The Three R’s Of Chronic Nerve Pain Management

March 22, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic nerve pain can range from mildly annoying to downright debilitating, and it’s not an issue that should be ignored. When working to treat an underlying nerve issue, your pain management specialist will likely pursue one of three treatment paths. Those three paths all begin with the letter “R,” and they stand for Release, Repair and Remove.

In today’s blog, we take a closer look at each of these three treatments options as they pertain to chronic nerve pain.

Release, Repair And Remove

If you are dealing with chronic nerve pain, your doctor will likely work to determine the root cause of your issue before recommending a treatment plan. Here’s a closer look at the three forms of treatment they will usually pursue:

Release – Release is almost always the first type of treatment plan for nerve pain. The goal of this type of treatment is to release the nerve from whatever impingement is causing it to relay a pain signal to the brain. Oftentimes this involves a combination of conservative treatments that aim to strengthen an area, calm inflammation or take pressure off the nerve root. Common release techniques include stretching, exercise, physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, posture improvements and weight management. If the nerve cannot be released with conservative methods, a surgical decompression may be performed.

Repair – If you have suffered an acute injury, or your nerve discomfort begins in the wake of a surgical procedure, there is the possibility that a nerve has been severed or damaged. A surgeon can help to repair a severed nerve by sewing the broken ends back together, or by conducting a nerve transfer if the ends are too damaged to be sewn back together. Once the nerve is surgically repaired, the body will begin to adapt to this restored connection and pain sensations should fade over time, but additional conservative techniques may be pursed as well for best results.

Remove – Finally, if the nerve is damaged and it has not responded to release techniques and it cannot be repaired or it’s unlikely to respond to a repair operation, your doctor may recommend that the nerve be excised. Removing the damaged nerve will stop it from sending pain signals to your brain, but you may notice some numbness or a lack or sensation in that location once the nerve is removed. Nerves can repair and grow back, so your doctor will monitor the area over the next few months and years to see if symptoms remain controlled or if they begin to return.

The good news is that most nerve issues respond well to conservative or operative release techniques, so all you may need are a few small adjustments to get back to a life without nerve pain. If you’re experiencing nerve pain and you want to talk to a pain management specialist about your options, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Four Things Your Chronic Pain Specialist Wants From You

March 16, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

We have a pretty good idea of what patients are looking for in a pain management specialist. You want someone who is a good listener, someone who gives you their complete attention and someone who is willing to try different techniques if the first treatment doesn’t solve your chronic pain. But in order for chronic pain treatment to have the best chance at being successful, it’s not just about finding the right provider. The patient plays a key role as well.

Because of this, doctors are also hopeful that patients will have certain qualities throughout their time working with the physician. In today’s blog, we take a look at four things that your chronic pain specialist wants from you.

What Your Doc Wants From You

We know what you’re looking for in a physician, but here’s a look at four qualities we hope to find in a patient who has come to our office looking for help with a chronic pain condition.

1. Effective Communicator – We love it when patients can be clear and concise about the issues they are facing. Be vividly descriptive about your condition. Don’t just tell us that you have lower back pain, show us where it’s located, describe what your pain feels like (shooting, dull, pins-and-needle-like, etc.) and tell us what activities make pain worse or better. The more we know about your pain, the easier it will be to develop an individualized treatment plan for you.

2. Strong Work Ethic – One of the least favorite patients of any chronic pain specialist is the one who only wants to pursue passive treatments. They want to rest or take a pill and magically find relief. As we’ve said on this blog time and time again, rest and pain medications can absolutely be an integral part of a pain management plan, but they aren’t good standalone options. We want someone who is going to really throw themselves into a physical therapy program or commit to lifestyle changes to address their pain condition, even if they won’t be easy.

3. Don’t Give Up Easily – Winning out over your chronic pain condition isn’t going to be easy, but we’re in it for the long haul, and we hope you will be too. We may have to change strategies, try different approaches or see each other a few times over the course of many months. It’s going to be worth it in the end, but when it comes to chronic pain, there’s rarely an easy and straightforward solution, so we want patients that don’t give up when things get tough.

4. Rule Follower – Finally, the ideal patient will be a good listener and great follower of directions. If we tell you to do some moderate intensity exercises a few times a week, or we advise against certain activities, we expect you to follow through on your end because this is all part of your treatment plan. If you only attend some of your physical therapy sessions or you don’t work to improve your sleeping habits like advised, don’t be surprised if symptoms linger. We can’t be with you 24/7, so we need to have confidence that you’ll follow our advice when you’re not at the clinic.

If you have all of these qualities, or if you’re just struggling to get control over your chronic pain condition, we hope you’ll reach out to Dr. Cohn for assistance. Give our team a call today at (952) 738-4580.

The Gender Gap In Chronic Pain Care

March 10, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The wage gap difference between men and women tends to get the most attention when comparing sexes, but it’s certainly not the only realm where men and women are treated differently. Men and women are also unfortunately treated differently when it comes to chronic pain management. We do our best to really listen to each of our patients and provide them with the right individual treatment plan, but that’s not the reality that many other chronic pain patients face.

That difference in pain care between sexes was made evident in a recent study published in November 2022 called the Gender Pain Gap Index Report. The study was conducted by the manufacturers of the painkiller Nurofen, and it surveyed more than 5,000 men and women about their experiences and perceptions of pain. Here’s a closer look at some of the findings from the report:

50 percent of women reported a lack of support from their general practitioner when asking for help with pain. Only 36 percent of men responded similarly.

56 percent of women said they felt ignored or believed they were being dismissed as “emotional.” 49 percent of men felt the same.

63 percent of women said they felt men’s pain is taken more seriously due to “gender discrimination by healthcare professionals.” Only 39 percent of men said that they believed that a gender pain gap existed.

74 percent of women regularly chose self-care over seeing a healthcare provider. 60 percent of men said the same.

It’s truly unfortunate that so many women feel that they are not getting the care they hoped to receive from their healthcare provider, and it’s even more disheartening to hear that many feel that their concerns were ignored because of their sex. Every patient deserves to be listened to and to be treated by a physician who is going to go the extra mile for them.

We try to do that for every patient, and we know that it’s not easy. Sometimes that involves switching treatments because the first route was ineffective, while other times it means saying longer with a patient in the exam room to really get to the bottom of their symptoms and try to understand what they are going through physically, mentally and emotionally to treat all aspects of pain. Again, it’s rarely easy, but it’s worth it because we know firsthand how debilitating chronic pain can be and how amazing it can be to reclaim your independence from your condition.

If you want to connect with a physician that will make you feel heard, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team at (952) 738-4520.

Five Life Hacks If You’re Living With Chronic Pain

March 2, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

We’re all looking for ways to make life a little easier, and that’s especially true if you’re living with chronic pain. Nowadays we’re hearing more about “Life Hacks” on places like Instagram and TikTok that show how you can do some simple things to make your life a lot easier. So do life hacks for the chronic pain sufferer exist? In today’s blog, we share five life hacks to consider if you’re living with chronic pain.

Chronic Pain Life Hacks

Here are some simple hacks to consider if you want to make life a little easier while battling a chronic pain condition:

1. Use Ice And Heat To Your Advantage – Oftentimes chronic pain conditions flare up as a result of inflammation or poor circulation, but you can fight these issues with an ice pack or a heating pad. Invest in a small ice pack or a heated blanket so that you can use ice and heat to your advantage. Calm inflammation after a long day with ice packs, or bring healthy blood to an area with heat to promote improved circulation. These simple gadgets can help you prevent flareups throughout the day.

2. Hack The Kitchen – Clean eating can help to keep chronic pain symptoms at bay and promote a healthy lifestyle, but we know how hard it can be to cook when you’re battling chronic pain. Don’t try to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen every night. Take advantage of items like crock pots and pressure cookers that can take some of the hassle out of cooking. Or if you’re having a good day, meal prep for the coming days so that you have some healthy options to reach for when you’re just not feeling up to cooking.

3. Find Your Stress Outlet – This tip is helpful for anyone, regardless of whether or not you have chronic pain. We all deal with stress, anxiety and pressure every day, and these stressors can lead to physical symptoms if we don’t manage them effectively. Really work to find a stress mitigation technique that is right for you. Some people do deep breathing exercises, others go for a run, while some curl up with a good book to take their mind somewhere else. Find what works best for you, because managing stress can actually help to control your chronic pain condition.

4. Hack Your Sleep Cycle – Sleep is a vitally important restorative process that allows our bodies to heal from the rigors of the day. We don’t want you to stay in bed all day, because exercise and physical activity have been shown to be effective proactive treatments for a number of different chronic pain conditions, but when it comes time to sleep, make it easier to achieve high quality rest. You can do this by making the room cool and as dark as possible, which oftentimes means turning off the television and putting the phone on the night stand. When you crawl into bed, the only thing you should be focusing on is sleep. We know that’s easier said than done if you have chronic pain, but remove any other distractions and light sources so that you have an ideal sleep environment.

5. Find A Specialist Who Cares – Chronic pain isn’t a battle you need to fight alone, but far too many patients aren’t getting the right type of help from their primary care physician. You owe it to yourself to connect with a specialist who really understands specific chronic pain conditions and whose sole focus is solving your individual issues. Make life easier on yourself by connecting with a specialist who is willing to go above and beyond for you.

To connect with a specialist who cares, or for help with any of the other tips on this list, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

How Untreated Chronic Pain Can Increase Your Dementia Risk

February 23, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

New research published this week found that untreated chronic pain can increase a person’s risk of cognitive decline and dementia, and that risk increases based on the number of areas in the body suffering from chronic pain.

The findings, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that chronic pain had an interesting effect on a person’s hippocampus, the area of the brain that is associated with learning and memory. Researchers compared the size of the hippocampus in patients with chronic pain to the size of the hippocampus in aging individuals without chronic pain. When comparing these models, researchers found that chronic pain may artificially age the hippocampus. When compared to a healthy 60-year-old patient, researchers found:

Patients with one chronic pain site had a hippocampus that had aged by an additional year.
Patients with two chronic pain sites had a hippocampus that had aged by roughly two additional years.
Patients with five or more chronic pain sites had a hippocampus that had aged by up to an additional eight years.

“In other words, the hippocampal (grey matter volume) in a 60-year-old individual with (chronic pain) at two body sites was similar to the volume of (pain free) controls aged 62-year-old,” wrote corresponding author Tu Yiheng and his colleagues.

So while you may only be 60 years old, if you are suffering from chronic pain in five or more locations in your body, your hippocampus may have experienced aging similar to that of a 68-year-old. Aging is a common underlying factor in dementia onset, and if your brain is artificially aged due to chronic pain, you may be more likely to experience dementia or cognitive decline.

Prevent Dementia By Treating Chronic Pain

While the findings may be a little concerning for patients dealing with chronic pain, fortunately we can try to reduce our dementia risk by really working to control and treat our chronic pain condition. This is certainly easier said than done, but if you develop a plan and work closely with a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn, not only can you lead a more comfortable life free of chronic pain, but you can keep your brain healthy as you age.

Treating chronic pain is highly individualized, but may patients find that a combination of the following techniques can help them gain more control over their chronic pain condition:

Exercise
Posture Improvements
Dietary Changes
Physical Therapy
Stress Relief
Sleep Quality Improvements
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Deep Breathing Techniques

As you can see, all of the above techniques are active treatments that focus on improving one or more aspects of your health. Pain medications can certainly play a role in chronic pain management, but the above techniques are better at targeting the underlying pain cause and providing long-term relief.

Of course, working with a pain management specialist can help you find the right combination of treatments for your specific needs. If you want help identifying a pain treatment plan that’s right for you, or you just want to talk to a pain management provider about your symptoms, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.