Everyday pain management ideas

The treatment of fibromyalgia is a bit tricky.  For one thing, there are not many pharmaceutical treatments out there.  It's been said by at least one expert that this condition is best managed without medications.  There are many avenues of approach.  Using a combination of techniques, a patient can regain function and quality of life. We've discussed many of the treatment options in this blog in the past. Some of them involve exercise or diet; some others strategies or lifestyle modifications that make living with fibromyalgia a less daunting task. Now comes a small study of a new approach to fibromyalgia treatment: music therapy.  This treatment is one that is best used in addition to other  treatment strategies.  A recent small scale study revealed a statistically significant reduction in pain when the subjects listened to relaxation CDs that contained the sounds of waves and water.  The reduction in pain was seen as early as 14 days into the study! It's go

In keeping with the last post...don't forget about the most basic practices along the pain management journey.  As I mentioned in that post, there are so very many complementary and alternative practices one can use to enhance quality of life. Fortunately for all of us, some of them can be implemented without any physical effort whatsoever! Here is one such example of a complementary coping mechanism:practicing positivty!  This is more of a mental exercise  i.e., working on developing the habit of framing our daily thoughts in a positive way.  Here are some examples of how to accomplish this: 1) Do nice things for other people.   Even the little things in life make a difference. No matter what your physical status, this is always possible on some level. It's always possible to compliment people in conversation.  Phone a friend or send a card just to let someone know you're thinking of them. Consider doing volunteer work if you are able. If you happen to be i

Today I'm going to share a link to an editorial from the New York Times.  I thought it important to share... patients see the health care professions from a patient's point of view and don't always see the other side of the coin.  This editorial was written by a physician who describes what's going on in his mind during an office visit with a patient.  It's good to know what's going on in your health care team's mind when you are conversing with them at a visit.  I hope in sharing this your visits with your doctors and other health care practitioners will become more productive! Click here for a link to the article mentioned above.

A little background about this post: You are what you eat...or so it is said.  And as I am growing older, I see the wisdom in those words. It all started with a bowl of popcorn. I love popcorn, I could eat it by the carload.  I never was particular about brand, and the kind you buy in the microwave bags was good enough for me.  Then when I began my weight loss journey some years ago, I discovered that popcorn was not a bad thing to eat on the plan I followed, if it wasn't drowning in butter or other topping.  I purchased a re-useable microwave popper and a jar of Orville Redenbacher's best.  It certainly did the trick when it came to trimming fat and calories.  In the meantime I noticed that I would have abdominal discomfort whenever I consumed this food as a snack.  I guess that I always had that problem with it but it became more noticeable over time. I started thinking about why I had this problem.  One thought was that I did not drink enough water to help my food pass

This story about a research study in the United Kingdom is interesting...it brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "keep your fingers crossed." According to the article, the test subjects were exposed to a phantom pain sensation known as thermal grill illusion, and asked to cross their fingers, and uncross their fingers.  It is believed that crossing of the fingers causes brain confusion and helps to reduce pain like sensation. Thermal Grill Image source: Flickr What does this mean for future pain sufferers?  It's not really clear but the concept of using finger crossing or select body postures to relieve pain may come in handy! Here is an excerpt about thermal grill illusion--you can read in entirety by clicking here. "The ‘thermal grill illusion’ refers to paradoxical sensations of heat and pain, resulting from simultaneous application of interlaced warm and cold stimuli to the skin. It provides an interesting model of integrative mechanism

In searching for material for this blog, I came across an interesting article written by Ted Jones, Ph. D., a psychologist.  He begins by saying that good pain management is like a 3 legged stool.  The legs of the stool represent the 3 elements of treatment: interventions, medications, and psychological education/counseling.  All these elements must be in place in order for the stool to remain upright and stable...right? The article goes on to point out more detailed information about each leg of the stool.  As the author is a psychologist, he goes on to say that many people are treated only with interventions and medications...but the psychological leg of the stool is left out, leaving treatment sorely lacking. Why is the psychological aspect of treatment so important?  Because this part of a pain management treatment can help a patient to learn very important coping skills that enhance the overall effectiveness of treatment.  According to Dr. Jones, there are five skills that a

What is Integrative Medicine, you might ask? This model of medical practice has been around for about twenty or thirty years .  The idea of this medical practice model is to treat a person (patient) as a whole person (mind, body, and spirit) rather than focusing on distinct medical diagnoses.  This brings to mind TV ads for Cancer Treatment Centers of America.   You may have seen these--usually a patient in the ad speaks about their cancer treatment and how these facilities took a team approach to the illness.  The "team" can involve people from many types of disciplines. For example, these disciplines can include medicine, nutrition, spiritual, physical therapy, and mind-body practices such as yoga. Integrative medicine is becoming increasingly popular and many treatment centers have opened since this concept emerged. And this is good news for my readers-because at this point in time, there is a growing role for this treatment approach in the area of chronic pain.

Not long ago, I posted some surprising causes of chronic pain.  These were things you might not think as the root cause of an ache or pain that just won't go away no matter what you try. Today I have a different take on that theme.  Today I am going to talk about a few more of these everyday things that might be the source of a pain problem for some of you.  It's interesting--we don't always think about the things that are right in front of us, but sometimes that's exactly what we need to think about!  So, without further ado... ~ An old mattress can be the source of neck or back pain.  In addition, mattresses that are too hard or too soft can be problematic.  The solution here is to replace an old mattress with one that provides proper support.  Another idea is to sleep on your side or back.  Placing a pillow under the knees can also offer relief. ~A purse or shoulder bag can cause misalignment of the spine and guess what else? Pain of course. Ideally a purse s

I have been posting to this blog regularly for about eighteen months now.  Recently I have had many positive comments to my posts, and I hope there are many more readers out there who haven't commented...but benefit from the information I share here. Today's post is a little different..most of the posts are about living with chronic pain once you have it. But, what if you could prevent chronic pain?  As the old saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  This applies to chronic pain and many other chronic health conditions as it applies to all kinds of things in daily life.   I came across a newspaper article about this very topic, and I am going to share their tips for prevention of chronic pain with you today Even though there is not a 100% guarantee that following all these tips to the letter will spare the reader from all physical pain, the advice is very good.  I have previously discussed many of these ideas in prior blo

I am very excited to tell you about an all natural method of pain management for all types of chronic pain.  It's called the MELT method, and it is based on the theory that exacerbation of chronic pain can be attributed to dehydration of connective tissues in our bodies. According to Sue Hitzman, author of The MELT Method,  all people are subject to dehydration of body connective tissues.  She asserts that this dehydration process lead to "stuck stress" and inflammation over the course of time.  The MELT method is a way to address the "stuck stress" and help to disrupt the chronic pain cycle. She theorizes that the body's connective tissue is a network throughout the body, so all body parts are interconnected in a way...and her self-help technique is thus useful for chronic pain no matter what the source. If you'd like to know more about the MELT method, here is a link to the author's post from a Dr. Oz episode.  You can also find her book

Spider bites can be painful, right?  And they can become infected, which leads to a whole host of problems worse than the original bite.  But believe it or not, some of the substances contained in some varieties of spider venom may actually provide a new way to treat some forms of chronic pain. Brian Stallard, a writer at Nature World New s, recently wrote an article about this very topic. He cites an article in the British Journal of Pharmacology that describes research in this area.  The journal authors have found that some persons are genetically deficient in the ability to block certain pain channels, resulting in widespread pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia.  The venom components under study seems to block these pain channels, resulting in some relief from the widespread pain. While this research is still in its infancy, it shows promise for development of a whole new class of painkillers. They also offer hope to those who suffer from these disorders, which have limi

After I wrote the post about the Fibromyalgia Float Project, I got to thinking about Epsom Salts. Even though technically, I suppose that they could be considered a pharmaceutical, they are safe and effective.  This product has been around literally forever, and might be a real godsend for some chronic pain sufferers. Epsom Salts are made up of naturally occurring minerals...primarily magnesium and sulfur.  Magnesium deficiency is fairly common and may affect many body functions, including muscle and nerve function, blood sugar regulation, and blood pressure regulation. Sulfur deficiency may play a role in obesity, heart disease, chronic fatigue, and dementia. One way to increase magnesium is to take an oral supplement--magnesium sulfate or magnesium oxide are fairly easy to find.  But another way to increase magnesium levels in the body is to to absorb it through the skin.  This can easily be accomplished by taking an epsom salt bath. A epsom salt foot bath is another op

This little slideshow will help you to find ten simple ways to help reduce the chronic pain in your life. Follow the link above to the WebMD presentation.  If you're in a hurry today, I am posting a short synopsis below! Get an endorphin boost!  Exercise. Breathe. Try meditation and/or biofeedback. Avoid alcohol. Quit smoking. Eat a healthier diet. Help your doctor to help you: keep a pain journal. Schedule time to relax. Set limits. Distract yourself from your pain. Learn about your medicines  and how to take them for optimal benefit. Find (and give support): family, friends, support groups are good. Sources: WebMD; Wikimedia

W hen you suffer from a chronic condition, especially one that prevents you from feeling fully functional, it is sometimes difficult to feel like you are the contributing member of society that you wish to be.  I choose to think that all persons have purpose; sometimes that purpose is to inspire others who are going through physical challenges, or to give others a lesson in character building that they would not otherwise be able to receive... The short meditation  above may help you to feel more positive today.  Have a look! Sources: YouTube, Wikimedia

I always like sharing information from the Cleveland Clinic with my readers--they are highly regarded in the world of medicine, and have much to offer persons will all sorts of illnesses and disabilities.  Today I would like to share what they have to say about managing pain without medications.  You can read the article in its entirety here . For those of you who simply prefer an overview of this piece, here is an overview: Many people suffer from pain due to illness or injury.  All too often the first treatment of choice is medication.  Unfortunately, medications can have troubling side effects, and some of them are potentially addicting.  Therefore, it is wise to look at some alternative forms of treatment and incorporate them into a treatment plan. One of these alternatives is O steopathic M anipulation T herapy, which involves re-alignment bones/joints in an effort to ease pain. This is the hallmark of Osteopathic medicine. Chiropractic medicine and acupuncture are

A novel approach to osteoarthritis of the knee was revealed this past summer. The study was conducted jointly by a group of Swiss and Japanese researchers. The group investigated a small group of subjects who had osteoarthritis of the knee that was unresponsive to medication.   This small group of subjects underwent an interventional radiology procedure that involved embolization of some arteries in the knee.  According to the researchers,  “This treatment is based on the notion that increased number of blood vessels and accompanying nerves are a possible source of chronic pain and that occlusion of these abnormal vessels might reduce such pain.” The researchers found all 14 subjects to have successful treatment just after the procedure. Twelve months later, all 14 were still deemed a success! “From our experiences, there were two distinct time points when pain and symptoms improved”, notes the team. One was soon after embolisation, which the researchers attributed to de

Here is a success story about spinal cord stimulation...as a follow up to my earlier post this week.  It's a really amazing technique. It certainly won't help everyone with chronic pain, it can do great things for lots of folks who are out there suffering-without drug fog or risk of addiction! The pain in Sequoia Lawson’s right arm grew so severe that she could not lift it to shake hands. Nothing worked to dull the pain from what doctors said was nerve damage – not medication, physical therapy or multiple surgeries. That is, until she took the 3,000-mile trip from her home in Washington State to Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences in Newark. Lawson, 30, had learned of the work of neurosurgeon Antonios Mammis at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School treating pain through spinal cord stimulation.  Mammis often consults with colleagues as part of a new interdisciplinary approach to pain management at Rutgers. “I had suffered with pain for more than a decade and was

Back in September, I posted a piece entitled, "Spinal Cord Stimulators: Early Intervention Shows High Success Rate."    If you read it....or even if you didn't...it probably left you with more questions than answers.  I have done a little investigating since then, and found an interesting article that sheds more light on these devices and answers a lot of the frequently asked questions.  So, without further ado, I would like to the things I have learned with my readers. Deep brain stimulation Image source: wikipedia 1) Neuromodulation can be applied through a number of techniques .  Spinal cord stimulation is one form of this treatment; others include peripheral nerve field stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, brain stimulation, sacral stimulation, spinal drug delivery systems, and brain stimulation. These treatments are generally available from physicians who have training in this specialized medical field. 2) Neuromodulation is FDA approved and has bee

According to a March 2014 article in Pain Medicine News ,  studies are underway to assess use of the Herpes Simplex virus to deliver genetic instructions to the central nervous system to "rewrite" pain signals at their source. After having success in animal models, the studies continue in human clinical trials.  It is entirely possible that this will become a safe and effective approach to chronic pain management in three to five years. Dr. David Fink, a neurologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and Joseph Glorisio, Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, along with their colleagues at Periphagen Holdings are taking the lead in this new and exciting frontier in pain management! Here is a simple schematic of how this approach might work: Source: Pain Medicine News; Wikimedia

In this short video, Sandy Sentivany-Collins, RN, and Carly, a Golden Retriever working with our pediatric pain management service, are highlighted for their work at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Carly is an official member of the Packard staff and understands a number of languages. Sandy and Carly's work provides extraordinary support to the kids and families at this hospital. Pet therapy is good for all age groups. In November 2009 Science Daily reported on a study of using pet therapy for adults undergoing joint replacement therapy.  According to the study, those who used pet therapy in their treatment required 50 percent less medication that those who did not.  You can read the article in its entirety by clicking here . If you don't have your own dog or cat, perhaps you know someone who would share with you. Animals love unconditionally and their is much to be gained from their companionship besides pain management. This is one of the mos