Tips For Managing Your Fibromyalgia During The Summer

June 23, 2022 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The summer weather is here to stay for a while in Minnesota, and while warmer temperatures may be a treat to some, they can also make it more likely that you’ll experience a flareup with your fibromyalgia. Studies have shown that our joints tend to work better in warmer temperatures than in colder temps, but summer heat can make it more likely for muscles to cramp, headaches to develop or fibromyalgia flareups, none of which are enjoyable.

With that in mind, we wanted to share some tips for preventing fibromyalgia flareups during the warm summer months.

Preventing Fibro Flareup This Summer

Everyone’s fibromyalgia condition is unique to them, so there’s no guanrantee that these techniques will prevent any and all flareups. That being said, many people notice that their flareups are less common when they strive to keep these tips in mind throughout the summer.

Stay Hydrated – Stay hydrated so that it’s easier for your heart to pump healthy blood to structures that need it the most. If you’re dehydrated, it will be harder for your muscles to get the oxygen they need to work efficiently, which can lead to cramps, spasms and fibromyalgia-related pain. It’s helpful to keep a water bottle nearby at all times, but that’s especially true in the summer.

Dress Appropriately – Tight, restrictive clothing or heavy options that make it harder for your body to regulate its temperature can also make it more likely that you’ll have a flareup. Patients with fibromyalgia or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) will want to wear light, breathable options to help keep nerve irritation at bay.

Stay Cool – Look for shady spots if you have to be outdoors, and do your best to avoid extended periods out in the hot summer sun. Again, this can make it harder for your body to keep itself cool and regulate its temperature, which can send nerves into overdrive. Find ways to stay cool and avoid becoming overheated when outdoors this summer.

Eye The Air Quality Index – Keep an eye on the air quality index this summer. Low air quality can lead to more inflammation in your muscles and joints, making a fibro flareup more likely. You can’t control the air quality, but be mindful of how low quality days may affect your condition.

Mind Your Diet – Eating a healthy diet can sometimes make fibromyalgia symptoms less noticeable, so consider tracking what you eat and removing trigger foods from your diet. Summer is oftentimes a time when we are tempted with unhealthier options at barbecues and picnics, so while it’s fine to indulge here or there, take note of which foods seem to help alleviate your symptoms or which ones make things worse.

Speak To A Specialist – Finally, if you dread summer because of how it affects your fibromyalgia, now is the time to speak to a specialist like Dr. Cohn. We can get to the bottom of your condition and set you up with an individualized care plan based on your specific needs. For more information, or for help with your chronic pain issue, give Dr. Cohn’s office a call today at (952) 738-4580.

Five Tips For Alleviating Chronic Headaches

June 16, 2022 / Thomas Cohn, MD

A headache can ruin your day and affect your mood. Even if your headaches are only presenting with dull soreness or pressure, these symptoms can make every day a challenge. Headaches can seem difficult to treat because their cause isn’t as obvious as a condition like a broken arm or a herniated spinal disc, which is why it’s important to know a few different helpful ways to alleviate your headaches. In today’s blog, we focus on five of them.

How To Reduce Headache Symptoms And Frequency

Here’s a look at a few different conservative methods for reducing headache symptoms or preventing their onset:

1. Staying Hydrated – A number of different health issues can be caused or exacerbated by being dehydrated, and headaches are one of them. Dehydration can lead to muscle tension or cramping in facial muscles that can contribute to tension headaches.

2. Exercise – Daily exercise helps to improve circulation, which can ward off headache onset. Strive to become more active, and you may find that your headaches are fewer and farther between.

3. The Daith Piercing – As we’ve talked about numerous times on the blog in the past, the Daith piercing is a low-cost option that may help provide headache relief. You can learn more about the piercing itself and why researchers believe it may prove beneficial by taking a look at some of our blogs on the subject.

4. Yoga and Meditation – Yoga, meditation and other mindfulness techniques can all help improve blood flow, which as we talked about in the exercise section, can help to relieve headache symptom and prevent their onset. Additionally, yoga and meditation can help a person reduce their stress and anxiety levels, which are also closely related to headache onset. If yoga and meditation aren’t for you, find some other ways to manage stress in your life.

5. Consult With A Specialist – Finally, if you’re still struggling to overcome your chronic headaches, it’s time to set up a consultation with a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn. He can use a number of different tools to help pinpoint the contributing factors to your headache onset and set you up with an individualized treatment plan to reduce or eliminate them.

If you are bothered by daily or chronic headaches, take the first step on the road to recovery and reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

The Benefits And Drawbacks Of Online Chronic Pain Support Groups

June 9, 2022 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The advent of the internet has made it easier for people to connect with one another from all over the world. This is especially helpful in the pain management community. Many people may not know anyone else in their immediate circle dealing with a specific type of chronic pain condition, but they can connect with hundreds or thousands of individuals who are going through the same issue they are dealing with when they find a support group dedicated to that condition.

At the same time, support groups aren’t a perfect solution for your chronic pain issue either, and they can actually make it harder to overcome your pain if you’re not careful. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of online support groups for chronic pain.

Benefits Of Online Pain Support Groups

We’ve recommended online support groups to patients in the past, and they have the potential to be a perfect complement to your comprehensive treatment plan. For starters, there is a huge psychological weight that can be lifted off your shoulders when you know that you’re not going through your issue alone. There are so many others out there dealing with similar issues, and you can share ideas and stories with one another to feel less isolated by your chronic pain condition.

In fact, in a study about chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, the most frequently mentioned benefit of an online support group was illness legitimization (67.8%). Two other benefits that were frequently mentioned were finding out new information (66.4%) and feeling understood by others (62.2%). Clearly sharing ideas and connecting with others was helpful for those dealing with an isolating condition.

Drawbacks For Online Support Groups

The same study also looked at some potential drawbacks associated with these pain groups, and they found some interesting results. Most notably, active members of the pain care group reported greater symptom severity and less illness improvement than inactive members or dropouts. Now, there’s many possible reasons for this result. Inactive individuals or dropouts may not lean on the group as much because their pain wasn’t as severe, so they may be more likely to find a solution that leads them to no longer need the group.

However, there’s also the hypothesis that over-dependence and heavy involvement in an online support group can negatively affect how you approach your pain condition. One of the most frequently reported reasons for dropping out of the group was too much negative talk or complaining (33.3%). If all you read about your condition is how horrible it is, how doctors are working against you and how there’s no hope for the future, those thoughts can make it harder for you to find the right treatment plan. You may be more likely to avoid the solutions you need simply because of misinformation and pain catastrophizing that can take place in these groups.

A number of these groups can connect you with wonderful people who truly want to help you find a solution to your pain, but like any online group, they can also be full of people who are angry at the world and use the group to spread their misery to others. Whether intentional or not, it’s important that you don’t allow yourself to focus on these negative comments and know that it will do nothing to actually help you overcome your condition.

We’d be happy to point you in the direction of some in-person or online groups where you can connect with others in the midst of their own personal pain battle. You don’t have to go through it alone, and you can also fight your battle with a pain management specialist by your side. For help with your pain condition, or for answers to your questions, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

Caring For Chronic Low Back Pain

June 3, 2022 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The following is a guest blog from Natalia Madden at The Healthy Place, a vitamin and supplement company that originated in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, and now has additional storefronts in the greater Madison area. The Healthy Place hopes to provide customers with the highest quality products and the education needed for customers to stride forward confidently on their journey to find wellness. You can learn more about them on their website, FindYourHealthyPlace.com

Your back is in pain and you feel at odds. Why? Well, this frustrating pain can leave us feeling helpless due to its central location, interfering with everything we try to do. Maybe your back hurts from bad posture or daily wear and tear, or you injured yourself exercising or doing yard work. Whatever is causing your low back pain, you want relief — and you want it fast.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to relieve lower back pain without the use of conventional pain medications. Check out the best low back pain relief methods below, where we mention everything from stretches and supplements to the best healthcare specialist you should seek for this pain.

How to Relieve Low Back Pain

Maintain good posture: This relaxes tension from your lower back that causes pain.
Stay active, even when your body wants otherwise: This prevents the weakening of back muscles and spinal support.
Stretch in the morning and throughout the day: Exercises like yoga and Pilates strengthen your core to keep back and hip muscles strong and supportive.
See a chiropractor or pain management specialist.
Supply your body with natural, relieving nutrients: Eat a nutritious diet and take dietary supplements to keep your nerves, muscles, and bones nourished for less pain and discomfort.

Low back pain is an unfortunately common health issue. In fact, it’s a leading cause of disability and over 25% of Americans struggle with it regularly. While pain relievers and other conventional methods are a normal go-to for low back pain, there are a variety of natural methods to relieve this uncomfortable and frustrating concern.

Stand tall, stay active, stretch regularly, and see a chiropractor or pain management specialist to maintain a pain-free back. And when the pain is in your way of daily life, nourish your body with a natural pain relief supplement. You can learn more about these options by talking to your pain management specialist or by connecting with a vitamin and supplement provider like Find Your Healthy Place!

Could The Arts Helps Drown Out Chronic Pain?

May 27, 2022 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Doctors and patients are always looking for new ways to take the sting out of a chronic pain condition, and while exercise and opioids are two of the most common treatments, other complimentary activities may also help a person drown out pain signals. According to new research, turning to the arts may help some people get a better handle over their chronic pain condition.

Art As Pain Treatment

There are a number of theories as to why turning to the creative arts may help someone manage their chronic pain condition, and the prevailing wisdom is that it helps to pull your attention away from your pain. Chronic pain can be an intrusive experience that seizes your attention and thoughts, but throwing yourself into a creative arts experience can help pull your thoughts away from your pain.

Others believe that art therapy can be helpful because it gives patients a sense of control. Chronic pain can be overwhelming and leave you feeling like you no longer have control over your physical health, but channeling your focus towards something that you create can help you regain a sense of control. If you learn that you can control some aspects of your life, your chronic pain condition doesn’t seem as unmanageable.

A number of studies have helped back up these theories, although they have only proved correlation, not causation. For example, we’ve seen how an art lesson can help cancer patients experience less pain, and how the creative arts like music, dance, even just looking at a painting can improve a person’s ability to cope with pain.

In fact, a 2020 report by the National Endowment for the Arts concluded that “arts-based interventions should be considered among potential complementary approaches for managing pain.”

So while Dr. Cohn and his team aren’t likely to prescribe some crayons and a coloring book at your next appointment, there does appear to be a clear connection between creative expression, art appreciation and the ability to better manage uncontrolled pain. Art therapy will not be able to replace your exercise program, but it can be a perfect compliment to your current treatment to help yield even better results.

Stick to your normal pain care routine, but this summer, consider creating something in a sketchbook once a week or visiting the local art fair once a month to gain a greater appreciation for the arts, and your pain condition may also become more manageable! For more information, or for more traditional treatments to help overcome a chronic pain condition, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.