How Adverse Events Affect Children With Chronic Pain

March 17, 2022 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Children with chronic pain who experience adverse childhood events (ACEs) are more likely to suffer an increase in symptom severity, according to new research. This suggests that chronic pain should be monitored even more closely if a child is subjected to difficult or stressful events.

For the study, researchers grouped children with chronic pain conditions or rheumatic diseases into one of three groups:

Pain with zero adverse childhood events
Pain with one adverse childhood event
Pain with two or more adverse childhood events

Although the researchers didn’t spell out exactly what type of adverse events were tracked for the study, they did mention that a wide array of adverse events were used as data points. They said traumatic experiences included a range of physical, mental and sexual abuse, and things like divorce or family mental illness.

“The results indicate that children with chronic pain and/or rheumatologic diseases who are exposed to ACEs are at increased risk of worse functional disability, greater pain-related symptomatology, and a higher burden of co-morbid mental health conditions,” researchers wrote. Patients who had experienced two or more adverse childhood events had “more somatic symptoms, worse functional disability, and a higher proportion of mental health conditions.”

Mental Health And Chronic Pain Symptoms

As we’ve talked about at length on the blog in the past, chronic pain and your mental health are closely connected, so it should come as no surprise that children with chronic pain who experience traumatic life events would be at risk for more severe pain symptoms. Chronic pain is not just a physical condition, and mental factors like stress or anxiety can absolutely make physical symptoms worse.

While the study only focused on children, the results should likely be applied to all populations that are dealing with a chronic pain condition. If you experience an adverse event in your life, don’t be surprised if your pain or your symptoms worsen. It’s not ideal, but it’s a direct result of this new mental stress and fatigue.

The only bright spot about this news is that it helps us understand that we need to be aware of the physical issues that may come along with a psychologically traumatic event. If we’re aware of how these events can impact our physical health, we can help patients get the care they need sooner or develop some coping skills to lessen the effects of the event. Patients should also be up front with their pain care providers about what’s going on in their life so that providers can help them appropriately manage your pain. You don’t need to go into great detail about your divorce or family loss, but let your pain care specialist know that you’re going through some stressful life events and that you’re aware stress and worsening symptoms can go hand in hand.

We want to help you find pain relief, and that involves treating the physical, mental and emotional aspects of your condition. To connect with a provider who will help treat all these aspects and more, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

Tips For Dealing With Chronic Pain Flareups

March 11, 2022 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain comes in many different forms. For some people, pain is consistent and dull, while for others it is spontaneous and severe. When pain seems to come and go in waves, this is categorized as a “flareup” or “pain flare.” These pain flares are typically associated with inflammation of a joint or muscle, and it can lead to an intense burst of pain or discomfort. In today’s blog, we share some tips for dealing with and overcoming these chronic pain flareups.

Causes And Treatments Of Pain Flares

A chronic pain flareup can develop for a variety of reasons, with some being more intense than others. For example, we’re heard of patients who have flareups after intense physical exercise, while others can be triggered by much smaller actions like sneezing. Others will notice that their chronic pain flareup is the result of mental and emotional forces, like stress and anxiety. Figuring out your pain trigger is extremely important for being able to effectively manage your pain flareups. A pain management specialist can help to determine your triggers and the underlying cause of your chronic pain condition.

As we mentioned above, treating your chronic pain flareup revolves around identifying your underlying trigger, but there are also some common treatments for flares that may help provide some pain relief. Here’s a look at some of the most common treatments for pain flares.

Low-Impact Exercise – Low-impact exercise can be great for helping to control flareups. Exercise gets your heart pumping, which sends oxygenated blood throughout your body to areas that need it most, and exercise releases endorphins in your brain, which act as natural pain relievers.

Stay Healthy – A response from your immune system can also lead to a flareup, so many people find it helpful to work to avoid sicknesses. Most people try to do this regardless of whether or not they have a chronic pain condition, but it still stands as a reminder to wash your hands regularly and to get plenty of vitamins and minerals in your diet that can help with immunity.

Find Ways To Destress – Stress can be a trigger point, and a chronic pain condition can also be stressful, so it’s easier said than done to say “find ways to destress” in the midst of a flareup. That said, dive into some deep breathing exercises, find a quiet place in your house to lay down, practice yoga or take a walk around the block. Find little ways to manage stress when it bubbles up to help control a flareup before it worsens.

Use Ice Or Heat – Cold or hot therapy can also be very helpful in working to calm inflammation, increase blood flow and reducing the severity of a flareup before it starts or after it has begun. Try a warm compress or a cold shower and figure out what works best for your body.

Talk To Your Doctor – Finally, if you’re dealing with new or chronic pain flareups, bring them to the attention of your pain specialist. It could be related to your underlying pain issue, or it could have a completely independent trigger, but you’ll never know unless you connect with a specialist and get to the bottom of your issue. Once you know what’s causing your flareups, you’ll be able to come up with an individualized treatment plan.

For more information on how you can regain control over your chronic pain condition or pain flareups, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.

Overcoming Chronic Illness And Chronic Pain

December 30, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain is never easy to overcome, and that process can become even more complicated if you’re also dealing with a chronic illness. In fact, the two conditions are often intertwined, as recent research has found that people with multimorbidity (defined as more than one chronic illness) are much more likely to experience chronic pain compared to people who don’t experience a chronic illness.

According to the recent data, for patients with two or three chronic conditions, the likelihood of dealing with chronic pain was 53.8 percent. In individuals with four or more chronic illnesses, that likelihood jumped to 75%. And while there is no specific reason as to why this link exists, medical experts have a number of theories for the connection. For starters, when a patient has multiple long-term health conditions, it can be harder for a medical team to address all issues. Medications for one condition can render other types of medications useless or dangerous, or treating one aspect of their health can cause issues for another condition.

So what is a person with chronic illness and chronic pain supposed to do? In most instances, it pays to connect with a pain management professional.

Combating Chronic Illness And Chronic Pain

If you’re dealing with chronic illness and chronic pain, all you probably want to do is curl up in bed and let the discomfort pass. The problem with that strategy is that long-term rest isn’t typically your best treatment option. Instead of rest and reduced activity, gentle exercise and increased activity are usually a better solution. Activity helps to ensure healthy fluid movement throughout your body, strengthen muscles, loosen joints and it can even change the chemical structure in your brain to drown out signals of pain and discomfort. Controlled activity truly is a wonder for patients with chronic illness and chronic pain.

So too is weight loss. Research has consistently shown that there exists a relationship between chronic illness, pain and obesity, and it doesn’t take much weight loss to see the results. One study found that if a person is 50 percent or greater over their recommended weight, losing as little as 10 percent of their body weight may be enough to see a significant decrease in pain.

It’s clear that increased activity and weight loss through diet and exercise can help mitigate symptoms of chronic illnesses and chronic pain, but those treatments aren’t just something you can easily do, especially with pain and illness complicating the equation. Again, that’s why it’s so important to partner with a pain management specialist. They’ll be able to help develop a care plan that slowly builds up your tolerance and endurance without overloading you from the start. Our goal is the help foster healthy habits, and if you don’t take time to slowly and gently increase activity and dietary changes, it’s unlikely these habits will stick on a long-term basis.

There is also the mental side of chronic illness and chronic pain that often gets overlooked. We understand how mentally draining these conditions can be and how they affect your ability to seek out the physical treatments that can provide relief. Sometimes cognitive treatments are just as important if not more important than treatments to address physical pain, and this multi-faceted treatment approach is oftentimes best overseen by a professional. You’ve got enough on your plate without trying to treat the physical, mental and emotion effects of your chronic pain and illness on your own, so let us help.

So if you are fighting pain and illness on many fronts, reach out to a professional for assistance. Slowly but surely, we’ll help find a solution and increase your quality of life. For more information or for help with your chronic issue, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.

Four Last-Minute Gifts For The Chronic Pain Warrior In Your Life

December 22, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

If you know someone with a chronic pain condition, you’re probably aware that the thing they want most for Christmas is to be free of their chronic pain condition. While you may not be able to rid them of their pain, there are a number of gifts you can give to that chronic pain warrior in your life that they’ll appreciate. In today’s blog, we share four last-minute gifts that will be great for someone in your life who is battling a chronic pain condition.

Gifts For Chronic Pain Warriors

Most of the items on this list aren’t tangible items, but for the chronic pain warrior in your life, it will be wonderful to receive any of these things this holiday season.

1. A Phone Call – Chronic pain can be extremely isolating, and sometimes that can leave a person feeling disconnected from the world around them. They may feel like their friends have forgotten about them or that they don’t care. This is obviously untrue, but you can help change this perception by calling them up on a regular basis. Call to check in and catch up once a week or a couple times a month. Reaching out is one of the best gifts you can give to someone who is feeling isolated by pain.

2. A Friend Who Listens – Sometimes, all a person wants is a shoulder to cry on or an ear to vent to. Be that person for the chronic pain warrior in your life. Do more listening than you do talking, because that can be cathartic for the person with chronic pain.

3. A (Cancellable) Date – Nobody likes to cancel plans, and that’s especially true for people who need to cancel because of their chronic pain condition. Make plans with them that can be easily adjusted in the event of a flare-up. Instead of getting tickets to play or a movie at a specific date and time, get a gift card or treat them to a night out on the town when they are up to it. Plans with a friend is a great gift idea, just try to make them flexible to account for chronic pain.

4. Books And Brainteasers – If your friend can’t be as active as they’d like because of their pain condition, challenge their mind with a new book or brainteasers like puzzles or word searches. These brain-engaging activities can also serve to draw attention away from pain, making their pain condition less noticeable.

And if your friend or family member really wants to overcome their chronic pain condition in the new year, ask if they’d consider syncing up with a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn. We’d be happy to set them up with an individualized treatment plan based on their specific needs. For more information, or for help with a pain condition, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

What To Do When Chronic Pain Becomes Too Much

December 16, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Oftentimes the message in the chronic pain community is to keep your head down, count your small wins and never let chronic pain become overwhelming. Those are great sentiments to strive for, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to persevere in the face of a chronic pain condition. Some days, you chronic pain can simply be too much. In today’s blog, we explain what to do on those days when your chronic pain condition becomes too much to handle.

When Chronic Pain Overwhelms

A chronic pain condition can easily become overwhelming, but this isn’t an indictment on how you handle pain. Nobody knows exactly what you’re going through, and combined with everything else you have going on in your life, it can be easy to become overwhelmed for a bit by your physical condition. However, it’s important that you understand how to best respond in these situations. Here’s some advice for overcoming overwhelming chronic pain.

1. Take Some “Me” Time – Don’t just continue to try to push through the pain, because that’s going to be exhausting for your physical and mental health. Instead, lay down and relax. We know even relaxing can be difficult if you have chronic pain, but it’s important to try to destress and destimulate your body. Go into your bedroom, turn off the electronics, and get some much needed rest. You’ll need it to tackle your pain condition head on in a bit.

2. Talk With Someone – Talking with someone about your feelings can go a long way in helping you find more control in the situation. Even though you may feel helpless, talking about your frustrations can be a cathartic experience, regardless of whether or not the person you are talking to is trying to find solutions to your pain. Talking with a parent, a friend or a doctor about your experience can help make it easier to overcome.

3. Exercise – We know that “exercise” oftentimes gets cast as this catch-all solution for chronic pain, but there are a number of studies that show a positive correlation between exercise and things like mood or pain perception. We know that the last thing you want to do when chronic pain feels overwhelming is to go to the gym and put in an intense workout, so find a different way to exercise and keep moving. Go for a walk, do some yoga or head to the swimming pool and swim some laps in the warm water. Movement is helpful in controlling the physical and mental expression of chronic pain.

4. Eat Healthy – You can’t control every aspect of you body, but one thing you have total control over is what you put in it. Choose healthy food options, and it can help to calm inflammation that may be triggering a flare-up. If you choose unhealthy options, inflammation could persist and you could gain weight that could further complicate a joint or muscle issue.

5. Connect With A Specialist – Finally, if your current chronic pain treatment simply isn’t working, sync up with a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn. He’ll conduct a comprehensive diagnosis, develop a variety of treatment options and he won’t stop until he finds a solution for you. You don’t have to try and overcome your pain condition alone. Let our team put our decades of experience to work for you.

For help with your chronic pain issue, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today at (952) 738-4580.