Everyday pain management ideas

As a chronic pain sufferer, you might think that you are stuck in a hopeless situation; believe it or not, that is not the case! According to WebMD, many factors play into an individual's pain threshold. The most significant factors cited are the following: 1) Genetic variation:  Each of us has a unique genetic makeup; no two people are alike. The five senses vary from person to person. The pain threshold follows the same rules as the rest of our being determined by genetic code. 2) Gender:  Males seem to have higher levels of beta-endorphins than do females. As you might recall from prior blog posts, endorphins are naturally occurring pain killers.  If a male and female suffer exactly the same injury, this suggests that the female would feel more pain.  Interestingly, the female pain threshold seems to increase near the time of childbirth. 3) Fluctuation of pain threshold: It appears pain threshold and stress levels are intricately linked. Life events such as th

Pain Threshold and Pain Tolerance Some of the things presented on this blog refer to the terms pain threshold and pain tolerance . After thinking about it for some time,  I came to realize that some of my readers would have no idea what I am talking about!  If you didn't know any better you might even think that they were just two different ways to say the same thing. So, today, I am going to clear that up for you. Pain threshold refers to the "least experience of pain that that a person can recognize." Of course, this varies from person to person.  Depression affects a person's pain threshold in the sense the pain threshold is reached earlier in a person with depression than in someone who does not have depression.   You might visualize the pain threshold much like crossing the threshold at the entrance of a house or other structure.  As you approach the doorway, you are still outside ( outside the realm of pain ); once you step across t

“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.” ― Jim Morrison

I have been writing posts for this blog on a regular basis for about 6 months now. At this point, the same theme seems to echo from everything I write about.  Today's post is going to focus on prevention, rather than treatment, of chronic pain. The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health. As I thought about this post, I remembered that I discussed all these healthy lifestyle changes as an approach to treating a chronic pain problem. However, I have never discussed a preventive   approach to chronic pain conditions.  I remembered the saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." So, what can a person who is relatively healthy and has not problems with chronic pain do to stay ahead of the game? If the truth be told, most of us will suffer some kind of pain in our lifetime; it is not 100% preventable.  That being said, it can be minimized!  A good prevention program is much the same as all I have disc

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Nearly 5 million people in the USA are affected by dementia; if you are reading this you probably know of at least one person who has or is affected by this condition.  The signs of dementia are varied,and can include problems with memory( loss of orientation to person,place, and time) and difficulty with expression (not being able to find the right words to say things, forgetting "the right word', etc.) Eventually this disorder can can cause a person to forget how to care for themselves, and they can no longer care for themselves. In this post, I am going to concentrate on the loss of ability to express...because that is where the difficulty comes in when a person with dementia suffers from chronic pain.  It is not uncommon for older persons to have multiple health issues; arthritis is one very common example.  When dementia is added to the list of comorbidities, things become much more complicated.  The ability to say "I have pain in my lower back" or "My l

Here are some surprising facts about the impact of back pain on society.  After you have a look, I hope you will agree that taking efforts to prevent back problems are a lot better than suffering through this debilitating problem! Researchers found that nearly 1 in 10 people around the world experience low back pain. Low back pain is on the rise and causes more global disability than any other condition, according to two studies from Australia. Prevalence of back pain is higher in men than in women. Low back pain arising from ergonomic and occupational exposures is an important cause of disability particularly in the agricultural sector and in developing countries. With expanding and aging populations in many low-income and middle-income countries, the enormous burden from low back pain in these areas will grow significantly over coming decades. Known risk factors for occupational conditions that lead to low back pain are rapid pace of work, repetitive motion, in