Everyday pain management ideas

As I see it, the Gut-Brain Axis holds great potential for future treatment in pain management! For one thing, many people with chronic pain also have depression. It is feasible that new ways to treat depression could emerge from better understanding of how the brain and gastrointestinal tract work together. On a different level, in my recent post "Foods and Fibromyalgia: Know your enemies!" there is mention of leaky gut syndrome , a mysterious condition faced by some people with fibromyalgia.  For certain, better understanding of the gut-brain axis will play a role in the management of this condition. For those with auto-immune disorders, especially rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, there is reason for hope...as is better understood how the gut-brain is connected to the immune system. This may completely transform the approach to treatment of these conditions. This might also mean that we could control the underlying disease of many pain conditions with dietary ch

If you've ever had the sensation of butterflies in the stomach, or felt the pangs of hunger after watching a food advertisement, you have experienced what I am discussing in today's post.  Why does this happen?  Does this mean that there is a connection between the gut and the brain? A February 2010 article in Scientific American entitled "Think Twice: How the Gut's "Second Brain Influences Mood and Well Being  goes into some detail about this very interesting body phenomenon.  The article states that the gut is not involved in actual thought process, however.  There are literally multitudes (over 100 million!) of neurons that line the outer layer of the GI tract; technically this is known as the " enteric nervous system ."  While the role of these neurons is primarily digestive function, this nervous system is in constant contact with the central nervous system. As an example..suppose you just enjoyed a very spicy but enjoyable meal.  Shortly

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Opioid drugs have been on the marketplace for decades. But it wasn't until the 1980s that the idea of using long acting opioid products for chronic pain became reality.Before that time, opiates were mostly used short term; long term use of these products was pretty much limited to terminal illnesses, including cancer.  At that time, I was a newly licensed pharmacist; we were taught that, if someone had a terminal illness, quality of life was more important. If a terminally ill person became addicted to pain medication, so be it. Dr. Russell Portenoy was one of the early proponents using opioid medications for patients with chronic pain conditions.  In the late 1980s, he co-authored a paper about a study using these products in this way.  The study was based on a relatively small sample: only 38 patients were involved. The authors contended that the benefits of long term opiate therapy experienced by the study subjects could be of potential benefit to many people with chronic

This blog post is truly more my opinion than anything.  I was looking to write a post on fibromyalgia because I try to post something about it every week for my readers.  This week, I came across some articles about Intravenous Vitamin Drips for various conditions, and the latest one is fibromyalgia. This form treatment has been around for some time, largely a Hollywood fad.  The celebrities are all about it, claiming it helps to rejuvenate.  Apparently these infusions are customized to the individual and they are said to provide immediate relief because the nutrients can reach their targets instantly. Some websites are beginning to promote this idea as a treatment for fibromyalgia...and that is why I am writing about it today. A recent story in the Huffington Post tells one such story. Actor Ryan Phillipe and his girlfriend Paulina Slagter apparently use this treatment.  Apparently this treatment makes up for the fact that they don't eat right because they're alwa

I found this article in a blog at the Chicago Tribune....(To read the article, click here .) Today I am sharing this interview with  Dr. Ralph Gay, who is both a chiropractor and a physician. He is on the medical staff at the prestigious Mayo Clinic!   His is a unique perspective because he is trained in both professions.  If you are considering chiropractic medicine for your chronic pain problems, I highly suggest reading this article.  It might help you to decide if chiropractic medicine might be a good choice for your situation!

Chiropractic medicine is a health care profession that focuses on the musculoskeletal and nervous systems of the body, and the effect of theses systems on one's overall health.  Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine most often treat disorders involving pain of  the spine, neck, joints, and legs, and headaches. The chiropractic approach to medicine is drug free.  Typically practitioners use manual techniques to manipulate the spine of the patient in an effort to restore normalcy.  Chiropractic doctors also are good resources for therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises. They also are educated in the areas of nutrition and lifestyle change. This approach to medicine may not be suited for all medical issues, all the time.  But certainly there is much to offer to many people who suffer from many types of chronic pain!' Here is a short video about chiropractic medicine that might offer further information if you are interested. Sources:wikimedia,aca today,y