Everyday pain management ideas

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

After my last post, I realized that the terms complementary, alternative, or integrative medicine may seem to confusing to some readers. It is my hope that after reading today's post these terms will be better understood. So, without further ado, here is my attempt to explain-- Alternative medicine  refers to practices outside the scope of traditional medicine. Yoga practice, meditation, chiropractic medicine,  and nutritional supplements or herbal medicines are some examples of these practices.  The term "alternative medicine" implies that one ore more of these non-traditional methods is being used in place of traditional medicine for a given condition. Complementary medicine  refers to using a combination of traditional and alternative medicine to treat a given condition. As an example, a migraine sufferer finds that attending yoga classes regularly helps to reduce the frequency of migraine headaches. But this same individual is also under care of a physic

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

I've previously mentioned that having a hobby can do much to distract someone from chronic pain...and I've previously mentioned that knitting and /or crochet are helpful to those with stress and anxiety--two common problems in the chronic pain population. Recently, I came across a post in "The Little Things" citing many reasons why knit and crochet are good for your health.  You can read the post in entirety here , but here is the short list of the benefits! 1) Knitting (or crochet) can reduce heart rate and blood pressure. This leads to reduced levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that can damage the circulatory system and the heart. 2) Knit/crochet help keep fingers nimble. Just as walking or other exercise is good for arthritic knees and hips, knitting and crochet serve to exercise muscles in the fingers and hands, which helps to keep them from becoming stiff and dysfunctional. 3) Math skills are improved in people who knit/crochet. Following patterns

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

In one of the first studies of its kind, the FAIR Health group released some very interesting information last fall.  This group used claims data from privately insured persons to illustrate some obvious, but very shocking conclusions about privately insured persons who are regular opioid users. The data from this study looked at (non-identifying) data from insurers who cover upwards of 150 million patients. They noticed the following observations: From 2007-2014, medical services for people with opioid dependence diagnoses skyrocketed more than 3,000% Much of the increase in opioid dependence occurred since 2011, even though this period was marked by increased attention to the problem and a growing concern amongst advocates as they called on doctors to reduce the number of opioid prescriptions. Younger patients (19-35 years) were most likely to be diagnosed as “opioid dependent” relative to other age groups. (Dependence is defined by symptoms such as increased

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