New Findings on Medical Marijuana For Chronic Pain

October 9, 2015 / Thomas Cohn, MD

New research out of Canada suggests that medical marijuana may help people with chronic pain control serious side effects, but it may lead to an increase in minor side effects.

Lead researcher Dr. Mark Ware said medical marijuana appears to be a relatively safe option.

“In terms of a side effect profile, we felt the drug had a reasonably good safety profile, if you compare those effects to other medications,” said Dr. Ware, director of clinical research at McGill University Health Center in Montreal.

Medical Marijuana Study

For their study, researchers tracked 215 patients with chronic pain who used medical marijuana. Participants were studied for one year, and they were compared to a control group of 216 individuals who did not use medical or recreational marijuana. Individuals in the medical marijuana group were given leaf marijuana containing 12.5 percent THC, and they were allowed to smoke it, eat it or vaporize the substance.

At the conclusion of the study, researchers uncovered:

Those who used medical marijuana to ease their chronic pain did not have an increased risk of serious side effects, compared to those who didn’t use pot.

Medical marijuana users were more likely to experience minor side effects, like headaches, nausea, sleepiness and dizziness. They saw a 73 percent increase in less-serious side effects.

Researchers suggest medical marijuana users saw some pain relief through the use of the drug, and they also had better moods and reported a higher quality of life.

Dr. Ware said the study was the first and largest in terms of the long-term safety of medical marijuana, and it could help people who are deciding whether or not to try medical marijuana for their chronic pain.

“This is a paper they should bring to the attention of their physician or health care provider,” Ware said. “Anybody who is interested in using cannabis to treat pain should know this information, as it can influence the decision-making process considerably.”

Dr. Ware also said patients who have never tried marijuana my have a different experience when first getting used to medical pot

“For somebody reading this who’s never tried it, the effects they experience might be different,” Ware said.

3 Exercises To Help Alleviate Back Pain

October 5, 2015May 10, 2016 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Outside of the common cold, more Americans head to their local clinic with problematic back pain than for any other health condition. In fact, back pain affects between 80 and 90 percent of people at some point in their lives.

The issue with back pain is that we do so much to make the condition worse. We sit on our butts too often. We have poor posture. We’re always hunched over on our phones. All of these things can contribute to back problems, but the good news is we can fight back. One of the best ways to combat back pain is through regular exercise and strength training. Here’s a quick look at three exercises you can preform to help prevent and counter back pain.

Blast Away Back Pain

Here are three exercises you can do in the comfort of your home to help prevent back pain.

1. Supermans – For this exercise, you’ll start by lying on your stomach with your arms positioned directly in front of you. When you’re ready, lift your arms and your legs off the ground as if you are flying through the air like Superman. Hold the position for 5-10 seconds, then relax. Repeat this process until you’ve completed 10-20 Superman exercises. This is helpful for people suffering from low back pain.

2. Knee Hugs – Once you’re done with Supermans, roll over on your back for the next exercise. For this one, lie on your back with both your legs straight ahead of you. Bring one knee up to your chest and hug it for 10 seconds. You’ll naturally notice that the small of your back will be pressed into the floor. This will help strengthen your back muscles and keep it loose. Repeat the exercise five times with each leg.

3. Bridges – For the last exercise, remain lying on the ground on your back. Instead of placing your feet straight forward, bend your knees and position your feet flat on the ground near your buttock. When ready, thrust your pelvis forward, creating a diagonally straight line from your knees down to your shoulder blades. Hold this position for 10 seconds, then bring your butt back to the ground. Repeat this exercise 5-10 times. When done correctly, you’ll feel this exercise strengthening and loosening your upper back.

Daith Piercings For Migraines

October 2, 2015February 7, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The internet is a weird place. Back in March, I penned a short, 4-paragraph blog post on the correlation between daith piercings and migraine relief. You can check out the full blog post here, but I’ll provide a short summary for those who want to stay on this page.

In essence, a daith piercing is a type of piercing located in the ear cartilage midline toward the front of the inner ear. You can see a picture of the piercing on the right side of this blog. Although the science behind the piercing hasn’t been fully researched, the location of the piercing has actually been targeted by acupuncturists to help cure headaches. Acupuncturists target this area during sessions, and many people experience short-term headache relief after treatment.

Anybody who experiences frequent headaches or migraines can tell you just how debilitating the pain can be, and odds are they’ve tried numerous treatments to solve the problem. Could a daith piercing be the answer they are looking for?

Long Term Headache Relief

In the beginning of the blog I mentioned that the internet is a weird place. That’s because that blog on daith piercings went viral, and our site saw more traffic in a week than we did in all of 2014. People really wanted to learn more about Daith piercings, and they had a lot of questions. The most common question was, “Which side of my head should I get the piercing on?”

There is no specific answer, but thankfully, just like a brand new car, you can try it before you can buy it. What I mean by that is you can visit an acupuncturist and see if needles in certain parts of your cartilage provide some relief. If you find that it works, maybe it’s worth considering a permanent piercing.

For those of you who are needle-adverse, locating the daith piercing location may still help provide relief. If you begin to have a migraine, take your thumb and middle finger and gently massage that location on your ear. Switch ears after a few minutes, or massage both at the same time. If you notice significant relief, and you deal with regular headaches, a daith piercing could be a worthwhile solution.

Lastly, as I pointed out in the beginning of the article, there isn’t a lot of hard science behind the correlation between daith piercings and headache relief. Some people have found relief with this method, but it certainly won’t work for everybody. But, if you suffer from regular headaches and all other solutions have failed, it may be worth investigating further. I’ve read comments from readers who have said the procedure has helped to control their headaches, so if you pursue the procedure, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know how you are feeling in the days and weeks after the operation, and I’d be willing to let a few of you share your thoughts in a guest blog piece. I really just want people to find relief from pain, and your insights can help.

Tiger Woods Undergoes Second Microdiscectomy on Back

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Tiger Woods went under the knife again recently, opting to have a second microdiscectomy operation preformed on his ailing back.

The surgery means that Woods will withdraw from the final three scheduled events he had on his calendar, and it brings another disappointing season to a close. Woods failed to contend in any of the year’s four majors and he missed five cuts in 2015. Woods announced on Friday that he hopes to return to competitive golf in “early 2016.”

“This is certainly disappointing, but I’m a fighter,” Woods said. “I’ve been told I can make a full recovery, and I have no doubt that I will.”

This is the second time Woods has undergone the intricate operation on his back. His first microdiscectomy was back in March of 2014, and he only competed in seven events that season.

Surgery and Looking Ahead

Woods said on his personal website that he pursued a second back surgery after feeling pain and discomfort in his back and hips in recent weeks. Woods is used to playing through some discomfort after undergoing a host of operations throughout the course of his career, but the spinal compression came as surprise, as he had recently committed to playing in three tournaments to round out the year.

“He committed, thinking it was going to be a regular checkup,” said Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg. “Obviously, that area where he had the microdiscectomy had to be treated again. And it leads us to where we are now.”

The microdiscectomy operation removed a small disk fragment in his back that was compressing a nerve, which was the source of his pain. Woods announced that he “will begin intensive rehabilitation and soft tissue treatment within a week,” adding that “healing and recovery times differ for each individual based on many physiological factors, but Tiger is encouraged he can return early in 2016.”

Dr. Cohn Comments

Here’s the deal with Tiger Woods. At this stage in his career, the only thing on his mind is chasing Jack Nicklaus on the career major’s list. Jack finished with 18, and Tiger currently sits at 14.

Tiger said he hopes to return to competitive golf by early 2016, but let’s be honest, he doesn’t care about the Sony Open of the Farmers Insurance Open. Tiger Woods wants to be back and healthy for The Masters, golf’s first major in 2016, which takes place in April. Obviously Tiger would like to get some rounds in before April, but I don’t expect to see him playing in minor tournaments in January or even early February. He’s always stuck to his schedule, and I believe his ultimate goal is to have his body and his short game in their best form at Augusta National.

That’s easier said than done, however. Tiger Woods will turn 40 in December, and unlike a fine wine, athletes don’t typically get better with age. Tiger has been playing golf professionally for more than half of his life, and although it’s less physical than football, it still takes a big toll on your body. What’s more, the smallest imperfections in your body can cause you to hit the ball a long distance from where you’re aiming, so pain and discomfort is less than ideal for an athlete who depends on precision. When you consider his age, his health and the formidable foes he has in young players like Rory McIlroy, Jordan Speith and Jason Day, I think it will be incredibly difficult for Tiger to win one more major, let alone catch Jack.

I wish him the best in his recovery, and I hope we can once again catch a glimpse of the golfer that took the world by storm back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

Being Accountable For Your Health

September 21, 2015 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Taking control of your health requires daily management, and it’s not always easy to do on your own. Sometimes help comes in the form of a gym buddy, but recently we’ve seen a rise in the number of people who wear a fitness tracker to help them track their activity, which is a great start towards a healthy lifestyle. That’s because people who wear some sort of fitness tracker tend to exercise more regularly and they are more accurate in reporting the time and amount of exercise. In the end, it all comes down to holding ourselves responsible for our health, but if these devices can help you stick to a schedule, it seems well worth the investment.

The boom in activity trackers hopefully will lead to higher rates of compliance with fitness. For my patients with pain, those who have included the use of a fitness tracker to monitor activity have been more consistent in exercise. They have also tended to be more motivated in performing an exercise routine, use less medication and have better control of symptoms.

One of the most important actions necessary to control pain is exercise. One needs to perform muscle strengthening and aerobic conditioning on a regular basis to control symptoms. Working with a physical therapist to learn how to perform the correct exercise is a good start, and after learning how to exercise appropriately, consistently being active is critical. The use of an activity tracker can significantly help a person stay the course of appropriate exercise.

The cost of a good fitness tracker runs about $100. As medicine goes, this is a relatively cheap investment into your own health. If pain is a factor in your health, get a fitness tracker, use it and get active.