Pain: The Fifth Vital Sign..Or Not?

At the moment, there is much debate about whether or not pain levels should be considered "the fifth vital sign." This idea came about some years ago when pain control became one of the quality measures in hospital care. The hospitals, in turn, relied mostly on medication to score well on those quality measures. Who does this idea really benefit in the end...the hospital, who may benefit from higher insurance or Medicare reimbursements due to higher scores...or the patient?

I am interested in what you might think about this topic; feel free to comment if you like. My own personal opinion is that pain is NOT a vital sign because it's not a measure of life and death. But I also believe that it is important to help people manage their pain levels as much as possible. It means that those who are suffering should learn self-management from the earliest point possible, and showing them all the options that are possible, and where to find those options.

In the past we were too quick to resort to using medications, especially opioids, from the onset of a problem. That is how we got where we are now. It's time to re-think our approach and make more use of all the alternative and complementary practices that are available to us!

Sources: MedPage Today; Pixabay

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Living with Chronic pain hits the big screen!

Been to the movies lately? Jennifer Aniston is on the big screen in a recent release titled "Cake." Her character, Claire is a victim of chronic pain...she belongs to a support group, where all of the members are coming to terms with the suicide of one of their members. Of course, she also takes pain medication and addiction is another of her problems...and of course there's more! I guess I am writing this post just to bring readers' attention to the fact that Hollywood has become aware of the crisis that is chronic pain. This movie is a testament to that. People that don't have to live with this kind of pain don't fully understand the whole story. Maybe this movie will shed some light on the issues. Here is the official trailer for the movie: Sources: prweb;NorthJersey.com;YouTube

Beware Of The Tick!

It's tick season, everyone! And while we all know about Lyme Disease and its lingering effects, a new problem has entered the scene. According to the CDC, the Powassan virus is another tick-borne disease that has recently been recognized. The CDC says symptoms become apparent anywhere from one week to one month after infection. Symptoms include vomiting, weakness, confusion, loss of coordination, problems with speech and seizures. Approximately half of those infected by this virus have permanent neurological symptoms, which can include muscle wasting, problems with memory, and recurrent headaches. Many people who have been infected with Powassan virus required hospitalization and sometimes even respiratory support (i.e., a respirator). Treatment is focused on supportive measures. In the meantime, preventive measures are the best way to avoid Lyme disease, Powassan virus , or any other tick-borne virus. You can read more about preventive measures by clicking here . Sour...

The Multimodal Approach to Pain Management

OK..so if you've been following this blog you will notice that there are a good number of ideas to help manage chronic pain. You might ask yourself, "Which one of these ideas is best for me ?" I would suggest that you might try any number of these things, depending on your level of ability/disability, health care team recommendations, and your personal interests. There are a number of reasons for doing this: 1) The patient is in control..with few exceptions, it is your decision what to try/not try and how many different things you want to experiment with at any time. 2) Non drug pain management ideas do not have any of the drug interactions or side effects that medications have. You may have to set limits or modify activity according to personal circumstances, but usually it does not hurt to try any of them. 3)You usually do not need a prescription for most of the ideas I have described. There are a few exceptions, such as physical therapy. There ...

Everyday pain management ideas

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