Diversification Key To Effective Chronic Pain Management

February 22, 2024 / Thomas Cohn, MD

They say that you should be wary about putting all your eggs in one basket, and oftentimes that sentiment holds true when it comes to managing chronic pain. It’s wonderful that you are taking proactive steps to fight back against chronic pain, but rarely will you find that pursuing only one treatment method is the most effective. We almost always recommend a combination of treatments to our patients because we’ve found that common treatments are oftentimes complimentary of one another. In today’s blog, we explain why treatment diversification oftentimes yields the best results.

Pursuing Multiple Chronic Pain Treatments

Working to treat your chronic pain on multiple fronts oftentimes helps you win more small battles on a regular basis. One active treatment is great, but multiple treatments can build on one another, fueling even better results.

Let’s give an example of how multiple chronic pain treatments can build on one another. We typically say that exercise or physical therapy is one of the best treatments for chronic pain. Physical activity strengthens supportive structures and reduces the overall impact of stress on your body. When your body can better handle the stress you put on it, it’s less likely to succumb to a chronic pain flare up. Exercise also has a number of related benefits for our health, like improving circulation and regulating our gut health. If you’re only going to pursue one treatment for chronic pain, usually exercise or physical therapy is the best option.

However, you can enhance the benefits of your exercise program by pursuing some complementary treatment techniques. Here’s a look at some additional techniques and how they can make exercise more effective.

Sleep – Improving your sleep quality can help your muscles recover from the physical stress of the day and ensure your body can effectively remove waste products that are produced as a byproduct of exercise.

Diet – A healthy diet can give your body the nutrients it needs to fuel exercise and bodily functions like bone production or cell replication. Exercise can improve your circulation, and improved circulation makes it easier for your blood to deliver the nutrients from your diet to the areas that need it most.

Ice/Heat – The use of ice packs or heating pads can help to regulate the movement of fluid in your body as they have a physical impact on the size of your blood vessels. Effective icing or heating can help you manage inflammation that can occur as a result of physical activity, helping you recover faster so that you can pursue physical activity again in the neat future.

Anti-Inflammatory Medications – Similarly, anti-inflammatory medications and pain relievers can help quell discomfort that may be preventing you from exercising or prolonging your recovery period after exercise.

Hydration – Staying hydrated makes it easier for your muscles to work properly during exercise. Dehydrated muscles are more likely to cramp or spasm, so staying hydrated can help to prevent some potential physical issues during exercise.

As you can see, a number of additional chronic pain treatments can serve to make other treatments more effective, so don’t pigeonhole yourself when it comes to chronic pain management. If you want help developing the right complementary treatment plan for your needs, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

1 in 4 Chronic Pain Patients Treating Their Condition With Medications Only

November 22, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

New data from the National Institutes of Health found that more than 1 in 4 patients with a chronic pain condition were pursuing pharmacologic treatments as their only form of care. As we’ve said on this blog time and time again, chronic pain is a complex issue that needs to be treated with a combination of active and passive treatments.

Pharmacologic treatments are considered a passive treatment and involve things like over-the-counter medications, prescription nonopioids and opioids. Non-pharmacologic treatments tend to be more active in nature, like exercise, physical therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Dr. Cohn and his team follow the current recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which suggest that chronic pain treatment oftentimes works best with a mix of nonpharacologic and pharmacologic therapies.

However, a recent NIH survey found that a fair amount of chronic pain patients are pursuing passive care as their only treatment option for their chronic pain condition. A survey of 7,422 patients with chronic pain uncovered that 26.6 percent of adults said pharmacologic therapy was their only form of chronic pain treatment.

Chronic Pain Treatment Findings

Additional findings from the survey include:

60.2 percent of adults were pursuing both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies for their pain condition.

The most common pharmacologic treatments used were over-the-counter pain relievers (75.5%), prescription nonopioids (31.1%) and prescription opioids (13.5%).

The most common nonpharmacologic therapies used were exercise (55%), complementary therapies (36.7%), physical or occupation therapy (17.2%) and cognitive behavioral therapy (2.2%).

Older adults with more severe pain and those on public insurance were more likely to treat their pain with prescription opioids

The most concerning finding from the survey was that more than 1 in 4 patients are taking medications as their only form of chronic pain management. These medications treat the symptoms, and while they can calm inflammation or make movement more comfortable, they won’t serve to address the underlying issue that is causing inflammation or similar joint issues. You absolutely need to pair passive techniques like rest and medications with active techniques like exercise and physical therapy. These active treatments help you become stronger so that you can better handle stress, and they also work to stabilize structures that could be suffering from instability or mobility issues. Medications won’t solve your root problem, and while they can be a great compliment to a comprehensive treatment program, they are never a good stand alone option!

To connect with a provider who can develop a treatment plan suited to your specific needs, or to help create a treatment plan that incorporates the right balance of active and passive treatments, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

When You Don’t Have Time For Chronic Pain

July 14, 2022 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Nobody has time for a chronic pain condition, but for busy individuals who try to push through the pain to get on with their day, taking the time to appropriately treat their condition may be the first item that they skip when they are trying to plan their hectic schedule.

You may even convince yourself that you don’t have time to receive treatment for your chronic pain because between getting the kids to school, working, planning dinner and doing chores around the house, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.

If this sounds like your life, this blog is for you. Below, we explain how you can work to improve your chronic pain condition when you’re struggling to find the time to treat it.

Treating Chronic Pain On A Bust Schedule

Here are some tips for how you can work towards a healthier version of yourself and treat your chronic pain condition when you don’t have a lot of extra time to spare.

1. Incorporate More Movement In Your Life – Movement is wonderful for your body and your chronic pain condition. Activity helps to strengthen muscles, boost your circulation and avoid weight gain that can further stress your body. Find little ways to become more active throughout the day if you find it hard to get to the gym for a full workout. Take the stairs over the elevator, park further away from the entrance to work or the grocery store, or walk around while you’re on a phone call or waiting for your kids to finish soccer practice. Strive to take more steps every day.

2. Make The Time – This is obviously easier said than done, because you can’t physically create more hours in the day, so any time you carve out for physical therapy or exercise will come by sacrificing something else. Our best advice here is to make 15-20 minutes each day where you turn off all the distractions and focus on yourself and your health. That may mean waking up 15 minutes earlier, staying up a little later, or simply having a conversation with your family about how you need a few quiet minutes after dinner to focus on yourself and your health. Finding just a few minutes each day where it’s only about you will do wonders for your physical and mental health.

3. Improve Your Diet – Your diet can help or hurt your chronic pain treatment, so make some simple adjustments to ensure it’s working to solve your chronic pain. Busy people can sometimes over-rely on unhealthy options like fast food or flash frozen options. Meal plan for the week or take a few minutes each night to prep your meals for tomorrow so that you know where your meals are coming from and you can make healthier choices. Also, consider investing in a water bottle so that you can always stay hydrated when you’re on the go, as dehydration can lead to blood pressure issues and muscle pain.

4. Reevaluate Your Priorities – We understand that exercise and physical therapy may not be the most fun thing in the world, but few things are more important than your health, so you’ll want to keep that in mind when you’re planning your day. Really start to get in the habit of making time each day for your health, and soon it will become easier to follow through with your exercises as you develop a routine. Make sure your priorities are in the right order.

5. Connect With A Professional – Finally, if you’re too busy to fight your chronic pain condition on your own, enlist a professional. A pain specialist can figure out what’s going on, develop an individualized care routine and may even be able to see you through a virtual visit so that you don’t have to take time driving to and from the clinic. Let a professional make sure that you get the most out of the limited time you have to commit to a pain management program. In the greater Twin Cities area, connect with Dr. Thomas Cohn for help with your chronic pain problem. Give his clinic a call today at (952) 738-4580.

More Americans Are In Pain Than Ever Before

May 12, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

New research published in the journal Demography found that more Americans are dealing with chronic pain on a regular basis than ever before, suggesting that not enough is being done to treat individuals with underlying pain conditions.

According to the new data, there have been blanket increases across multiple pain reporting measures, with pain rising in every adult group, every demographic group and at every site of pain for which data exists.

“We looked at the data from every available perspective including age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, and income, but the results were always the same: There was an increase in pain no matter how we classified the population,” said Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, associate professor of sociology in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, and co-author of the paper. “You might think that with medical advances we’d be getting healthier and experiencing less pain, but the data strongly suggest the exact opposite.”

An Increase In Chronic Pain

For the study, researchers took a closer look at how chronic pain is affecting a large group of individuals. Most studies only focus on how chronic pain affects people over the age of 50, but this study looked at people between the ages of 25-84. They drew their data from responses to the National Health Interview Study, which involved more than 440,000 participants from 2002-2018.

Here’s a look at some of their findings:

In the US, chronic pain affects more people and has a greater economic cost than heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined.
In older adults, body mass index, hypertension diabetes and kidney conditions are associated conditions that correlate most with increases in chronic pain.
In younger adults, BMI, stress and alcohol use have strong associations with chronic pain trends.

“What we’re seeing in the younger age groups demonstrates how pain in some ways functions as much as a mental health problem as it does a physical health problem,” says Grol-Prokopczyk. “Pain can be exacerbated by stress, and stress can bring about alcohol use.”

The idea that chronic pain isn’t just a physical issue is something we’ve been preaching for a while now, so we’re happy that psychological factors are starting to get more attention as an underlying issue associated with chronic pain development. However, it’s clear that still not enough is being done about treating chronic pain conditions, and we fear that the pandemic has only worsened chronic pain conditions for many individuals around the globe. Hopefully policymakers take note and commit more funding to helping find solutions for individuals with chronic pain.

So while chronic pain may leave you feeling isolated, based on this data, it’s clear you’re not alone when it comes to pain conditions. If you want to take tangible steps towards getting your condition under control, reach out to a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn who will take the time to conduct an accurate diagnosis and develop a solution that suits your needs. For more information, contact his office today.

Managing Chronic Pain During These Challenging Times

March 18, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Needless to say, we’re in unprecedented times in America and across the globe in terms of how we’re reacting to the COVID-19 outbreak. COVID-19, also termed the coronavirus, is a virus that spreading like wildfire and can have significant health impacts on anyone who comes down the the virus.

Specifically, older individuals and those with immunodeficiency disorders are at the highest risk of severe complications from the virus, and in our experience, individuals with chronic pain tend to be more likely to have an immunodeficiency disorder than the general population.

Now more than ever, we need to be diligent in how we manage our chronic pain. Even if you don’t have an immunodeficiency disorder and consider yourself young and healthy outside of your chronic pain, you need to make some conscious changes to how you manage your chronic pain in the coming days and weeks. We share some tips and situation updates below.

Managing Chronic Pain During The Coronavirus Outbreak

As we’ve stated on the blog in the past, exercise is one of the best things you can do to help manage your chronic pain condition. Exercise helps to strengthen key muscle groups and releases endorphins that can help mask some pain signals. However, gyms are closing because of the virus, so you may need to find a new way to work out. Going for a walk or a run is still fine so long as you avoid group running, and we encourage chronic pain patients to look for ways to stay active inside their home. Dust off that old exercise equipment, or do some home-based exercise routines like yoga or balance board training. Find ways to stay active without going to the gym.

If you need to have a consultation with a physician, whether it’s for a new sickness or because of your current chronic pain situation, you can take solace in knowing that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is making it easier for physicians to connect with patients through telemedicine. As long as the provider is acting in good faith, they can consult with patients over electronic means like Skype, Google Hangout and Facetime. Doctors can even do this across state borders, an action that was announced during a White House press briefing this morning. We’re still sifting through all these changes, but know that we’re working as diligently as we can to make it easier for patients to connect with physicians while still following smart social distancing guidelines.

Lastly, remember to take some time to focus on your mental health during these trying times. Your mental health plays a significant role in how your physical condition responds to treatment, so you need to take care of your physical and mental health. This may be easier said than done, but find ways to give yourself a mental break and to safely alleviate stress. Call friends and family members, organize a game night with your family, or dive into a book series you’ve been meaning to read. Taking your mind off other stressors can help with your physical condition, so keep that in mind over the next few weeks.

We’ll get through this together. If you need anything during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office for answers or information.