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The Multimodal Approach to Pain Management

OK..so if you've been following this blog you will notice that there are a good number of ideas to help manage chronic pain.  You might ask yourself, "Which one of these ideas is best for me ?" I would suggest that you might try any number of these things, depending on your level of ability/disability, health care team recommendations, and your personal interests.  There are a number of reasons for doing this:



1) The patient is in control..with few exceptions, it is your decision what to try/not try and how many different things you want to experiment with at any time.

2) Non drug pain management ideas do not have any of the drug interactions or side effects that medications have.  You may have to set limits or modify activity according to personal circumstances, but usually it does not hurt to try any of them.

3)You usually do not need a prescription for most of the ideas I have described.  There are a few exceptions, such as physical therapy.  There is no waiting at the drugstore or mailbox for your next supply.

4) Once you learn technique for many of these ideas, they can be performed at will.
Examples of what I mean here:  Reiki, Hypnosis, and Self Massage.

5) You will find the right combination of techniques through trial and error.  You are the gatekeeper!  You can start with one technique and add on, or try different ones to see what is best.

6) Non-drug pain management is not intended to be a stand alone therapy for chronic pain issues.  Keep in mind, however that if used, they will enhance the benefit from your prescription/nonprescription medication regiment.  There is high potential that you will be using less medication and being in less pain more of the time.

So, with that in mind...what will you try today?





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