Everyday pain management ideas

This topic is important...and has not yet been addressed in this blog, so today is the day! Modern medications are a true marvel.  There are more drugs for more indications on the market now than we ever could have imagined even a decade ago.  As the science of drug development evolves, the newer drugs seem to be more effective than their predecessors. At the same time, more is known about drug metabolism and the interactions drugs have with foods and other drugs. This has made medicinal therapy become increasingly more complex as the years pass. At the same time, there are occasions when therapy with medication fails.  Chemotherapy for cancer is one example; while much progress has been made, there are still many treatment failures.  This is also the case in the realm of pain management.  There are many medications out there--some new and some old standbys. But not every drug or drug combination for pain is successful 100% of the time in 100% of patients. For t

One of the best defenses we have against chronic pain, or any illness for that matter--is to know what the risk factors are and to do our best to eliminate as many risks as possible. There are some risk factors we really can't control--such as genetics. The good news is, there are many risk factors that can be controlled or eliminated. Type II diabetes is one example of the health conditions I am talking about here.  While diabetes is not a painful condition in and of itself, it can lead to the development of diabetic neuropathy . This condition leads to nerve damage due to elevated blood glucose levels over extended periods. There is a period of time prior to development of type II diabetes that is known as pre-diabetes. During the pre-diabetes period, timely management of risk factors such as hypertension, weight management, dietary modifications, etc. can halt the further development of this form of diabetes. For that reason, today I am sharing a link to a q

One subject we have not broached too much in this blog is spirituality...it is one of the elements of holistic health care...but does not always get the "air time" that it deserves. Spirituality is defined as " being concerned with religion or religious matters; of or relating to a person's spirit."  One approach to spirituality is the practice of organized religion, but spirituality is actually more encompassing than that... Organized religion is certainly a great way to address a person's spiritual needs.  Most religions have a system of beliefs that set them apart from other religious practices. Those who embrace these practices can find much solace in their respective system of belief. Beyond Christianity, Judaism, Islam and other practices, spirituality also encompasses a sort of "sixth sense." Each person's idea of spirituality is as unique as a fingerprint.  As previously stated, this may be firmly rooted in organized religion

Holistic medicine is defined as medical practice that seeks to treat an individual as a whole--body, mind, emotions, and spirit--as opposed to treatment that is focused on a specific malady.  The holistic approach to medicine emerged in the 1970s. Traditional western medicine scoffed at what we now know as complementary or alternative practices; since that time these practices have become more widely accepted and integrated into modern medical practice. The principles of holistic medicine embrace a team approach to patient care. Holistic practitioners believe that every individual possesses an innate ability to heal themselves. They see the patient as a person rather than a disease state. In an attempt to treat the patient, holistic practitioners are members of a team that strives to correct the underlying cause of the patients condition as opposed to simply alleviating symptoms. There are many types of treatments that come under the auspices of holistic medicine.

Fibromyalgia is still a poorly understood disorder..but fear not, the push is on to learn more about it so it can be better managed and treated. Ask anyone who has this disorder--it's certainly no walk in the park, and the need for remediation is obvious. Microglia (green) and neurons in a rat brain culture One of the more recent discoveries in this effort is the existence of microglia.   Unique to the central nervous system, these tiny cells travel about to areas of injury or infection. Once there, they send out an SOS to other parts of the immune system. Microglia also attempt to begin the healing process. Inflammation is part of this process. While this is a normal part of the healing process, chronic inflammation is problematic. It's thought that microglial activation is part of the problem experienced by patients with fibromyalgia...perhaps with respect to brain fog and issues with hyperalgesia (pain amplification) and mechanical allodynia (pain expe

In recent news, it's been reported that women with fibromyalgia commonly suffer from pelvic pain.... An Oregon Health & Science University is looking to expand a preliminary study of 177 females average age approximately 52 years who responded to three different questionnaires regarding these topics: Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory 20 (PFDI-20) , and the Pelvic Pain Urgency, and Frequency Questionnaire (PUF) .  When the results were analyzed, a positive correlation between fibromyalgia and the other two conditions was found. At this point in time, study authors recommend that patients with fibromyalgia be routinely offered all three of these questionnaires to screen for these conditions.  Sources:HCPLive; Pixabay

Given that fibromyalgia is such a painful condition, it may seem logical to think that treatment should include chronic opioids. After all, the "tender points" that are the hallmark for diagnosing this condition are so excruciatingly painful to the slightest touch . That leads us to question why the practice of prescribing Oxycontin and similar products for round the clock relief...right? If the truth be told, the American College of Rheumatology treatment guidelines for fibromyalgia  specifically state the following in this regard: "Doctors do not recommend opioid narcotics for treating fibromyalgia. The reason for this is that research evidence suggests these drugs are not of great benefit to most people with fibromyalgia. In fact, they may cause greater pain sensitivity or make pain persist." There are currently three drugs on the market that have FDA approval for chronic treatment of fibromyalgia--and all three of them are antidepressants.  Whethe