Paula Abdul has been our pop idol since the 1980s, when her song “Straight Up” blew up on the radio charts in December 1988. And now, the 57-year-old former American Idol judge recently joined the likes of Lady Gaga, Cher and Mariah Carey in launching her own Las Vegas residency, Forever Your Girl, at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino.

Related: How Long Has Paula Abdul Been Dancing?

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The new venture is a particular triumph for Abdul, who has battled chronic pain for years. At 17 she had a terrible back injury due to a cheerleading, but chose to not have surgery. Later in 1991 she suffered a broken leg during a dance rehearsal. And she experienced 2 accidents, a 1992 car crash that left her with neck injuries, and a 1993 plane crash that left her partially paralyzed and required 15 spinal surgeries. As a result, she developed an addiction to prescription painkillers that she sought treatment for in 2008.

But now, she tells InStyle, the pain has subsided, thanks to a non-invasive treatment called Cortical Integrative Therapy, a neurological-based treatment developed by Dr. Victor M. Pedro, founder of Rhode Island Integrated Medicine. “I don’t experience the type of physical pain that I used to,” she says. “Once I really accepted that for a time, pain was part of my life, I was able to move forward. I didn’t have to like the pain, but to accept that it was there. Fighting it made it worse for me. I keep getting the message that I have to slow down. Slowing down has made so many of my dreams come true. My career is in a whole renaissance.”

(If you saw her triumphant, tap-dance-laced Billboard Music Awards performance in May—where she received a standing ovation—you knew this was coming.)

Here are some other strategies Abdul uses to battle chronic pain.

She works out a lot.

“I get up at 6 and I work with my trainer for an hour and a half. Then I go to rehearsals at about a quarter to 9. We do a warm-up and then we dance. We go from about 9:45 until 7 p.m., and we take one day off,” she told People about prepping for the residency. “I do a lot of stretching,” she says. “When I’m with my trainer I’m doing Pilates, I’m doing a lot of back and core work. Even though I’m dancing all day I often do straight cardio just so that I’m conditioning my body. And after each performance I usually get in an ice cold tub. It’s not fun! It shocks your body, but it helps with inflammation.”

Related: Top 5 Inflammation Fighters

She follows a low-alkaline diet.

The Alkaline Diet has helped her minimize inflammation in her body.



“When you have RSD, the best thing to do is lower your acidity to slow inflammation, so I follow a low alkaline diet,” she told People. “I don’t like following diets but I try to keep the acidity down because that’s what causes flares up in my body.”

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She’s into positive affirmations.

Pain is also a mental battle, and Abdul looks to positive affirmations to strengthen her mental health. She shared with Dr. Oz that they help her build confidence. Here are some of her favorite messages:

You can’t get to where you want to be unless you can accept where you’re at.

Whatever your plans are today, smile, say hello, and open the door for someone.

Just “Stick to it”–whatever your goals and dreams are for this day, this week, this year, this life.

What you don’t like, only you have the power to change.

If you avoid situations where you might be told ‘”No,” how will you get to your “Yes?” This so-called rejection process is part of success.

When taking care of others, don’t forget to nurture yourself. You cannot give if you yourself have been depleted.

Give yourself a quiet moment alone today and just breathe. Remember, there’s power in pause.

Many chronic pain sufferers turn to meditation for some relief. Read our interview with one of its pioneers, Jon Kabat-Zinn.