What Women Want – A Pain Care Provider Who Believes Them

September 2, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain can be an extremely challenging to overcome, and that sentiment rings even truer when patients don’t feel like they are being heard by their treating physician. And according to recent statistics, oftentimes it is women that feel like their voices aren’t being heard in their quest to effectively treat their chronic pain.

Several studies have used a mechanism called GREP, which stands for Gender Role Expectation of Pain measure, to better understand some of the discrepancies that women face when attempting to have their pain treated. Some of the studies on GREP have found that women are viewed as being more likely to report pain, faster to report pain and more sensitive to report pain, and that can have a negative effect in how they are treated by their physician and the healthcare community in general.

Some other common complaints about how men and women are viewed when it comes to pain care include:

Women complain more than men
Women are not accurate reporters of their pain
Men are more stoic than women, so when they complain of pain, “it’s real”
Women are better able to tolerate pain than men
Women are seen as more sensitive or dramatic, so their pain is more likely to be viewed as an overreaction than a debilitating reality

All of these ideas work against women in their quest to treat their chronic pain condition, and these implicit biases can be present in pain care providers who generalize chronic pain.

Being Heard By Your Pain Care Specialist

That’s why it’s so important to find a pain care specialist who will really take the time to get to the bottom of your pain, to listen to your concerns and to work with you to develop an individualized care plan and see it through. We do that with every patient that comes into our office, and while it takes a little more time and effort, we know that part of the battle when it comes to chronic pain is simply being listened to.

Pain is so complex and unique that it requires an individualized approach for every patient. Any doctor that simply rushes to prescribe opioids may only be putting a Band-Aid on the problem. That may provide some short-term relief, but it won’t do anything to cure the issue on a larger scale. We know that this process is time consuming and may require us to adapt and overcome new challenges, but we’ve seen it work firsthand, and that’s what we want to offer all of our patients.

So if you feel like your concerns aren’t being heard, or if you feel like your doctor isn’t really taking your input to heart, maybe it’s time that you find a specialist who puts you first. Dr. Cohn and his team have been doing that for patients for decades, and we’d love to add your name to the growing list of patients who have found chronic pain relief with our assistance. For more information, contact our clinic today.

Addressing Racial Inequality In Pain Care

August 19, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Pain care should be readily accessible for all patients, but a recent look into the landscape of pain management across the US found that race oftentimes affects the level of care a patient receives.

According to a new study out of Dartmouth College, the US medical system provides less pain relief to black patients than white patients, and this trend has been in place for some time now. Perhaps the most notable finding in the study is that while black and white patients receive the same number of pain relief prescriptions, doctors routinely prescribe significantly lower doses for black patients.

“Our findings likely reflect systematic racial bias throughout the course of care leading to pain medicine receipt,” said the study’s lead author, Nancy Morden. “We hope our system-level reporting will prompt dialogue and commitment to deep exploration of this inequity — its causes, consequences, and tireless testing of potential remedies.”

Pain Care Differences By Race

For their study, researchers analyzed data from 310 health systems that provide primary care to black and white patients. Overall, black and white patients were equally likely to be given prescriptions for pain relief, but there was a big discrepancy when it came to the dosage. In 90 percent of healthcare systems monitored for the study, white patients received higher doses on an annual basis than black patients. In most of those systems, the difference in prescription strength was around 15 percent or greater.

So what is driving this divide? According to researchers and other medical experts, a number of different factors could influence this disparity. Some of those believed factors include:

Racial bias
Belief in untrue stereotypes
Decentralized health system that fails to address racial inequality
Lowered patient expectations

On the last point of lowered expectations, some medical experts theorize that black and white individuals approach medical treatment differently. They believe that white patients may be more demanding when it comes to access to stronger opioids because they feel like they have a right to those medications, whereas black patients may not rate their health as being as bad as it actually is when compared to others they know.

While these results are concerning, they can help start a conversation to bring about change. At our clinic, we do everything in our power to help every patient on an individual level, no matter their age, race or sexual orientation. We’re singularly focused on helping you achieve pain relief. At the same time, we also want to acknowledge these racial inequalities in pain management, because they certainly exist. We will continue to not only provide the best care we can, but also keep our team aware of how the potential for overlooked racial biases can negatively affect a patient’s level of care.

Hopefully the pain community as a whole learns from these findings and makes necessary changes to ensure every patient gets the care they deserve. If you feel like you are not getting the highest level of care from your pain provider, we urge you to reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

How To Prevent Back And Neck Pain If You Work From Home

July 22, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed how business is conducted, with millions of Americans now working from the comfort of their home. Some workers will undoubtedly head back to the office if they aren’t already there, but countless workers will stick with a work from home schedule or have more remote work days than they did in the past.

This schedule flexibility may be nice, but working from home can present its own unique challenges for your neck and spine. In today’s blog, we share some tips for preventing back and neck pain if you’ll be working from home more often going forward.

Working From Home And Your Spine

Here’s a look at a number of different ways that working from home can challenge your back and neck, and what you can do to prevent pain from setting in:

1. Check Your Seat – If you’re working from home, you may have the luxury of choosing where you’d like to set up your office. Maybe you can get some work done from from the bedroom, perhaps you work on the couch, or maybe your strong WIFI signal allows you to work from the patio. These spots may not be as supportive for your spine compared to your office chair, so you really need to be mindful of your posture in these positions. Better yet, only work from a chair that provides ample support to your spine.

2. Practice Good Posture – Even if your chair is supportive, you need to make sure you have good posture when you’re seated. Don’t hunch forward or lean back, because this will put excess pressure on your cervical and lumbar spine. Strive to keep your head positioned directly above your shoulders and perform regular posture checks so that you can correct your posture if you catch yourself leaning or slouching.

3. Invest In An Office Chair – If you’re going to be working from home on a long-term basis, it may be in your best interest to invest in a quality office chair. Odds are a nicer office chair will be more supportive than any chair you have in your house at the moment, and that new chair can go a long way in helping protect your spine for years to come.

4. Strive To Exercise And Be Active – Sometimes it’s easy to fall into bad exercise habits if we don’t have to get out of the house every day, especially if you used to work out on your way home from the office. Still make it a point to get regular exercise if you have the freedom to work from home. You’re probably saving a little time by not having to commute to and from work, so dedicate that time to a workout. This will help to strengthen and protect your spine.

5. Talk To A Chronic Pain Specialist – Finally, if you are starting to develop some neck or back pain, reach out to a chronic pain specialist. They’ll be able to take a look at your spine and talk about the ergonomics of your work from home setup to see if simple changes can help relieve your back pain. If your just try to ignore back pain, odds are it only will get worse. Connect with a chronic pain specialist and take care of your spine today.

For more information, or for help with your back pain, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

Five Alternatives To Opioids For Chronic Pain Management

June 10, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Opioids are a hot-button issue in the chronic pain community, and rightfully so. They can absolutely play a vital role in helping someone overcome a chronic pain condition, but they are also much riskier than other treatments that don’t carry a likelihood of overdose and dependency. We’ve seen firsthand how opioids can be a perfect compliment to a chronic pain management program, but we also want to give patients an opportunity to avoid painkillers if they so choose as part of their recovery plan. In today’s blog, we showcase five alternatives to opioids for chronic pain management.

Non-Opioid Treatments For Chronic Pain

Here’s a look at five non-opioid treatment options that may be recommended alongside or in lieu of a painkiller prescription.

1. Exercise – Exercise can work wonders for a chronic pain condition, but we understand how exercise can be hard to come by if you’re dealing with chronic pain. Find an exercise program that works for you, and know that any exercise is beneficial. You don’t need to run a marathon or spend two hours in the gym in order to do right by your body. Walking, swimming or cycling can all be beneficial forms of exercise that are not as hard on your body as some other forms.

2. Physical Therapy – Another way to condition and strengthen your body if you’re dealing with chronic pain is through a physical therapy program. Physical therapy involves targeted exercises and stretches developed by a professional who understands your unique situation and needs. This method can actually be more effective than general exercise because it focuses on weak points and specific body parts in need of attention.

3. Behavioral Health Intervention – Behavioral health intervention (BHI) helps to combat chronic pain by training the brain to change how it interprets sensory signals. The brain can become overwhelmed by sensory signals and misinterpret signals as pain sensations. A specialist can help to drown out these misfiring sensory signals or decrease their intensity through a variety of mindfulness-based techniques.

4. Sleep Improvements – While sleep alone won’t likely cure your chronic pain, regularly getting eight hours of uninterrupted sleep can do wonders for the expression of your chronic pain condition. Sleep is a restorative time period for the body where toxins are removed from key areas of our body and it can recover from the stresses of the day. Poor sleep can intensify pain signals and make it less likely that you’ll commit to the physical activities required to truly help fight your chronic pain condition. Improving your sleep quality is a key component to a comprehensive pain treatment plan.

5. TENs Unit – A TENs unit stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and it uses low doses of electricity to drown out and block sensory signals that are being interpreted as pain by the brain. Chronic back pain and muscle pain are two types of chronic injuries that tend to respond well to a TENs unit. A pain management specialist can take a look at your condition and determine if a TENs unit is something that could be appropriate for your situation.

So if you want to try to control and treat your chronic pain condition without the assistance of opioids, consider one of more of the treatments on this list. Better yet, connect with Dr. Cohn and his pain management team to develop a comprehensive solution suited to your individual needs. For more information, contact him today!

More Americans Are In Pain Than Ever Before

May 12, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

New research published in the journal Demography found that more Americans are dealing with chronic pain on a regular basis than ever before, suggesting that not enough is being done to treat individuals with underlying pain conditions.

According to the new data, there have been blanket increases across multiple pain reporting measures, with pain rising in every adult group, every demographic group and at every site of pain for which data exists.

“We looked at the data from every available perspective including age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, and income, but the results were always the same: There was an increase in pain no matter how we classified the population,” said Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, associate professor of sociology in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, and co-author of the paper. “You might think that with medical advances we’d be getting healthier and experiencing less pain, but the data strongly suggest the exact opposite.”

An Increase In Chronic Pain

For the study, researchers took a closer look at how chronic pain is affecting a large group of individuals. Most studies only focus on how chronic pain affects people over the age of 50, but this study looked at people between the ages of 25-84. They drew their data from responses to the National Health Interview Study, which involved more than 440,000 participants from 2002-2018.

Here’s a look at some of their findings:

In the US, chronic pain affects more people and has a greater economic cost than heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined.
In older adults, body mass index, hypertension diabetes and kidney conditions are associated conditions that correlate most with increases in chronic pain.
In younger adults, BMI, stress and alcohol use have strong associations with chronic pain trends.

“What we’re seeing in the younger age groups demonstrates how pain in some ways functions as much as a mental health problem as it does a physical health problem,” says Grol-Prokopczyk. “Pain can be exacerbated by stress, and stress can bring about alcohol use.”

The idea that chronic pain isn’t just a physical issue is something we’ve been preaching for a while now, so we’re happy that psychological factors are starting to get more attention as an underlying issue associated with chronic pain development. However, it’s clear that still not enough is being done about treating chronic pain conditions, and we fear that the pandemic has only worsened chronic pain conditions for many individuals around the globe. Hopefully policymakers take note and commit more funding to helping find solutions for individuals with chronic pain.

So while chronic pain may leave you feeling isolated, based on this data, it’s clear you’re not alone when it comes to pain conditions. If you want to take tangible steps towards getting your condition under control, reach out to a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn who will take the time to conduct an accurate diagnosis and develop a solution that suits your needs. For more information, contact his office today.