Everyday pain management ideas

A new study published in JAMA ( Journal of American Pediatrics) tells us that pregnant women who took Tylenol® (or its active ingredient--acetaminophen)--had an increased risk of delivering a child with hyperactivity issues. This drug is still relatively safe to take...the researchers say that using acetaminophen products during gestation may ward off more significant problems--for example, if it is being used to reduce fever! So the bottom line here is simply this: There's no reason to avoid these products altogether during pregnancy, but it doesn't hurt to err on the side of caution! You can see the ABC news report on this topic by clicking here . Sources: ABCNews; Flickr

The American Eye Institute reports that approximately 3 million Americans suffer from chronic dry eye.  As such, it's a fairly common condition.  The usual treatment for this malady is the use of artificial tears. This is important, because without lubrication the cornea can be damaged, and it can be very uncomfortable as well. New research about chronic dry eye is shedding light on another aspect of the condition.  As reported in the Journal of Pain, some patients with dry eye have a neuropathic pain condition.  Patients reported having higher levels of ocular pain as well as a number of coexisting chronic pain syndromes.  They also reported a higher incidence of depression and a lower quality of life. This research sheds light on the complexities of what we might otherwise think of as a simple everyday problem.  More research is needed to explore more fully the link between dry eyes and chronic pain syndromes, and a more permanent treatment for t...

After I wrote the post just prior to this one, I took some time to think reflect on the people in my life--most especially those whom I know to have chronic pain.  I can definitely see that there is an emotional component to the problem.  And the study in the prior post seems to confirm that what I am thinking is true. Stated simply, those who have the best coping skills have the best natural ability to deal with chronic pain. Unfortunately, many of us do not have those skills due to any number of reasons. So, the next logical step for people in this group is to learn to improve their coping skills.  I guess I think that's really what my blog is all about.   I do believe the first step in this effort requires an attempt to find a root cause of the pain, and if possible, to correct it.  This is the best hope of staying ahead of the game.  There will always be situations where this is not possible, or that a given condition can be managed but not cur...

There's been a lot of discussion in pain management circles about the psychological aspects of chronic pain. Patients with dementia are a hot topic in this area; now more information is coming out about these persons, and those with other cognitive deficits including those with attention deficit and/or impaired executive functions. A study published in January 2014 edition of Brain helps to illustrate how and why this is the case.This study looked at 189 subjects who ranged in age from 18 to 85 years.  Study subjects were all about to undergo knee replacement (for osteoarthritis) or breast cancer surgery. And here's where it becomes interesting--in the knee replacement group, 84% of the patients had "clinically meaningful" pain levels prior to procedure.  Six to twelve months after surgery, 38-39% of these subjects were still reporting significant pain.  In the breast cancer group, none of the subjects complained of significant pain before surgery, but six to...

While watching a bit of the Olympics this summer, I gave some thought to all the training and sports medicine...and I couldn't help but think a little bit about all that goes into making each athlete the best he or she can be during competition.  There's a lot more going on there than meets the eye, that's for sure! One example of this came to my mind as I prepared for this post.  Most of us know seasoned Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and all the gold medals he has earned over the years... It turns out that many of the athletes in Rio, including Mr. Phelps, showed up at the games with circular bruises on various body parts.  It came to be known that these athletes use a form of Chinese medicine known as "cupping." During a cupping section, specialized round cups are heated and placed on the skin to target select muscle groups. The cups create a suction effect and are purported to stimulated blood flow in the target tissues.  It is also said to increase ...

Sometimes we overlook the simple things. I must apologize--all the time I've been writing this blog, and never thought about the importance of good coping skills.  We all learn to cope with whatever we're dealing with one way or another, but not every coping skill is a positive one.  The good thing is, we can ALL learn positive coping skills that we don't have on board already! So today, I would like you to ask yourself..what are your responses to situations that are not going well?  Whether the situation is a pain filled day or some sad news, our choice of response can make a lot of difference! Here is a list of some NEGATIVE COPING SKILLS . I am not trying to call anyone out--we all do some of these at least some of the time: Avoidance Alcohol Use/Abuse Drugs Sedatives Refusal to address emotions/feelings Self-mutilation The goal here is to be honest with yourself. If you see a little bit of yourself in the list above, look to the list below to ...

As time goes on, we're starting to see some very nasty consequences of long term opioid usage. There's always the risk of addiction. To me, a person is addicted if abstaining from said drug results in withdrawal symptoms.  This can happen whether a person is using these medications for legitimate or recreational purposes. Beyond that, we are now seeing some of this patient population resort to heroin usage because it's much easier and much less expensive to obtain. As if that's not argument enough, there is now some preliminary scientific evidence to support more conservative opioid prescribing. Animal studies at the University of Colorado performed an experiment in which laboratory rats underwent surgery to induce sciatica like pain.  Ten days after surgery, one group of rats was given a five day course of morphine treatment, while the other group was given saline. The saline group demonstrated signs of recovery in about four weeks, while those who received mo...