Your Quick-Relief Guide for Acute Pain, According to Doctors

Try massage: To promote blood circulation, use your fingers to gently massage painful areas. Or try DIY trigger point therapy, suggests Christopher Gold, D.O., a primary care physician at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. Locate any super-tense spots—they often feel like small marbles under the skin—and firmly press into the knot for up to 90 seconds; release and repeat several times. (You may feel discomfort, but stop if it truly hurts.)

Cool it off: Place an ice pack on your forehead or your temples, which will numb the area and dull the ache.

Water down: Drink plenty of H2O to improve your hydration, which can lessen the severity of the attack.

Caffeinate: Pour yourself some coffee, black tea, or cola. Studies show that caffeine soothes headache pain, especially when combined with NSAIDs such as ibuprofen.

Talk to your doctor about meds: For run-of-the-mill headaches, NSAIDs are generally best. Migraines can often be alleviated with NSAIDs as well, but many people require targeted prescription medications such as sumatriptan and the newer calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist drugs.

Muscle, neck, and back pain

Overuse, injuries, or strain can inflame muscle fibers and make them spasm.

Take the R.I.C.E. approach: Depending on where the pain is, Rest, Ice, Compression (use a stretchable bandage), and Elevation (above heart level if possible) may help minimize it.

Numb it: Apply creams or patches with numbing menthol or lidocaine. You might also apply CBD cream to the area, which some preliminary studies show dampens pain.

Consider an RX: NSAIDs and drugstore creams and patches often help, but if they don’t, you may need a prescription muscle relaxant or other prescribed medications for pain and inflammation.

Stretch it out: Consider doing some light exercises or stretching. “But listen to your body and stop if it hurts, because you don’t want to make an injury worse,” Dr. Gold cautions.

Try massage or chiropractic therapy: Having your muscles and/or spine manipulated by a trained therapist can provide pain relief in many cases.

Stomachaches or period cramps

You can double over with GI pain when acids irritate the lining of your stomach or gas gets trapped, often because of a bug or after you have eaten something that doesn’t agree with you. Menstrual cramps spring from contractions of uterine muscles.

Choose the right OTC cure: Tums or Pepcid will reduce acid indigestion; Gas-X relieves bloat; Pepto-Bismol helps with stomach cramps. Address menstrual cramps by taking ibuprofen when the first spasm strikes.

Shift your diet: Avoid gas-producing foods like beans, broccoli, and apples; fried fare; carbonated beverages; and/or dairy. (You can try slowly reintroducing them after the pain has ceased.)

Use heat: To soothe painful spots from the inside, sip warm pepper­mint tea, which has been shown to help GI symptoms. To treat from the outside, place a hot compress on your belly.

Keep moving: Physical activity eases cramps for some women, and walking can help with gas and moving the bowels.

Joint pain

Knees, hips, wrists, and elbows can become hot and swollen as a result of an injury or arthritis.

Try NSAIDS: Meds in this category, which includes ibuprofen and naproxen, often help; for shallow joints (such as those in fingers, knees, and ankles), use a topical NSAID cream.

Rub on a cream: Look for one with menthol or capsaicin (a key element of hot peppers) to interfere with pain signal transmission.

Use ice or heat: Cool joints with a cold pack (or frozen veggies) for 20 minutes at a time. When the area starts to feel better, use a heating pad to up blood flow.

Stretch it out: You may find relief by stretching the muscles around painful joints, as they can become tense. Try reaching your arms high (for shoulder pain, for example) or pointing your toes and flexing your feet (for ankle pain).

Download our Smarter Pain Relief guide at prevention.com/premium-guides.