Everyday pain management ideas

Sadly, the disorder we know as fibromyalgia affects children and adults.  Some of the afflicted are school students; and whether they be adults or children, it's a lot more difficult for the afflicted. Today I am sharing some coping tips for students with fibromyalgia; these recently appeared in an about.com article that I read. Let instructors know that you (or your child) has fibromyalgia, and that school absences may occur more frequently than is desirable.  Hopefully they will be able to provide study aids such as outlines to help through the courses.  If they are unwilling to cooperate, talk to their superiors about the issue. For college students--be mindful of your course load so you don't over do it.  This is not as easy for high school students, but don't hesitate to find out what options your school district has to offer. Book bags can be heavy.  It might be possible to use electronic books (i.e. Kindle, Nook) or have a spare set of textbooks at home

Earlier this year, Dr. Patrick Roth's Book, "The End of Back Pain" came onto the marketplace.  A few days later, it was review for HuntingtonNews.net by David Kinchen , who seems to enjoy Dr. Roth's fresh perspective on the topic. I am posting this today, hoping that it will help someone, somewhere... Image source: wikimedia Today, I looked at the same book title on Amazon.com . It has been about six months since the book was released, and there are 46 reviews of this title.  Thirty two of these people gave a five star review...I think that makes a very strong statement about it.  One person gave the book only one star, saying that the information was not helpful, especially for acute pain.  I guess you can't win them all! And who is Dr. Patrick Roth, you might ask?  He is a New Jersey based board certified neurosurgeon who is director of a residency program at Hackensack University Medical Center.  You can read more about him and his book  h

NIH (National Institutes of Health) says that 8 of 10 people will experience back pain at some point in their lifetimes.  Fear not!  Sometimes this is a transient problem; for others back pain can be troublesome over long periods of time.  If you are one of the eighty percent, and you don't know where to start, here are some tips to get you started... Image source:Wikimedia Rest --Often overlooked, this is one of the simplest..and sometimes the best remedy for back pain. Take a few days of from your routine, and the results may surprise you. Exercise- Sometimes injury happens to to lack of movement.  A personal trainer can work with you to help determine what exercises are most appropriate for your situation. Medication- within reason, over the counter pain medications can help with short term pain. As discussed in earlier posts, there are problems with using the medications on a regular basis. Some folks think that there are no risks to medications like

Image Source:Flickr Everyone's body experiences the wear and tear of aging..and sooner or later it catches up with us in one way or another.  One of the most common issues is low back pain, which can arise for a number of reasons.  Here's what Paul Christo, MD, MBA has to say about this issue: Most low back pain is due to strain of muscles and ligaments Other causes of low back pain include problems with joints in the spine, piriformis syndrome, and sacroiliac disease.  Spinal changes can lead to herniated disks, causing low back pain, shooting leg pain, and a narrowing around the spinal cord (spinal stenosis) or nerve roots (lateral foraminal stenosis). If you have a problem, work to get a diagnosis first and try all other possibilities before jumping ahead to surgery.  Surgery sometimes involves fusing of vertebrae or inserting rods into the spine, and once it's done, there's no going back. Nerve blocks, medications, and physical therapy can be hel

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

The end of October marks the one year anniversary for this, my first and favorite blog. Thanks for your readership!  I appreciate it. Image source: socialeyes.in