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Showing posts with the label Pain Management News and Information

Pain and Pregnancy, Part Three

The FDA has clearly established guidelines for safe usage of medications during pregnancy. Generally speaking, there are five categories of drugs:  Pregnancy category A Adequate research has been done with the conclusion that drugs in this category are not likely to cause any harm to the fetus in the first trimester as well as later in pregnancy. Pregnancy Category B Studies carried out on animals have shown no adverse effects on the fetus; however, there is a lack of controlled studies on human pregnancy. Pregnancy category C Animal studies have shown evidence of harmful effects on the fetus; however, no controlled study has been done on a human pregnancy. The medicines may be prescribed in cases where the potential benefits outweigh the possible adverse effects. Pregnancy category D Studies done on human pregnancy have shown positive risks to the fetus. However, doctors might prescribe them in certain cases where the potential benefits outweigh the risks

All About Feet: Neuromas

 Have you ever tried to walk with a stone in your shoe? This sensation is similar to the discomfort one experiences when they have a neuroma --a benign tumor made up of nerve tissue that causes pain between the toes. Often times a person with neuroma will stop in the middle of an activity, such as walking, remove their shoe and rub the painful area to obtain relief. No one really knows what causes neuroma, but it's been attributed to bio mechanical deformities, high arches, flat feet, improper footwear, and/or repeated stress or injury to the foot. Symptoms of neuroma include pain in the front of the foot, or between the toes, pain in the ball of the foot when body bearing weight, numbness, tingling, or perhaps swelling.  You can try to help yourself if you experience these problems by wearing shoes that are well fitted. Avoid high heels; rest and massage your feet in the painful area. Ice packs can be helpful. Typically neuromas are treated by a podiatrist. He/she c

All About Feet: Bunions

Here is another common foot problem--bunions. A bunion is essentially a bony bump that begins to form at the base of the big toe.  The exact cause has yet to be determined, but it's thought that genetics may play a role in their formation.  Some experts say that wearing high heels--which forces the front of the foot into the small toe box of the shoe--is another potential cause. Foot injuries or deformities, and some forms of arthritis may also precede bunion formation. The image above is a good illustration of bunion formation, and how they can become a severe deformity if left unaddressed. Here are some tips that may help to prevent this problem from the get-go: Avoid wearing high heels Steer away from ill-fitting shoes, especially if the toe box is too tight Heredity and/or rheumatoid arthritis may predispose one to bunions; if that's the case, be extra vigilant about the first two tips given here! Other complications aside from those pictured above include bu

All About Feet: Plantar Fascitis

Nothing feels good when your feet hurt.  I haven't talked much about foot pain in this blog, so I thought this week I would discuss some common causes of foot pain and the remedies that usually work for them. One of the most common causes of foot pain is plantar fascitis.  The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of the foot; it connects the bones of the toes to the heel bone. It's not uncommon for someone with plantar fascitis to have a stabbing pain in the bottom of the foot, near the heel. This pain can be at its worst one takes their first steps out of bed in the morning. What a way to start the day, right? As with any condition, certain situations or activities put a person at increased risk for plantar fascitis. These risk factors include obesity, spending long periods of time standing up on our feet, some forms of exercise and dance, and issues regarding foot mechanics, such as a high arch or being flat-footed. It's

Canadian Researchers Discover Cellular Mechanism Of Opioid Withdrawal

Hot off the presses!!! We're all aware the of the existing opioid and heroin epidemics going on in the world...and that the need to use more alternative and complementary practices to manage chronic pain is urgent. Sadly, we're also aware that chronic use of opioids has led many into addiction, and ultimately death. But perhaps new hope is in store! An exciting study at the University of Calgary reveals that an existing anti-gout medication can help to ease the symptoms of opioid withdrawal.  Their findings reveal the cellular mechanism of withdrawal and can--and hopefully will--lead to new ways to approach the problem of opioid addiction. Keep in mind that this study is still at the preclinical levels. Let's hope at a future date there is more good news in store. This cannot come soon enough! You can read more about this very exciting news by clicking here! Sources: EurekaAlert; Wikipedia

Modern Pain Management: A Mixture of New And Old, Complementary and Alternative

Modern pain management practice is looking for alternatives to opioid prescribing...and as such, they are looking toward some very new approaches--such as the pain management devices that are coming onto the marketplace--and some very old methods--such as yoga, acupuncture, reiki, and nutritional supplementation. The question is-- how can a patient tell what is safe and effective from what is not ? One good resource is the NIH--the National Institutes of Health.  If you go to the Pain Management Section of the site, you can find information on many of the topics in this field. The Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic , two prestigious medical institutions, also offer online health libraries that you can access if you have a computer, laptop. or smartphone. WebMD is another good resource.  Many products--such as the devices on the marketplace--may have their own individual informational sites, and you can visit them for information. A discussion with you medical care team ma

Who Is Responsible For The Opioid Epidemic?

Last summer, TIME magazine ran a very thoughtful article about the Opioid Crisis. The piece was written by Andre Machado, Chairman of the Neurological Institute of the prestigious Cleveland Clinic. In this short editorial, he brilliantly lays out how we have arrived at such a critical juncture in the world of pain management, and how we can move forward to a better approach toward the treatment of chronic pain. You can read this very timely article (no pun intended) by clicking here . Sources: Time Magazine; Flickr

Everything You Wanted To Know About Pain But Were Afraid To Ask...

Today I am sharing an article from PhillyVoice . I don't want to paraphrase it because if I did,something would be lost in translation.  All I want to say about it is that we often wonder about these aspects of  the human body and pain...but no one really addresses these things. That is, until now. You can read this short but informative article by clicking here . Sources: PhillyVoice; Pixabay

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

Have you ever experienced an uncontrollable urge to move your legs? If you have, one possible cause is restless leg syndrome (RLS).  This uncomfortable condition is very common, particularly in adults. The condition usually comes about after a period of rest--sitting at a desk, sleeping, etc.  Usually moving around a little bit helps to calm things down.  Typically, symptoms tend to be worse in the evening hours. This condition comes under the auspices of chronic pain syndromes because it tends to be chronic, seeing that at present there is no known cure.  It is not overtly painful, but the restless sensation is described as "unpleasant."Some people describe it as creeping or throbbing. A doctor can diagnose RLS based on patient history, physical exam, and laboratory tests (especially for iron levels). It's not clear what causes RLS but it's thought to be an imbalance of hormones in the brain.  Heredity may play a role, and sometimes women first notice the i

Are You A Victim Of Learned Helplessness?

Today's post is a little different..exploring the idea of "learned helplessness." This behavior phenomenon was discovered by two psychologists who conducted a series of experiments in animals a few decades ago. There were three groups of dogs in the study; two of the groups were trained to overcome a painful stimulus by different means, while the third group did not receive any of this training.  In the next phase of the testing, all of the dogs were subject to this stimulus while in a confined environment. The first two groups of dogs used the skills they had learned previously, while the third group did nothing because they believed that there was nothing they could do to prevent this unpleasantry. This behavior can be observed in humans as well--those who try to quit smoking, lose weight, go back to school, get a new job, etc.  Some people have the skills to overcome the obstacles and succeed in these ventures, while others just sulk in their "learned helpl

Rehab For Body And Brain For Leg Injury

A new report out of Ohio State University states that athletes (and others) who suffer a knee injury known as ACL ( anterior cruciate ligamen t) tear require treatment and rehab for the knee, but retraining of the brain as well.  According to the researchers, the way that the brain controls the knee joint changes following the injury. Typical treatment of this type of injury requires surgery, followed by a period of physical rehabilitation.  This report followed persons who were treated following ACL tear and found that the brain relies more on vision than on instinct following this period. This is most crucial to certain athletes who rely more heavily on instinct during game play.  The team found that the re-training of the brain could be accomplished using strobe-effect glasses during therapy in order to help these persons regain instinct-based performance. You can read about this in more detail by clicking here . Sources: WexnerMedical/OSU; Wikimedia

Recent National Poll Finds Connection Between Sleep and Chronic Pain

Chronic and acute pain affect a person's ability to get sufficient good quality sleep. Conversely, the lack of sufficient good quality sleep contributes to the problems faced by those who are in pain--worsening pain, anxiety, depression, and the like.  You have to ask what came first--the chicken or the egg?  It seems like an endless cycle that's difficult to break. A recent poll by the National Sleep Foundation entitled "Sleep In America" sheds some light on this puzzling phenomenon and offers some evidence that there is a solution to the problem. According to a press release about the study,  The 2015 Sleep in America ™Poll finds that pain joins two related concerns--stress and poor health--as key correlates of shorter sleep durations and worse sleep quality. But there are paths to resolving the problem: The sleep gap narrows sharply among those who make sleep a priority.  "Taking control of your sleep by being motivated, setting a routine b

Pain Management: Does Race Play a Role?

Have you ever wondered if certain factors caused provider bias in the realm of medical care..especially with respect to pain management? Today's post explores a study of racial factors in pain management. A study conducted jointly by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has found that patient race, provider bias, and clinical ambiguity interact to influence a provider's assessment and treatment decisions.  The researchers suggest that understanding these factors and their influence might be important in terms of improving patient care.  Their results were presented at the 2014 meeting of the American Pain Society in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Adam Hirsh, a psychologist, and his colleagues studied 110 medical residents and their interactions with twelve computer simulated patients, all of whom presented with acute pain. The highlight of their finding is interesting:  In the end, race mattered but not in a way you might expect. In situations where the diagnosis was unce

Don't Let Chronic Pain Take Charge of YOUR Life!

For this post, I am sharing an article I saw back in July... "Taking Your Life Back From Chronic Pain."   The author raises some very good points..how many health conditions, such as migraine, can overwhelm our lives when they are in full force.  She goes on to say that.... in spite of increased scrutiny over some aspects of health care, including prescription medications...there are still many ways to get a handle on the problem before it gets a handle on you! Many of the things she brings up are things that have been mentioned in this blog before--smoking cessation, weight loss, dietary measures, etc.  Now that the New Year has begun, maybe it's time to think about these things once again.  Even if medication is required to manage one's medical condition, adding healthy lifestyle changes to the regimen will further improve the treatment plan. Happy 2015!  Go for it! Sources: Yahoo! News; Flickr Originally posted January 23, 2015

Chronic Wound Healing--New Study Shows That Opioids Help The Pain But Slow The Gain

Chronic wounds--often the consequence of diabetes, cancer, and other chronic illnesses are a very expensive and very challenging problem the world of health care. In 2009 it was reported that 6.5 million Americans suffered from this problem. At that time the annual expense of treatment was estimated to be $25 billion and growing, primarily due to longer life expectancies and the sharp rise in the incidence of diabetes. Typically these wounds are a source of pain--and being chronic wounds, the pain can also be chronic. Sometimes diabetic wounds in particular are very slow to heal due to changes in circulation to the limbs, and sometimes amputation is necessary.  Therefore it's logical to remediate the discomfort of these wounds with pain medications, including opioids. But a new study released by George Washington University is causing second thoughts. After completing a study of 450 subjects who were victims of chronic wound problems, an interesting observation came ab

"Stepped Care Model"--Offers New Hope For Management of Chronic Pain

For the 100 million plus Americans in chronic pain, there are sometimes more questions than answers. Many suffer day in, day out, with little to no hope for better solutions to their problems.  I would say to you all--there is hope out there...sometimes it takes time to figure out the best solution to one's problems, but there are many remediations already out there, and a lot of research into new and better solutions in the future. There is no "cookie cutter "solution to this problem; at best it is complex because pain is a unique experience to every individual. One of the newest things on the horizon is known as the " Stepped Care Model For Pain Management" (SCM-PM).  Recently published in the Journal of Pain Research , this approach to pain management has three levels: In the first step , a patient's pain concerns are identified by their clinician.  The patient and provider discuss the issue and focus on treatment based on self-management an

Polyneuropathy: Diabetes Is Not The Only Cause!

You may be well aware that one of the complications of type II diabetes is neuropathy.  When caused by diabetes, the nerve damage is attributed to elevated blood glucose levels over extended periods of time.  But diabetes is NOT the only cause of neuropathy.  Some forms of neuropathy develop following illnesses, such as shingles, or physical damage to our bodies following injury, accident, or general wear and tear. The term polyneuropathy is used to describe multiple affected nerves as opposed to only one affected nerve (also known as mononeuropathy ). A new study of polyneuropathy from a team at the University of Michigan unveiled another way that this condition can develop.  According to study authors, pre-diabetes and obesity are also factors that contribute to development of this most uncomfortable condition. For those who are weight conscious, this is a winning situation. By being careful to maintain a healthy weight you are able to fend off pre-diabetes and ultimatel

New Type of Migraine Identified?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, seventy percent of migraine sufferers are women. About sixty to seventy percent of these women report a correlation between migraine attacks and the menstrual cycle.  Most commonly this is attributed to the fact that a woman's hormones levels fluctuate throughout their cycles. This change in hormone levels over time is said to be what precipitates migraines. Red Blood Cells A new study points to the idea that this is not the only mechanism by which a menstrual migraine can come about.  According to researchers at the Carolina Headache Institute, cyclic "end menstrual migraine" (EMM) can be the result of anemia. This anemia is the result of dropping ferritin levels due to blood loss of menstruation  The authors go on to say that more study is necessary to firm up this theory.  The good news is that the affected women in the Carolina study responded favourably to iron supplementation.   Here again, more study is necessary to

Pain Management For Musicians

Americans are very interested in professional sports.  We love our Great American Pastime - Baseball, and NFL Football and of course, NHL Hockey. We generally like our college and high school sports as well.  An when an athlete is injured during play, it's natural to send them to a sports medicine practice for treatment. We like our music as well.  And musicians are prone to injuries of many sorts, depending on which instrument is being played, and most uniquely, the human voice. I'm not a gambler but I'd bet most of us would not think about going to someone who specializes in injuries related to musical performance!  This is an emerging field; there are as of now only a few medical practices dedicated to this area. But there are many ways that musicians can prevent or manage chronic pain using devices or techniques particular to their specialty. Here are some examples: Guitar players ... My husband is a guitar player.  He learned of a device known as a "

Tips for Using Medication Safely

Most everyone will find the need to take some kind of medication some time in their lives. And whether that medication is a pain medication or not, there are some general rules that apply for the safe use of all medications. While this list is not all inclusive, here are some safety tips that apply to all. image source: wikimedia Store medications as per package directions. Some medications can be keep at room temperature, while others need to be refrigerated or perhaps frozen.  Every prescription or over-the-counter drug comes with information as to ideal storage temperature.  If you are unsure about a specific medication, ask your pharmacist. Keep all medications out of the reach of children. Take medications as per package directions.  Do not exceed recommended dosages. Do not share prescription medications with other individuals.  Medications should always be used only by the person it is prescribed to. Read package information or patient education leaflet and tal