@monkeymeg

You have offered some great ideas. I'm not familiar with Reiki, so I searched for some information. Here is a link to information on the practice of Reiki from the Cleveland Clinic website for anyone else who might be unfamiliar with it: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/reiki.

I've also been helped by acupuncture, massages, mild exercise (like stretching), and lidocaine pain patches. All of these, combined with NAISDs and/or Acetophenidin (Tylenol), work together to help. Of course, physical activity is important as well. Even when pain is at its worst, and you don't feel like moving, it is still important to find some easy stretches as well as moderate exercises that can be done seated.

Dealing with chronic pain requires as many tools as possible. Putting them together can certainly result in a reduction of pain, without the need for heavy pain-killing medications.