrate some of these habits. 

Pain management doesn’t always have to be about pharmaceuticals. 

There are lifestyle habits that can help you feel better overall, without any of the possible (sometimes serious) side effects that come with medications.  

When you take good care of yourself, it pays off.

Chronic pain doesn’t just affect your body. It affects your mood, your sleep, your energy, and how you move through your day. 

Simple habits—done consistently—can make a meaningful difference in how you feel physically and emotionally.

If you’re not sure what will help you the most, just ask.

Cloud Peak Chiro carries supportive products like pillows, orthotics, topicals, and LMNT electrolytes.

We also offer supportive therapies like the infrared sauna, hydrotherapy table, Traction Roller Table, and Migun table. 

If you’re dealing with chronic pain—or you want to prevent things from getting worse—schedule a visit with our doctors, or contact us about any product or service mentioned here.

We want to help you feel your best. And when you actively take care of yourself, you WILL feel your best.