How To Prevent Chronic Pain During Thanksgiving

November 23, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and while it will likely look a little different this year because of the coronavirus, odds are millions of Americans will be celebrating the holiday in some fashion, and that can cause a chronic pain flareup. While you may be looking forward to the holiday, Thanksgiving can be both stressful and physically demanding for your body, and that can make a chronic pain condition much worse. Below, we share some tips for avoiding chronic pain flareups over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanksgiving and Chronic Pain

Here are some ways in which the Thanksgiving holiday can contribute to a chronic pain flareup, and what you can do to help keep pain at bay over the holiday.

1. Destress – Stress is one of the most common chronic pain triggers, and Thanksgiving can be a stressful time. When you consider the added stress that the coronavirus brings, it’s easy to see how it could be a stressful few days. We’re not saying you should skip every single family gathering and self-isolate if you don’t have symptoms, because isolation can have its own impact on your chronic pain, but you need to make smart decisions for your health and the health of others. Avoid large get-togethers where the virus could spread, and skip an event if you’re feeling symptoms. This can help give you peace of mind that you’re putting your health first, and that can help you destress. If you are having a couple people over, plan ahead and have everyone bring a dish to pass so you’re not overstressed trying to do all the cooking and cleaning. Work to destress your life during the Thanksgiving holiday.

2. Stay Active – Regardless of whether you’re staying home or attending a small function, make sure you are still exercising and keeping your body busy over the Thanksgiving break. Overeating and sitting on the couch for a few days won’t do any favors for your pain condition. Make it a point to get regular exercise and strengthen your body even as the weather gets colder and the days get shorter.

3. Diet – No, we’re not telling you that you need to diet throughout the Thanksgiving holiday, that would just be mean. However, we do want you to be mindful of your dietary choices over Thanksgiving. Carbohydrate-dense and sugary foods can lead to inflammation development and a chronic pain flare up, so make sure you are making some healthy choices at the dinner table. We don’t expect you to be perfect, but if you make some smart choices and strive for some regular exercise, you’ll be able to help control against a chronic pain flareup.

4. Move and Stretch – Finally, to help avoid back pain or muscle stiffness, it’s important that you stand up and move around when possible. If you’re flying home or taking a long road trip, find some time to get out of your seat and stretch to help take pressure off certain areas of your body that handle stress in a seated position. Even if you’re not traveling, don’t just plop down in front of the television for the Macy’s parade and a full day of football. Move around, go for a walk and stretch every so often to help prevent muscle stagnation and a chronic pain flareup.

If you need help with your pain condition before or after the Thanksgiving holiday, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

Medical Marijuana For Short-Term Chronic Pain Relief

November 17, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Medical marijuana is a topic we’ve written about on the blog numerous times in the past, and one point we’ve always hammered home is that we want more scientifically-backed research on the subject. As more research comes out, the more we expand our knowledge of the subject and can better treat our patients.

Recently, we read about a study that looked at the short-term benefits of medical marijuana use to control chronic pain symptoms. We share the results of that study in today’s blog.

Short Term Chronic Pain Relief With Medical Cannabis

The research was originally published in Volume 20, Issue 6 of Practical Pain Management, and it explored how medical marijuana could be used to help provide pain relief in patients with certain types of chronic pain. Patients for the study were at least 25 years of age, had experienced chronic pain for at least three months, and were willing to provide accurate reports about their chronic pain levels both before and during treatment. Treatment, in this instance, was taking medical cannabis after being informed of proper administration guidelines from a physician.

The most common chronic pain conditions that affected patients in this study were back pain, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic headaches. Patients were asked to rank their pain at the beginning of the study and then again at 1-month, 3-month and 6-month intervals. Here’s what they found:

Patients in the study found that medical cannabis treatment was associated with significant improvements in pain symptoms and quality of life within one month of initiating treatment.
These effects were sustained at the three- and six-month intervals.
The only adverse effects patients reported were dry mouth, increased appetite and the sensation of feeling “high.”

After looking at the totality of the study, researchers stated that medical marijuana, when administered under the care and supervision of a healthcare professional, can be a safe and effective option for short-term pain relief for patients with varying types of chronic pain.

At our clinic, we always say that we want patients to find a solution to chronic pain that works for them. It won’t always be easy or passive, but we want you to find a solution that works for you. If medical marijuana or other treatments like the Daith piercing can help you find relief, we’re all for it. We’re also here to provide you with care or treatment recommendations if you want to pair your current treatments with a more professional approach. We’ll happily walk you though some of the more standard options like physical therapy or other lifestyle interventions, but we can also discuss alternative options and give you some more information so you can make the best decision for your health.

For more information about different ways to treat your chronic pain, or to set up a consultation with a specialist, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.

Making Chronic Pain Less Scary

October 28, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Halloween is right around the corner, and we want to stay on theme with the spooky holiday by talking about ways to make your chronic pain condition less scary. So below, read up on some tips that can help you take more control over your chronic pain and prevent you from living in fear of your condition.

Making Pain Less Scary

One of the reasons why a chronic pain condition can be so frightening is because of our lack of control over the situation. Patients don’t know if today will be a good day or a bad day, and the anxiety with not having control over your pain condition can make physical symptoms worse. Below, we share some tips for regaining control over your chronic pain condition.

1. Stay Active – A pain condition can make it easier for a person to want to lie in bed and avoid participating in daily life, but that only serves to make your condition worse in the long run. Activity and exercise help to build muscle and release endorphins that act as a natural pain reliever. Being active also helps your mental mindset, which can go a long way in helping you calm fears or anxiety over your chronic pain condition. Force yourself to do some physical activity each day, even if it’s just walking around the block.

2. Get A Diagnosis – You might be hoping that chronic pain will just go away on its own, but that’s rarely the case. Passively treating the condition by looking for information online is limited in its ability to help you, and in many cases it can actually make a person more anxious over their pain due to over-diagnosing the issue. To get peace of mind over your condition, get a confirmed and individualized diagnosis from a pain management specialist.

3. Control What You Can Control – As we mentioned above, a lot of our fears over our condition stem from our inability to control the situation. And while you can’t control everything, you need to focus your attention and efforts on the things you can control, like your exercise levels, your diet and your willingness to actively treat your condition head-on each and every day. If you can say you’ve done all you can to help keep your condition at bay, then you shouldn’t lose sleep over your condition. You’re controlling what you can control, and sometimes that’s all you can do.

4. Improve Your Diet – Eating healthier won’t cause your back pain to vanish, but it does play a crucial role in being able to work towards less daily pain. A healthy diet will give you more energy to be active or to fight through the days when you just want to lay in bed. It can also help you keep off extra weight, which can sometimes exacerbate a pain condition. You don’t need to eat perfectly every meal, but keep your health in mind when meal planning.

5. Education – The more we learn about our pain condition, the less fear it holds over us. Never be afraid to turn to your pain specialist for answers to questions or concerns you might have. The internet can also be a helpful option if you make sure you’re finding information from reputable sources, but again, your care team will be able to provide the best advice for your specific situation, so lean on them for help along the way!

For more information, or for help with your chronic pain condition, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.

VR Headset Earns FDA Clearance For Chronic Pain Treatment

October 22, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Stepping into virtual reality may soon be a way for patients dealing with chronic back pain and fibromyalgia to find relief. Applied VR, a Los Angeles-based virtual reality company, recently announced that one of its headsets received Breakthrough Device Designation from the Food and Drug Administration for treating patients with certain pain conditions.

The EaseVRx is the first virtual reality device to earn this designation from the FDA for treating a chronic pain condition. This designation will make it easier for the development and review of virtual reality devices to help treat chronic pain conditions, and it could also make it more likely that VR therapy to treat chronic pain will soon be covered by insurance.

“AppliedVR is the most evidence-backed VR platform on the market, and today’s FDA designation demonstrates that health experts across the spectrum recognize the therapeutic potential of VR as a viable treatment for pain,” Matthew Stoudt, CEO and co-founder of AppliedVR, said in a statement. “Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupting Americans’ ability to get in-person care safely, we’re looking forward to getting EaseVRx into the hands of people suffering from pain. Providers believe in it, patients want it, and payers are coming around to it.”

How It Works

Patients in the recent clinical trial were asked to wear the headset and watch at least one virtual reality program each day for a period of 21 days. The programs were designed to immerse the user into a virtual environment where they could take in beautiful scenery or even swim with dolphins. The goal behind the program is to help train the brain to focus on what’s going on around a person instead of focusing on chronic pain signals.

At the end of the three-week study, 84 percent of patients reported that they were satisfied with their VR therapy, and on average, pain intensity decreased 30 percent. Patients also reported an improvement in mood, sleep and stress levels, which all play a role in the expression and interpretation of chronic pain.

“Virtual reality is a promising skills-based behavioral medicine that has been shown to have high patient engagement and satisfaction,” said Beth Darnall, PhD, AppliedVR’s chief science advisor. “However, chronic pain patients to date have had very limited access to it, so we’re excited to continue working with the FDA to develop our platform and get it into the market faster.”

We’ve written about virtual reality treatments for chronic pain in the past, but we’re especially excited about this news because it seems like a big step in the right direction. Hopefully they continue to have success with this treatment and more people can find ways to treat or relieve symptoms of their chronic pain.

5 Lifestyle Factors That Contribute To Your Chronic Low Back Pain

October 15, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Back pain is one of if not the most common type of pain condition in the world, as upwards of 90 percent of adults will experience chronic or acute back pain at some point in their life. And the most common location for back pain is in your lumbar or lower spine. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at some of the lifestyle factors that can contribute to chronic low back pain, and we explain how you can prevent and treat it.

Lifestyle Factors That Can Lead To Chronic Low Back Pain

Here’s a look at five factors that can increase your likelihood of developing chronic low back pain later in life.

1. Inactivity – You may think you’re protecting your spine by avoiding overstressing it, and while overstressing structures should be avoided, inactivity is a lot worse for your body than controlled and moderate intensity exercise. Inactivity leads to muscle stagnation and can decrease spinal stability in your lumbar spine, rendering it less able to manage the stress of movement. Sedentary individuals are at a higher risk for low back pain than active individuals.

2. Being Overweight – The heavier you are, the more stress that is displaced on your spine. Over the years, this extra weight works to break down spinal structures faster than normal. We all deal with some natural spinal degeneration, but extra weight can speed up this process. Working towards a healthy weight, even by losing just a few pounds, can take a lot of stress off our lumbar spine and reduce our likelihood of chronic low back pain in the future.

3. Poor Posture – If you’re slouched on the couch, at your office or while reading a book, more stress is going to be channeled to your lumbar spine. If you work in an office or do a lot of driving for your career, poor seated posture can wreck havoc on your back. Most people don’t realize the damage they are doing to their lumbar spine when they slouch because sitting it not a very physical activity, but done incorrectly it can cause major problems for your lumbar spine. Strive to keep your head over your shoulders and avoiding slouching or leaning forward while sitting or driving.

4. Unsupportive Mattress – We spend roughly a third of our lives on our mattress, so it’s important that we invest in a quality mattress that protects our lumbar spine. Super soft mattresses can cause our spine to shift out of a natural alignment as we sleep, whereas very firm mattresses can leave us feeling sore from too little spinal support. Find what’s comfortable for you, and if it’s been longer than seven years since you’ve changed you mattress, consider upgrading to a more supportive model!

5. Lifting, Bending and Twisting – Regardless of whether you work manual labor or you’re just trying to carry the clothes hamper down to the washing machine, it’s important that you understand how to lift and carry objects so that you don’t hurt your lower back. Bend at the knees, not at your spine, and avoid carrying heavy loads that require you to lean backwards in order to complete the lift. Use another person to perform a tandem lift if the object is large or heavy, and try to keep your spine in a healthy alignment no matter what you’re lifting or moving.

And if you develop low back pain, make sure you treat it before it becomes a bigger issue. Dr. Cohn has been helping patients find solutions for their chronic low back pain for decades, and he can do the same for you. For more information, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.