Dealing With Pain After A Car Accident

June 11, 2014June 23, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Trauma from motor vehicle accidents can cause significant ongoing injuries. Typically, lingering injuries that require medical care resulting from a car accident include:

Lower back injuries
Spine injuries
Headaches and neck injuries
Broken bones and and large lacerations
Whiplash injuries to the head and neck

Treatments For Car Accident Injuries

Treating acute pain is done symptomatically. Ice and heat for muscle strains in both the neck and the low back region is recommended. Immobilizing the neck with a brace for several days to rest the muscles may also be helpful. That said, wearing a neck or back brace for more than a week or two is not a good idea as the muscles need to move in order to heal correctly. Restoring normal movements is one of the main objectives in early treatment. In most cases, the muscles are only strained and not torn and will heal within a short period of time. Restoring movement and strength may require assistance and physical therapy. Chiropractic or massage treatments may also be helpful in the short term, but continued passive treatments are usually not helpful for larger issues.

If pain is a significant issue, over-the-counter medications are often very helpful. Initially, acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications like Advil or Aleve may provide significant pain relief. If the nonprescription medications aren’t providing sufficient relief, it is time to see a physician. The physician may opt for a short course of narcotics along with regular physical therapy. With aggressive early treatment, most people will resolve their injuries within a month or two.

Continued Pain

If your pain has not resolved in two months, at that time, asking your doctor to be referred to a pain specialist would be beneficial. A pain specialist can perform a comprehensive evaluation and determine further tests and treatment that would help resolve your ongoing medical problems. Sometimes injuries such as whiplash cause microscopic damage to the spine and joints, and the use of injections along with other medications and physical therapy will allow for almost complete resolution of symptoms. There are many options in managing pain related to a motor vehicle accident, and depending on the unique characteristics of each person, a program can be found that meets any individual’s needs. A pain specialist is an expert in the complex problems that cause ongoing symptoms and is extremely knowledgeable about all the possible treatment options that will allow you to return to a full life.

Joining the Pain Care Team at Center for Diagnostic Imaging

June 9, 2014June 23, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Now that it’s official, I wanted to make an announcement that I have accepted a position with the Pain Care team at the Center for Diagnostic Imaging in St. Cloud. I am very excited about my new opportunity at CDI.

I decided to join CDI to take on a new challenge as part of their expanding CDI Pain Care program. Some of the services the program will be offering include:

Diagnostic and therapeutic injections

Medication management

Physical therapy

Behavioral health or surgical consults

Advanced imaging diagnostics

I am very grateful to have this wonderful opportunity at CDI, and I also want to say thanks to all my friends, colleagues, coworkers, and patients at MAPS Medical Pain Clinic. I learned a lot during my time at MAPS and met a bunch of wonderful people. I am blessed to have met all of you, and I wish you all the best going forward.

CDI has three offices in the greater St. Cloud area. I will be working out of the Sartell office. You can reach the office by calling 320-251-0609 or by visiting our website. We are open Mon-Fri 6:30am-10pm, and on Saturdays from 7am-3pm. Please call the office if you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment.

Hands and Head Most Sensitive to Pain

June 6, 2014June 23, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

A recent study by researchers in the United Kingdom found that a person’s forehead and fingertips were the parts of the body most sensitive to pain.

Researchers believe their findings could help better understand the progression or regression of chronic pain or other pain related conditions. They said their findings have the potential to help millions.

“This measure tells us how precisely people can locate the source of pain on different parts of their body,” said senior author Dr. Giandomenico Iannetti of the UCL department of neuroscience, physiology and pharmacology. “Touch and pain are mediated by different sensory systems.

Laser Study

To better understand how individuals sense pain, researchers blindfolded 26 individuals and used a pair of lasers to simulate a pinprick sensation on various parts of their bodies. Researchers would either use one or both lasers, and they asked participants whether they felt one or two pinpricks. By blindfolding the participants and causing the pain without touch, researchers were better able to track what they call “spatial acuity.”

“This method offers an exciting, non-invasive way to test the state of pain networks across the body,” said Dr. Roman Cregg, clinical expert on chronic pain.

After analyzing the data, researchers found that touch acuity is best at a person’s extremities and forehead. Cregg concluded that the study offers a deeper understanding of the nerves and sensory systems in our bodies.

“Chronic pain is often caused by damaged nerves, but this is incredibly difficult to monitor and treat. The laser method may enable us to monitor nerve damage across the body, offering a quantitative way to see if a condition is getting better or worse”.

Related source: The Guardian

Back Pain Could Force Jeff Gordon Into Retirement

June 2, 2014June 23, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

NASCAR champion and fan favorite Jeff Gordon said he may be forced to retire if he continues to experience back pain similar to the spasms he had prior to last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600.

Gordon was forced to cut his practice runs short after back spasms jeopardized his safety on the track. He received treatment after qualifying and alternate Regan Smith was ready to race in his position if Gordon couldn’t go on Sunday, but the four-time Sprint Cup champion toughed it out, finishing seventh for his ninth top-10 finish this season. Despite the promising finish, Gordon said he may be forced into early retirement if the pain persists.

”I can tell you, if that happens many more times, I won’t have a choice,” Gordon said prior to Sunday’s race at Dover Motor Speedway.

Gordon said he felt sore following the Coca-Cola 600, but he added that it wasn’t much different than the soreness he feels after any long race. He also noted that his back wasn’t back to 100 percent heading into the race at Dover, and he doubted that it ever would be fully healthy while he’s behind the wheel.

Not The First Time

The last few weeks weren’t the first time Gordon has dealt with nagging back pain. In 2008 he needed regular treatment on his back, seeking out professional treatment, anti-inflammatory medication, and strengthening exercises with a trainer. He went winless in 2008 and contemplated retirement, but the pain eventually dulled. He dealt with on and off pain over the next six years, but he said he never felt a stabbing back pain like the pain he experienced last weekend.

“There was nothing that was going to fix it until I had those injections on Saturday,” Gordon said.

The injection clearly helped him finish seventh in the Coca-Cola 600, and he came in 15th at Dover this past weekend. Gordon noted that he’ll just have to push through the discomfort if he wants a chance to capture an elusive fifth Sprint Cup Championship.

”It’s just something I continue to learn and push through,” he said. ”It’s no big deal.”

Related Source: Yahoo

Sports and Pain Medication Abuse

May 27, 2014June 23, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The latest news out of the NFL is that the league is being sued for causing prescription pain medication abuse. A study done at Washington University revealed the severity of the problem. Researchers found:

52% of retired NFL players used prescription pain medications during their playing days.
Of those players, 71% misused the drugs, and 15% continue to misuse these medications.
63% of the retired players obtained the medications from non-medical sources including trainers and the Internet.
In general, the rate of prescription drug abuse for professional athletes was four times that of the general population.

The statistics on drug abuse among athletes points to the level of the problem in society. Performance as a professional athlete is a premium quality. Our society has been pushing athletes to perform at the highest level no matter the cost. Now, we are finally starting to uncover the stark reality of the cost. Abuse often becomes a lifelong problem. Pain and damage from athletics can definitely be a long-term struggle.

Abuse Treatments

Pain is a medical issue that has multiple treatments based on the pathology; only in the United States do people heavily rely on opioid medications. Addiction is a psychological and physical issue due to the brain and body’s dependence on these drugs. Addiction is extremely hard to treat, and is often a lifelong struggle.

The take home message is likely that as a nation, we need to become more realistic in the management of injuries, especially in sports. Ruining our life to just play a sport for a short time more is dangerous. Pain is a sign in an acute injury that there is ongoing damage. Masking the pain with an opioid leads to further injury and damage. The cycle keeps going and the athlete gets to the point where the injury is severe enough to never heal completely and the pain becomes lifelong experience.

Masking the pain with drugs and preventing normal healing is the wrong technique to use in sport injury management. The danger of addiction and lifelong pain is not an adequate reward for sports performance. NFL players or other athletes are not invincible. Chronic pain can lead to a miserable life, so seek professional services if you need help.