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.

3 Things You Should Do Every Day If You Have Chronic Pain

May 14, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Navigating your daily life can be difficult if you’re stuck dealing with a chronic pain condition. Between the good days and the rough days, it’s hard to know what each morning is going to bring. However, no matter how hard each day is, it’s imperative that you do a couple of things each day to keep your body and mind moving in the right direction. In today’s blog, we share three things you should do every day if you’re stuck in a constant battle with chronic pain.

Do These Three Things Each Day If You Have Chronic Pain

Now, there’s no perfect recipe for treating chronic pain because it is so unique to the individual, but we’ve found that patients who strive to do these three things every day tend to have more good days than bad when it comes to managing their chronic pain condition.

Each day you should so something for your:

Body – In order to help get your pain under control, you need to take care of your body. Every day you should strive to do something that helps your physical health. Go for a run, or if that’s too difficult, go for a walk around the block. Try to get your blood pumping and strengthen some key muscle groups. A lot of chronic pain conditions respond well to weight loss and stress reduction from muscle improvement, both of which can occur by challenging your body on a physical basis. Make it a point to do something physical outside of your normal daily routine each and every day.

Mind – Chronic pain conditions are not just a physical manifestation. Many pain conditions also have psychological effects as well, and failing to care for your mind can inhibit you ability to achieve physical health improvement. Every day you should do something that challenges your mind and boosts your mental health. Do a crossword puzzle, relax with some meditation or just dive into a book. These activities will take your mind off your physical pain, but it can also help treat physical conditions because of how intertwined your mental and physical health can be. Do something recreational that truly engages your mind each day.

Soul – Finally, do something each day that is unequivocally, 100 percent and totally for you. Do an activity that you are passionate about each day. Take up a woodworking project, play hide and seek with your kids or just do something that makes you happy to be alive. Find what drives you and engage in your passions, and you’ll be amazed what this can do for decreasing and managing your chronic pain condition.

If you do these three things each day while also following your doctor’s recommendations, we’re confident you’ll find yourself in more control of your chronic pain condition. And if you have questions or want help with your personal pain problem, please reach out to Dr. Cohn and his experienced medical staff today.

Could This Experimental Treatment Help Cure Chronic Pain?

May 5, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

University of Copenhagen

New research out of Denmark is showing promise for treating neuropathic pain. According to the team of researchers, they have been focusing on targeting hyper-sensitive nerves that contribute to chronic pain onset. They’ve done this by developing an experimental compound – a peptide called Tat-P4-(C5)2 – that has proved effective in treating similar pain in mice.

“We have developed a new way to treat chronic pain. It is a targeted treatment. That is, it does not affect the general neuronal signaling, but only affects the nerve changes that are caused by the disease,” says Kenneth Lindegaard Madsen, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen.

“We have been working on this for more than ten years. We have taken the process all the way from understanding the biology, inventing and designing the compound to describing how it works in animals, affects their behavior and removes the pain,” said Madsen.

How The Peptide Works

The image on this blog shows the Tat-P4-(C5)2 compound after it is injected into the spinal cord. The compound (purple) begins by penetrating the nerve cells of the spinal cord (yellow), but not the surrounding cells (cell nuclei can be seen in blue). The compound works by blocking neuropathic pain signals like the kind that are seen in patients dealing with diabetic neuropathy, CRPS or phantom limb pain. The team has been pleased with how successful the treatment has been in mice.

“The compound works very efficiently, and we do not see any side effects. We can administer this peptide and obtain complete pain relief in the mouse model we have used, without the lethargic effect that characterizes existing pain-relieving drugs,” said Madsen. “Now, our next step is to work towards testing the treatment on people. The goal, for us, is to develop a drug, therefore the plan is to establish a biotech company as soon as possible so we can focus on this.”

Aside from simply working to block pain signals from being interpreted by the brain, researchers believe a peptide-focused treatment may become the norm for a variety of pain conditions in the future because it can perform the same task as painkillers without the risk of addiction or dependence. Our bodies naturally build up a tolerance to traditional painkillers, and as dosage increases so too does the risk of dependence and overdose. But with peptide intervention, we can block pain signals without the need for potentially dangerous painkillers.

It’s far from a miracle cure, and even if it’s proven successful in a human trial it should be paired with other healthy habits like regular exercise and dietary improvements, but it certainly gives us hope for the future of pain care. We’ll keep our eyes on this research as it moves to the next stage of trial. In the meantime, if you need help with a chronic pain issue, let us help you. Contact Dr. Cohn’s office today for more information.

Five Non-Opioid Options For Chronic Pain Relief

September 19, 2019 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain is one of the most complex health conditions to treat because it is so unique to the individual. What works for one person isn’t guaranteed to work for another, and sometimes many different treatment options are required in combination with one another in order to provide relief.

In our experience, painkillers and opioids can be effective for the right patient when used in combination with other treatment options, but they aren’t a good primary source of treatment. What we mean by that is we’ve never seen a patient get better solely by taking an opioid. They may be helpful in conjunction with dietary changes and other interventions, but they aren’t a great stand-alone option because they don’t address the root problem. Because of this, we want to share five chronic pain treatment options that can treat the root cause of pain and help you find relief. Below, we share five non-opioid treatment options that may be effective for your chronic pain condition.

Treating Chronic Pain Without Meds

This is a general guide of some treatment options we’ve found effective for some common types of chronic pain. For individualized care and a treatment plan tailored to your specific condition, please reach out to our office.

1. Exercise – Exercise is one of the most basic treatment options for some types of chronic pain. Exercise pushes healthy blood through your body, which can help structures function properly, and it works to strengthen supportive muscle groups. If back pain is causing discomfort, some low-stress exercises like swimming, walking or yoga may be just what you need to calm spinal nerve compression or strengthen key muscle groups that can contribute to pain.

2. Physical Therapy – A close cousin of exercise is physical therapy. PT is great for a number of different patients, but it’s especially helpful for those chronic pain patients who are battling arthritis or joint issues. Physical therapy helps you reestablish mobility and range of motion in the joint, and it can help prevent the further progression of arthritis, keeping you more mobile. Physical therapy works by targeting specific areas with certain exercises, stretches and movements.

3. Tens Unit – We’ve talked about TENS units on the blog in the past, but they can be just what the doctor ordered for the right patient. TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and it is a small device that transmits electrical signals to drown out pain signals. Many of them are widely used among patients who suffer chronic headaches or migraines. You can learn more about different units and their uses in the above link.

4. Spinal Cord Stimulation – Spinal cord stimulation is another topic we’ve talked about in the past. They work similar to a TENS unit in that they provide electrical stimulation to drown out painful nerve signals, but these can be implanted inside the patient and controlled by a device to provide different types of stimulation as pain develops. New technology means these devices can even be recharged while still in the body. Again, you can learn more about this option in our expanded post in the above link.

5. Nerve Blocks – Finally, Dr. Cohn’s offers nerve blocks and corticosteroid injections for patients who are dealing with certain chronic pain conditions. For chronic muscles spasms or irritated spinal nerves, a calming injection can provide relief and allow patients the ability to pursue other active treatments, like PT or exercise. They aren’t always a very good stand-alone long-term solution, but they can be paired with other techniques to provide symptom relief.

Psychological Interventions Could Help Chronic Pain Patients

May 22, 2018 / Thomas Cohn, MD

New research published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that patients with noncancer chronic pain can benefit from psychological interventions, which can help to reduce perceived pain levels.

Dr. Bahar Niknejad and colleagues at the Department of Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of psychological therapies for noncancerous chronic pain. The main factor they wanted to analyze was psychological therapy’s role in managing pain intensity, but they also examined how it influenced pain interference, depressive symptoms, anxiety, negative thoughts, self-efficacy for pain management, physical function and overall health.

The meta-analysis looked at 22 studies involving more than 2,600 individuals, and after looking at the data, researchers concluded that psychological therapies were associated with small decreases in pain intensity, pain interference, depressive symptoms, anxiety and negative thoughts, while there were small increases for self-efficacy, physical function and overall health.

“Psychological interventions for the treatment of chronic pain in older adults have small benefits, including reducing pain and catastrophizing beliefs and improving pain self-efficacy for managing pain,” the authors reported. “These results were strongest when delivered using group-based approaches. Research is needed to develop and test strategies that enhance the efficacy of psychological approaches and sustainability of treatment effects among older adults with chronic pain.”

Types of Psychological Treatments To Chronic Pain

Psychological treatments of chronic pain center around the idea that if we understand our pain and why it’s happening, then we can learn to control or better cope with flare ups. Knowing this, here’s a look at some of the more popular psychological treatments for chronic pain:

Patient education about the condition.
Biofeedback (A technique where patients learn to interpret feedback regarding certain physiological functions).
Relaxation Training.
Operant Conditioning.
Cognitive-Based Approaches.
Acceptance-Based Approaches.
Expectation Management.
Emotional Stress Management.

By helping the patient find new psychological strategies to control or better cope with their pain, people often feel more in control of their symptoms, which in turn can decrease the perception of pain. If you are suffering from chronic pain, talk to your doctor about psychological approaches to best manage your condition. Reach out to Dr. Cohn for more information.