Everyday pain management ideas

Americans are very interested in professional sports.  We love our Great American Pastime - Baseball, and NFL Football and of course, NHL Hockey. We generally like our college and high school sports as well.  An when an athlete is injured during play, it's natural to send them to a sports medicine practice for treatment. We like our music as well.  And musicians are prone to injuries of many sorts, depending on which instrument is being played, and most uniquely, the human voice. I'm not a gambler but I'd bet most of us would not think about going to someone who specializes in injuries related to musical performance!  This is an emerging field; there are as of now only a few medical practices dedicated to this area. But there are many ways that musicians can prevent or manage chronic pain using devices or techniques particular to their specialty. Here are some examples: Guitar players ... My husband is a guitar player.  He learned of a device known as a "

I believe in living simply.  And when it comes to medications, it appears that this is a good philosophy. Apparently, the folks at drugwatch.com agree with me. This agency is an advocate for consumers--it provides informations about drugs, devices and the pros and cons of using these things. Getting back to why they agree with me (or vice versa): When a person takes a medication, it is important for them to know as much about it as possible What is the name of this medication? What is this medication used for? What are the directions for use? What are the possible side effects of this medication? and lastly, What are the potential drug interactions of this medication? This last point may not seem any different than the others at first glance, but it is in fact, a very important point.  Drug interactions can occur in several different ways, so let's take a look at some possibilities. Drugs can interact with other drugs. Most pharmacies will run a drug interaction

Do you have medications that you are no longer using in your medicine cabinet?  It might be a good idea to have a look. No one wants a young child or potential addict to have access to these things! My suggestion to you is twofold: If the medications are still in date , consider donating them to a free clinic.  It's always a nice "pay it forward" for someone who can't afford a medication but could really make use of it. If the medication you have is outdated , the FDA has suggestions for you on how to get rid of it. Here is their advice on medication disposal: Source:FDA

Most everyone will find the need to take some kind of medication some time in their lives. And whether that medication is a pain medication or not, there are some general rules that apply for the safe use of all medications. While this list is not all inclusive, here are some safety tips that apply to all. image source: wikimedia Store medications as per package directions. Some medications can be keep at room temperature, while others need to be refrigerated or perhaps frozen.  Every prescription or over-the-counter drug comes with information as to ideal storage temperature.  If you are unsure about a specific medication, ask your pharmacist. Keep all medications out of the reach of children. Take medications as per package directions.  Do not exceed recommended dosages. Do not share prescription medications with other individuals.  Medications should always be used only by the person it is prescribed to. Read package information or patient education leaflet and tal

No one should have to live their life in pain. That's a given.  But no one should lose their life to "Pain Killers", such as the opioids. Using these medications has landed us all in a tough spot.  Scores of people have died from opioid addiction, still more have moved beyond opioids to heroin. Heroin deaths have quadrupled in number in the last decade or so. One of the safest approaches to pain management is physical therapy.  While chronic pain patients will likely need to employ multiple approaches of pain management, physical therapy is always a safe and effective pain management tool.  The American Physical Therapy Association has recently launched a campaign to promote this idea. Known as " #Choose PT ", its aim is to make people aware of the safety and effectiveness of this form of treatment. In 2008, a study that followed 20,000 people over a period of 11 years found that people who exercised experienced less pain than those who did not exerci

Have you ever considered trying "Australian Dream?" I have seen ad after ad for this product time and time again.  So I started to wonder about this product, and whether or not it really works. The first thing I did was to take a look at the " Australian Dream " website.  According to the site, the active ingredient in the product is a substance called histamine dihydrochloride .  I searched for this drug on some drug reference sites, and found that it is FDA approved as a topical analgesic, for temporary relief of minor aches and pains, arthritis, sprains, and strains. There was not too much information about side effects except that a rash could occur, in which case the product should be discontinued. So, for the most part it's pretty safe...but does it really work?  To answer that question, I decided to check out some reviews of the product--both by consumers and professionals. On the professional front, I saw one physician review on a chronic pain

I remember working in retail pharmacy in the 1980s and 1990s when NSAIDs were all the rage. This class of drugs was one of the most commonly prescribed.  As the years went on, we all became aware of the problems associated with this class of drugs.  The first problem that became obvious was that patients who used these drugs on a regular basis were developing gastric ulcers and GI bleeding. For that reason, it was advised that these medications be taken with food.  One company even developed an NSAID product that contained an additional drug that was purported to protect the lining of the GI tract from injury. After this era, a new sub-class of these drugs--known as "COX-2" inhibitors came onto the US marketplace. This class of drugs possesses all the benefits of the original NSAID drugs--but did not have the GI side effects of the original NSAID drugs.  Three COX-2 Inhibitors (Bextra®, Vioxx®, and Celebrex®) were launched in the US market in the late 1990s-early 2000