headache

Chronic Pain’s Impact On Your Heart

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

heart chronic pain

It should come as no surprise that a chronic pain condition can have repercussions for other areas of your body, but it can also cause problems for a very vital part of your body – your heart. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at how an unmanaged pain condition can make life more difficult for your heart.

Chronic Pain And Your Heart

When you’re dealing with pain signals, the area of your brain called the amygdala is more active. When your amygdala is active, it triggers something known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA axis for short). Your HPA axis releases a number of hormones throughout your body, like adrenaline, cortisol and noradenraline. Your body knows how to respond to the presence of these hormones, but problems develop when your body is exposed to an unrelenting release of these hormones as a result of your chronic pain. Essentially, chronic pain causes your amygdala and HPA axis to go into overdrive, leading to excess hormone production which can be harmful to certain bodily systems, inducing your heart. Research has found that hyperamygdalar activity has been linked to an increased risk or arterial (heart) inflammation.

There is also an established connection between pain and your heart rate. Research has found that heart rate variability can occur as a response to painful stimuli, and over time an extended period of time, this can increase your risk of heart arrhythmia. Working to calm your pain condition can also help to normalize your heart rate and take stress off the vital organ.

Chronic pain has also been linked to issues with blood pressure, which too impacts your heart health. Acute pain has been linked to a short-term increase in blood pressure, but chronic pain sensations can affect your body’s ability to regulate its blood pressure. Chronic pain can impair your cardiovascular and analgesia systems, which can increase your risk of long-term elevated blood pressure, which only stresses your heart further.

Finally, chronic pain has been connected to an increased risk of a myocardial infarction, or heart attack. Not only are you at a greater risk of heart attack if you have an elevated heart rate and blood pressure, but certain medications used to mange your chronic pain may too increase your risk of a heart attack. One study followed 17,614 people who were using pain relievers for at least three months to treat their chronic pain condition. When compared to a control group, researchers found that the patients taking long-term pain relievers were 20 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack (and 30 percent more likely to suffer a stroke).

And while we’re still learning more about the connection between chronic pain and your heart health, it’s clear that unmanaged chronic pain can have a significant impact on your overall heart health. Fortunately, treating the underlying chronic pain condition can also help to improve your heart health, which is just another reason why you shouldn’t just succumb to a life with chronic pain.

If you want to take care of your heart health, strive to take more control over your chronic pain condition this year. For professional help achieving this, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Chronic Pain Incredibly Common Among TBI Survivors

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

brain painNew research shows that upwards of 60 percent of people living with a traumatic brain injury are affected by a chronic pain condition.

The study found that chronic pain affects a large portion of TBI survivors, even up to 30 years after their initial head injury. The research was published in The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, and it involved over 3,800 respondents who had previously been hospitalized with a moderate to severe TBI. Most respondents were white (77%) and male (75%), with an average recovery time since injury of five years (between 1-30 years).

For the study, researchers surveyed participants about their head injury and other current health issues they are facing, like chronic pain, which was defined as “persistent or recurring pain that lasts longer than three months, including headaches or pain anywhere in the body, which occurs more than half of the days over a three-month period.”

Study Results

After looking at the data, researchers uncovered some concerning statistics about the connection between TBIs and chronic pain onset. They found:

  • 46 percent said they were currently living with a chronic pain condition.
  • 14 percent said they previously dealt with a chronic pain condition.
  • 40 percent reported no chronic pain symptoms now or since their TBI.
  • 32.5 percent of participants with a current chronic pain condition reported constant pain.
  • Compared to those with no chronic pain, patients with a current chronic pain condition had severely worse scores on three outcomes measured in the survey – the Functional Independence Measure, the Disability Rating Scale and the Glasgow Outscore Scale.

Another concerning finding from the survey was that medications were the most common form of chronic pain treatment. Medications were used by more than 91 percent of patients with a current chronic pain condition and by 90 percent of patients with a past chronic pain condition. As we’ve always said, it’s not that medications aren’t an effective part of a comprehensive treatment plan, but they cannot be your main or only form of treatment. You need to pursue active interventions, like exercise, diet, weight loss, cognitive behavioral therapy or relaxation/deep breathing techniques in order to get the most out of any medication regimen.

The study stopped short of explaining the specific connection between head trauma and chronic pain onset, but it stands to reason that damage in the brain can affect nerve relays throughout our body. Nerve damage can cause our pain signals to be fired when no painful stimuli is felt, or it can cause your brain to interpret a normal sensation as a painful one. It should come as no surprise that patients with a moderate to severe head injury ended up having some neural connection issues even long after the trauma. It speaks to the importance of working to overcome the totality of the TBI so that symptoms don’t manifest later down the road.

If you’re struggling with chronic pain and believe it may be tied to a previous head injury, reach out to a pain specialist in your area like Dr. Cohn. We can work to pinpoint the source of your chronic pain issue and get you set up on the road to recovery. It’s never too late to take the first step towards less chronic pain. For more information, or for help with a different pain issue, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Where In The Body Is Chronic Pain Most Likely To Develop?

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

chronic painChronic pain affects tens of millions of Americans every day, and while everyone is going through their own individual battle, many of them are dealing with discomfort in similar locations. But what are some of the most common locations for chronic pain to develop, and why are these the most popular spots? In today’s blog, we take a closer look at five of the most common locations in your body for a chronic pain issue to develop.

Common Chronic Pain Sites

Here’s a look at some of the more common areas of the body that can be affected by a chronic pain condition.

1. Lower Back – The back is likely the most common area of the body for chronic pain to develop, and with good reason. We put a lot of stress on our spines each day, and the system is incredibly complex, with vertebrae, discs and nerves working in close proximity to one another. If acute trauma or natural degeneration causes a vertebra or disc to damage one of the many spinal nerves in the area, chronic pain can develop. Within the spine, the lower back is the most common area for chronic pain because your lumbar spine handles the most stress when you’re bending or sitting.

2. Neck – On the other side of your spine is your neck, and it’s another incredibly common location for chronic pain to develop, especially given the rather recent rise in smartphone adoption. If you’re craning your neck forward to look at your work computer or you’re slouched on the couch scrolling on your phone, your neck is being overstressed from the weight of your head while you’re out of a healthy alignment. Similar to your lower back, there are a number of nerves and soft tissues in the neck region that can become damaged by acute injury or chronic stress, making this area a common spot for pain to develop.

3. Knees – Knee pain is all too common in today’s society, and chronic knee pain can make every step uncomfortable. Because our knees bear a lot of stress when we walk, the protective cartilage that aids in fluid joint movement can break down, leading to bone on bone contact and discomfort. Cartilage degeneration is more common if you are overweight or obese, as this greatly increases the amount of strain on your knees. Obesity numbers in America are growing, so it should come as no surprise that cases or chronic knee pain are also rising.

4. Head – Chronic headaches and migraines are another subject that we cover pretty regularly on our blog, as we’re always trying to help patients put an end to debilitating headaches. Sometimes these headaches are caused by muscle tension from overstress or acute injury to neck and shoulder muscles, while other times a nerve problem is triggering migraine headaches. We can help to relax muscles and stimulate your vagus nerve to help you find a treatment that works for you specific type of headaches.

5. Muscle Pain – Finally, it’s also common for patients to deal with widespread pain in their muscles. This condition is oftentimes referred to as fibromyalgia, and it can lead to chronic pain and tenderness in different muscle groups throughout the body. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for combating fibromyalgia related pain, but many patients find that they can better control symptoms by connecting with a pain management specialist and improving certain lifestyle factors, like exercise, diet and sleep habits.

If you’re dealing chronic pain in one of these locations, or you just want to talk to a pain specialist about discomfort you’re experiencing, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Could Green Light Therapy Help With Chronic Pain And Headaches?

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

green lightResearchers are always looking for new ways to help chronic pain sufferers find relief, and a new technique involving green light exposure may be beneficial, although the reason for the encouraging findings aren’t completely understood.

You may have heard how blue light exposure can reduce strain on your eyes if you work on a computer all day, but green light therapy may soon be making waves in the pain care community. According to new research, people may be able to reduce the severity and intensity of pain and headaches by wearing specific green-tinted glasses.

For the study, 34 patients with fibromyalgia were assigned glasses with different shades for four hours a day over the course of two weeks. 10 wore blue glasses, 12 wore clear glasses and 12 wore green glasses. At the end of the two-week trial patients wearing the green glasses were four times more likely than those in the other groups to report that their anxiety in regards to their pain had declined, as had their reliance on opioids. The results mimic previous studies on green light therapy, including a 2020 study that  found that migraine sufferers exposed to green light therapy saw a significant reduction in headache onset and intensity.

Why The Success?

While there is no concrete evidence as to why green light exposure may be successful in relieving pain and headaches, researchers are working on confirming a couple of theories. The first is that the green light disrupts neural pathways in the brain that are responsible for pain or headache onset. Others believe the relief could be related to the release of melanospin, a neurotransmitter in the eye that is responsible for regulating pupil dilation and contraction. Green light may be better able to trigger this neurotransmitter, which can inhibit certain pain pathways, effectively turning off pain relays.

According to researchers, not just any old green light or green-tinted glasses will do, so don’t just go out and buy the first set of green lights you see if you have chronic pain or headaches. Specific wavelengths yielded different results, so on top of figuring out exactly why green exposure may be beneficial, researchers also want to fine tune which wavelengths are the most effective. Future studies want to combine green glasses and real-time functional MRIs to better visualize possible neural pathways.

For now, the best way to treat your chronic pain issues or your frequent migraines is to connect with a chronic pain specialist like Dr. Cohn, but don’t be surprised if you hear more about green light therapy or similar passive techniques as a compliment to traditional approaches in the near future. For more information about overcoming your chronic pain condition, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Optimism Grows For The Daith Piercing To Treat Migraine Headaches

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you’re probably familiar with our thoughts on the Daith piercing for migraine relief. We’ve written numbers blogs on the topic, and we’ve even helped to spread the word on research studies that are attempting to help us better understand the connection between vagus nerve stimulation and migraine relief.

We even connected with Dr. Chris Blatchley, who is leading research over in the United Kingdom in order to learn more about the condition. Recently, his research was published in The London Times, and while the digital article is hidden behind a paywall, you can read the story in the picture below or click here for a larger version.

 

What’s Next For Daith?

Dr. Blatchley recently reached out and wanted to share some exciting news about what’s in store for Daith piercing research in the near future. They are currently in the process of conducting a 12-month study on 1,000 patients who have underwent the Daith piercing to see how their migraine symptoms are affected over the next year. In 2023, they plan to use brain scans to better understand the immediate effects of the Medical Daith on brain activity.

What we like most about the article and the research is that they are really working hard to take the perceived “randomness” out of the equation. It’s not enough to simply get a piercing in the daith and hope that it provides relief. Dr. Blatchley has created the “Medi-Daith” technique, which helps piercers find the right location for the piercing. The plan isn’t to hit the vagus nerve with the piercing, but instead get close enough to stimulate the area. Being very deliberate about the location of the piercing can really help ensure that trial data is more accurate.

As we’ve said on the blog in the past and as we’ll echo now, while there does seem to be a correlation between vagus nerve stimulation and migraine relief, we’re still waiting on that concrete proof that provides a better understanding between the connection. We’ve always recommended the technique as a low-cost option for patients who have exhausted other treatments and failed to find relief. That said, it appears that there is growing optimism that the piercing can be beneficial for migraine sufferers.

We’ll follow the new research closely, and we’d be happy to answer any questions you might have if you’re struggling with migraines. We have written a number of blogs with helpful information, and if you’re considering pursuing a daith piercing, make sure that you connect with a piercer that understands the daith procedure and how to complete the procedure to stimulate the vagus nerve.

For more information, or for help with migraines or a chronic pain issue, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.