The Duality Of Chronic Pain Treatment

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

body mindFor a number of health conditions, the focus is mostly or solely on the physical condition. For example, if you break your arm or sprain your ankle, treatment will be focused on providing a healthy environment for these physical injuries to heal. The physical injury gets the brunt of our attention because it is typically the catalyst for our discomfort. If we address the underlying problem, everything can get back to normal sooner.

However, that’s not typically the case with chronic pain. Chronic pain can certainly have a physical trigger, but oftentimes there is also a significant mental burden as well that needs to be managed in order to successfully treat the chronic pain condition. Only focusing on the physical cause of pain or the brain’s interpretation of pain oftentimes leaves the problem only partially treated. That’s why it’s so important to have a dual approach when treating most chronic pain conditions. Below, we talk more about the physical and mental approaches to treating chronic pain.

The Physical Approach To Chronic Pain

The physical approach to treating chronic pain is typically easier for patient to comprehend. If a pinched nerve is causing pain or joint degeneration is making movement painful, we can come up with some specific treatments for these physical issues. Rest, medications, physical therapy, exercise, weight loss and stretching techniques can all serve to help alleviate physical issues causing chronic pain. These therapies can help to:

  • Calm inflammation
  • Strengthen supportive structures
  • Stabilize an area that regularly handles stress
  • Shift structures back in alignment
  • Improve blood circulation
  • Promote healthy muscular and tissue function

Treating the underlying physical cause of pain is very important, but sometimes it’s only part of the problem. Other times chronic pain is caused or exacerbated by your brain’s interpretation of pain signals. As you might imagine, changing how your brain interprets pain isn’t easy, but it can be done with the help of a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn.

The Mental Approach To Treating Chronic Pain

Learning how to use your brain to overcome your chronic pain condition can be tough, but programs like cognitive behavioral therapy and similar techniques help patients better understand and interpret the signals they are receiving. Now, you’re not going to be able to learn how to turn off pain receptors in your brain, but you will learn how to better cope with a painful flareup or how to mentally approach your chronic pain condition so that you string together more good days than bad.

A pain management specialist or cognitive behavioral therapist can help you:

  • Better understand your pain triggers and your underlying condition
  • Coping techniques when a flareup develops (deep breathing, yoga, relaxation, etc.)
  • The importance of healthy lifestyle choices in controlling physical pain (exercise, diet, sleep)
  • Identifying sources of stress that could exacerbate pain sensations

At the end of the day, for chronic pain conditions it is very important that you connect with a specialist who can help you overcome both the physical and mental challenges brought on by chronic pain. Treating one without the other can cause symptoms to linger. Let Dr. Cohn and his team help treat the totality of your pain so that you can regain control over your chronic pain condition. For more information or for help with your condition, give his office a call today at (952) 738-4580.

Overcoming The Guilt Of Chronic Pain

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

chronic pain guiltChronic pain can leave a person feeling a number of different ways, but a recent study found that one emotion that many chronic pain patients suffer from as a result of their condition is guilt. Dealing with chronic pain should be bad enough without also having to feel guilty about battling the condition. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at some of the more common reasons why chronic pain patients experience guilt, and we talk about how you can work to overcome these feelings.

Feeling Guilty About Chronic Pain

A recent study in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that chronic pain was oftentimes associated with poorer psychological and social functioning, and that oftentimes manifested in the form of guilt. But why are chronic pain patients feeling guilty about their pain? According to the study, several guilt-related themes emerged. Patients oftentimes felt guilty because:

Others Assumed Their Pain Was Not Legitimate – Many patients without a definitive diagnosis or those dealing with conditions that others struggle to empathize with may feel guilty for recognizing their own pain. Chronic pain is oftentimes tough to specifically identify, and if a person can’t point to a specific reason why their back hurts, they may feel like they’re a fraud because “anyone could say their back hurts without a specific diagnosis.”

Not Doing Enough To Treat Their Pain – Sometimes, despite our best efforts, chronic pain doesn’t respond to treatment like we hoped it would. Patients can sometimes feel guilty or like they are letting their friends, family or doctors down because they aren’t getting any better even though they are trying their best.

Guilt Over Help From Or Burden Unto Others – Patients sometimes feel guilty that they need to rely on others for assistance, or because they feel like a burden to others who have to take on more responsibility because of how chronic pain limits their ability.

It’s also important to note that guilt also manifested in the form of poorer physical outcomes. The study found that guilt correlated with worse physical functioning, greater disability and heightened fatigue, so guilt is both a mental and physical burden. This speaks to the importance of effectively treating these feelings.

Helping Chronic Pain Patients Overcome Guilt

So how can we help chronic pain patients overcome these feelings of guilt for the sake of their mental and physical health? As you might have guessed, it takes a careful and comprehensive approach. First, you need to connect with a provider who understands the physical, mental and emotional burden that comes with chronic pain. Dr. Cohn and his team understand all the ways that chronic pain can impact your life, and we know that it’s not just about treating the physical pain. We know how important it is to validate your pain and your experiences to help you overcome these feelings of guilt.

We can help treat the underlying cause of your chronic pain, but we can also set you up with cognitive therapies that help you understand where these feelings of guilt are coming from and how to validate your experiences so that you can confidently push those irrational feelings out of your mind. We also talk with patients about the importance of finding healthy outlets to discuss their frustrations or share their experiences so that chronic pain doesn’t leave them feeling isolated or guilty. It’s not easy and every patient requires a different approach, but it’s worth it in the end.

So if you are dealing with feelings of guilt related to your chronic pain condition, let us treat the whole you. We can help you overcome the physical, mental and emotional challenges you’re facing. For more information, or to set up an appointment with our clinic, give Dr. Cohn and his team a call today at (952) 738-4580.

Can Cryotherapy Help With My Chronic Pain?

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

cryotherapyCryotherapy is a fancy way of saying “cold therapy,” and while you may have noticed some newer cryotherapy clinics popping up in your city, humans have been using cold temperatures to help treat injuries for hundreds of years. The science behind the idea isn’t new, but modern medicine is always looking to improve techniques and make them even more successful at treating an issue. Below, we take a closer look at how cold therapy can help you manage a pain condition, and how new cryotherapy techniques are being implemented across the US.

What Is Cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is a medical technique that relies on colder temperatures to cause a certain effect on the body. Injury or overstress of a joint can trigger an inflammatory response in the body. This natural inflammation is designed to protect the area from further stress and injury, but inflammation can actually be uncomfortable in and of itself, and it can delay the healing process. However, if you put an ice pack or a cold pack on the area, it will cause blood vessels to constrict, decreasing circulation, swelling and fluid pooling in the injured area.

Icing an area or jumping in a cold bath can be a perfect treatment or recovery option for patients dealing with aches caused by stress or injury. If your joints are aching or your back is throbbing after a day of activity, ice the area to help reduce swelling and maintain mobility in the affected area. Cold therapy can be especially helpful after pursuing active treatments for an injury, like physical therapy or controlled exercise that can cause an inflammatory reaction.

Cryotherapy In Its Modern Form

As we mentioned above, cryotherapy has also been modernized into another form of therapy. When you head to a cryotherapy clinic, you can enter a specialized padded chamber that is filled with liquid nitrogen that turns into a gas. The temperature inside the chamber can drop as low as -240 degrees in a matter of seconds, but it’s not as shocking to the system as an ice bath because your body isn’t in contact with a cold object, just the cold gas around you.

Clients stand in this chamber for a very short period of time, typically about 2-3 minutes, but that’s enough time for the body to start triggering a natural response that can help with things like joint pain and arthritis. The process works by shocking your body into thinking it’s freezing, which stimulates a semi-hypothermic response. Your heart rate drops, your breathing slows and your body redirects its energy towards keeping your core temperature up. Your rate of blood flow also increases, helping to speed up your body’s natural healing mechanisms and flushing toxins out of your joints. These toxins are then filtered out of your body by your liver and kidneys, helping to reduce uncomfortable inflammation.

So the next time your knee starts to swell or your back starts to ache, head to the freezer, grab a bag of frozen peas and do a little cold therapy from the comfort of your home. And if you’re interested in clinical cryotherapy or hands-on techniques that Dr. Cohn and his team can provide, reach out to his office today.

Five Coping Techniques For Chronic Pain

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

copingPeople cope with their chronic pain diagnosis in a number of different ways. Some dive head first into proactive treatments, while others find ways to take their mind off of their discomfort. What’s important is to find a positive coping technique that helps you work to gain more control over your condition. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at five common coping techniques for chronic pain sufferers.

Coping With And Overcoming Chronic Pain

Chronic pain coping techniques are important because dwelling on your pain and letting it control your life can lead to worse pain and make it harder to eventually overcome your condition. Find a healthy way to cope with your condition. Try a combination of some of the following techniques, and we expect that you’ll find it easier to string together more good days than bad.

Actively Treat It – Arguably the best treatment technique involves throwing yourself into a care plan that targets your underlying condition and works to make your body stronger. Being stronger, losing weight or stabilizing key areas of your body can help them better handle pressure and avoid overstress injuries and the onset of inflammation. Every day, try to do at least one activity that specifically targets your chronic pain or serves to make you healthier overall.

Distract – Another common coping technique is to try to distract your brain from pain. If you’re trying to relax in the evening but your chronic back pain is flaring up, try to distract your brain from the discomfort. Read a book or start a crossword puzzle – anything that helps take your mind away from your discomfort.

Share Your Feelings – Another helpful coping technique is to share your feelings or frustrations with others. Talking about your condition with a support group of individuals who can empathize with what you’re going through is extremely helpful. Find an online support group or a close friend who you can talk to about your condition, and you’ll find that it’s easier to reconcile with.

Relaxation Techniques – For many people, stress is one of the most common underlying causes of a chronic pain flareup, so learning how to mitigate stress and overcome it when it develops is key for coping with their chronic pain condition. Whether that’s in the form of yoga or deep breathing exercises, find a personal way to unwind from the stresses of the day.

Enlist A Professional – Finally, if you want a professional to help you find specific ways to overcome your chronic pain condition, sync up with a specialist like Dr. Cohn. He can provide a comprehensive diagnosis and develop a treatment plan suited to your needs and strengths. You don’t have to cope with your condition alone, so lean on a group of professionals who want to help you get better.

For more information about coping techniques, or to reach out to a doctor who wants to help you regain control over your chronic pain condition, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

Four Tips For Overcoming Chronic Knee Pain

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

knee painOur knees handle an immense amount of stress each day as we run and walk, and if you develop pain or discomfort in your knees, it can make movement downright difficult. And while knee replacement operations are available for severe knee joint deterioration, you may be able to avoid surgery and alleviate symptoms if you know how to treat chronic knee pain when it first develops. In today’s blog, we share four tips for overcoming chronic knee pain.

How To Treat Chronic Knee Pain

Here’s a closer look at some of the most commonly recommended treatments for chronic knee pain, and why they may be helpful for your joint discomfort.

1. Movement – It may sound odd that we’re recommending putting more stress on an area of your body that’s hurting, but movement and exercise can be exactly what your knee needs. Movement helps to push healthy blood to and from the area, and it strengthens nearby structures to make it easier for the knee to handle stress. You just want to be smart in what types of movement you pursue. Low-impact movements and exercises are preferred to a high-impact exercise like running, so start walking, swimming or cycling more often, and your knee should become stronger.

2. Weight Loss – Another way to help lessen knee pain is to find ways to take stress off the area, and one such way is to lose weight. Your knees handle the stress of your body when you’re standing and moving, so the less you weigh, the less pressure they’ll be under. Even losing just a few pounds can take a large load off your knee, so dieting and exercising can really help to alleviate chronic knee pain.

3. Physical Therapy – You can also target the knee and surrounding tissues specifically with the help of physical therapy. In Minnesota, you don’t need a referral in order to seek assistance for a medical issue with a physical therapist, so you can go directly to the source if you’d like to see if PT can help. They’ll conduct a baseline assessment, have you perform some in-person exercises and set you up with an individualized therapy routine that you can perform from the comfort of your home to strengthen your knee.

4. See A Pain Specialist – Knee pain is one of Dr. Cohn’s specialties, and he’d be more than happy to conduct a comprehensive examination of your knee and the connected systems to understand the full scope of your knee issue. Not only can he walk you through some non-operative treatment methods, but he can explain why these techniques should help provide relief. When you have a clearer understanding of your issue and the ways to treat it, you’re more likely to have success pursuing these treatment options.

So if you are dealing with lingering knee pain that is preventing you from enjoying certain aspects of life, consider the above tips or take a minute to set up an appointment with a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn. We can help you regain your independence and improve your quality of life by reducing or eliminating your knee pain. For more inforamtion, give his office a call today at (952) 738-4580.