Managing Chronic Pain While Abroad

Everybody probably knows the “knee brace girl” from middle and high school that was always in a knee brace limping around to get out of P.E. class. I was the “knee brace girl” of my school, but had valid reasoning for it. I was experiencing the notable beginning of a very long journey to diagnosis for a chronic joint pain condition.

My pain is primarily in my knees (right a little more left) and my right shoulder. As a result of my shoulder problems that developed during my first year of college, I had to leave the varsity field hockey team because it was no longer worth the strain on my body required to continue playing at a high level. 

I have learned how to manage my pain quite well and now having survived my first flare-up here in Vienna, Austria, a city reliant on walking and where I do not speak the language well (learning more every day in German class though!) 

I thought it might be helpful or interesting to write about my strategies.

I recognize that I am very privileged to have received the care I have and to have seen many of the doctors I have with positive experiences. I also recognize that I am very fortunate to be able to study abroad with my mobility issues. If you are thinking about studying abroad and have mobility issues, I highly recommend talking to those around you about it. I had conversations with my mom, friends with similar conditions, physically abled friends, and my physical therapist to determine what was best for me. 

Here are my recommendations/strategies for success:

1. First and foremost I did every possible doctor's appointment before I left America. I was showing symptoms of a potential co-morbidity of my condition during summer 2024 after I already knew I was going to be studying abroad. I focused on following through with all of the steps for the diagnosis process around my fall semester as I wanted to make sure that if I did have the condition that it was on file before I was abroad. Thankfully, I do not have that condition, but I am glad that I pushed to follow through on the diagnosis process for ease of mind.

2. Bring everything you might want related to your pain management just in case. For me this included KT Tape, pain relief lotion, resistance bands for physical therapy, and most importantly over-the-counter pain medicine. Here in Austria, almost any kind of medication requires a prescription from a doctor. When I am going through a flare-up, it can be difficult for me to even move around my room, so I wanted to make sure that I brought my own from America.

   Building off of this: know what works for you. For me, KT taping my knees during a flare-up is very very helpful for me and significantly improves my ability to move around.

3. Build physical therapy into your routine and day-to-day life. I like to lift weights 2-3 times a week (and I have found that if I am working out consistently it helps to lessen flare-ups), every time before I lift I do physical therapy exercises for about five minutes. Any time I workout in general, I try to do some physical therapy. I play the string bass and am doing so here to some extent in Vienna, when I play I try to stretch out my shoulder before and after. The issue with me particularly is not that I am limited in my mobility, but rather it feels like all the screws in my shoulder are loose and the muscles have to work really hard to hold it all together. Imagine a wobbly table and how much those few screws holding it together are doing: that is what is happening in my shoulder. Stretching everything out and working on very slowly building strength through these exercises helps me out.
4. Know your limits and when you need a day to rest and take it easy. I got sick at the beginning of February after pushing my body too hard for too long. I knew what I was doing while I was doing it because I decided in the moment it was better to have the social experiences in the moment rather than the capability for them in the future. When I got sick, I experienced a really bad flare-up and was forced to rest for longer. If I had taken a step back and prioritized my rest I would have been fine. I have been trying to build more rest and down time into my schedule since. I try to take elevators when I can and use the most direct route on days I know I am teetering towards overdoing it rather than the scenic one.
5. Make sure your accommodations are set to help you abroad. I worked with my schools' Disability Services office to get some adjustments made to my accommodations that I previously did not need explicitly stated to help improve my quality of life while here in Vienna, Austria. Talk with your doctors, Disability Services office, and ponder to yourself if you think you might need different/new accommodations while abroad! Remember that disability and accommodations can look different in other countries than in America. My accommodations were perfect for me at Mount Holyoke College, but I needed a few things specifically spelled out in them to get them to work right for what I need here in Vienna. Getting my accommodations adjusted has been really helpful so far beyond just when I am experiencing pain. Thank you curb cut effect!

I realize that wasn’t a lot, but I hope it was helpful if you are thinking about studying abroad with a physical disability or if you are a able-bodied person interesting in learning about a disabled students' experience (but also please recognize that this is MY experience and not representative of everyone's). While I am able to take this time off of having doctors appointments, through IES Abroad you are automatically enrolled into health insurance for the duration of your program, so if I did need to see someone, I have an app that allows me to connect with English-speaking providers in my area. Being able to manage my chronic pain has been made way easier by following these parameters.