Dealing with Pain

Spring time in the dance community is slightly chaotic with ballet exams, dance competitions, extra rehearsals and the preparation required for June shows and recitals. I have been teaching/dancing 6 days a week this month and my back pain is at an all time high. My chronic pain is caused by inflammation in my hips and back from a bunch of minor injuries that tend to twist my hips to uncomfortable places. Since I do not have time and am not really willing to take a break from dancing I am forced to figure out how to deal with this pain. Because of my achy back I have not been overly productive with my art this past week as it makes concentrating rather difficult. Ironically my chronic condition is the reason I began to pursue my art in the first place.

This week I am trying to take it easy for a few days and get myself back to a better state. I am reworking my diet to include foods that are supposed to help with inflammation and joint pain. I read an article about a study where shiitake mushrooms were shown to reduce inflammation. In the study people only ate one mushroom a day for 4 weeks, at which time the doctors could measure a reduction in the immune systems inflammatory response. My diet now consists of Shiitake mushrooms, salmon, tofu, apples, kale and a few other things including organic red wine! 
Hopefully these small changes will help me feel better and make more art!
I have been attempting to finish a whole bunch of projects this week. I'm getting close, but so far nothing is done. Which means, in theory, I will have lots to share next week!
In the meantime I did paint this sketch in my sketchbook.