You don't say....or what NOT to say to a chronic pain patient!

When someone is in a trying situation...and a chronic pain condition is one of those...it's not always easy to know what to say, or how to say things without sounding insensitive. I recently came across an article about this very subject. Here is a link to the article; if you prefer a "short list" of some taboo phrases, read on!

"But you don't look disabled..."

"...I thought you'd be better by now."

"Essential oils would probably fix that!"

"Your poor husband and kids!"

"How much disability do you get?"

"Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"So do you take any good drugs?"

"Are you contagious?"

"You don't have to work? Must be nice."

Source: Buzzfeed.; wikimedia

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Living with Chronic pain hits the big screen!

Been to the movies lately? Jennifer Aniston is on the big screen in a recent release titled "Cake." Her character, Claire is a victim of chronic pain...she belongs to a support group, where all of the members are coming to terms with the suicide of one of their members. Of course, she also takes pain medication and addiction is another of her problems...and of course there's more! I guess I am writing this post just to bring readers' attention to the fact that Hollywood has become aware of the crisis that is chronic pain. This movie is a testament to that. People that don't have to live with this kind of pain don't fully understand the whole story. Maybe this movie will shed some light on the issues. Here is the official trailer for the movie: Sources: prweb;NorthJersey.com;YouTube

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Most of us know someone who has osteoarthritis, if we don't have it ourselves. Joint replacement surgery is a pretty common remedy when the joint becomes severely damaged and the patient is in a lot of pain. With risk of complications from such a surgery, perhaps an alternative treatment should be tried first. One such remedy is the injection of a synthetic version of collagen(e.g. Synvisc®) into the affected joint. This procedure restores the cushioning to a joint that has degenerated over the years. It can diminish the pain substantially and help put off joint replacement surgery for months to years. The biggest drawback is that these products are expensive. GoodRX , a web site that can be used to estimate the cost of medications, estimates the cost of these products to be over $1,000 each. Here's another example--and I am not sure how widely accepted this protocol has become since study authors introduced it in November 2015. Are you r...

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Everyday pain management ideas

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