If You Have Chronic Pain, Don’t Wait In Silence

July 16, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

A recent study commissioned by one of the nation’s largest providers of physical therapy services found that roughly one in four people with a chronic pain condition aren’t seeking professional assistance to treat their pain. Whether they are doing this because they hope the pain will go away on its own or they don’t want to go through the hassle of seeing a physician, this can be problematic for a number of reasons. Below, we explain why you shouldn’t put off a visit with a doctor if you have a chronic pain condition.

Why You Need Professional Help For Chronic Pain

Unlike acute pain, which occurs after a moment of injury, chronic pain isn’t likely to go away on its own. A stubbed toe is an example of acute pain that often resolves after a few hours or days without intervention, but chronic conditions like bulging disc pain, fibromyalgia-related pain or osteoarthritis issues aren’t likely to get miraculously better on their own. That’s why you need to see a specialist, but the data shows that chronic pain sufferers aren’t flocking to physicians in droves.

Some of the data from the recent study found that:

Only 76 percent of chronic pain sufferers have sought professional help for chronic pain.
Roughly 60 percent of patients seek profressional help if they’ve been dealing with chronic pain for at least a week or longer.
51 percent of Americans say pain needs to reach a “7” on a scale of 1-10 before their seek help for chronic back, neck or knee pain.

So while it’s clear that a number of chronic pain patients aren’t getting the professional help they need to manage their pain, the biggest point we want to convey in this blog is why this is so problematic. Delaying treatment and suffering in silence with a chronic pain problem is an issue because:

It’ll Get Worse – As we mentioned above, it’s rare for a chronic pain condition to resolve on its own. In fact, far more often the condition ends up getting worse without intervention, leading to increased pain and discomfort.

Treatment Success Likelihood – While it may not be as severe as a condition like cancer, chronic pain is a lot like the cancer in that the sooner treatment begins, the higher the likelihood it will prove successful. Putting off professional intervention will only reduce your long-term treatment success.

Opioid Reliance – When people are reluctant to head to a doctor for active treatment options, they may fall back on passive short-term fixes, like painkillers. They may provide some short-term relief, but research has shown that along with potential problems like dependence and overdose, over-reliance on pain medications can reduce your body’s ability to manage pain on its own and it can increase a person’s sensitivity to pain.

Solutions Are Closer Than You Think – The final reason and the reason that breaks our heart the most is that many people don’t head to a professional because they think pain is just something that they’ll have to live with for the rest of their life. Even if we can’t cure your pain, we’ll do everything in our power to help reduce your pain and get you to a point where you’re having more good days than bad. Oftentimes treatment is simpler than you may imagine, so don’t cheat yourself out of an improved quality of life because you mistakenly believe your pain not treatable.

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

How To Parent A Child With Chronic Pain

July 7, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

As a parent, you want to shield your child from pain, which is why watching them deal with a chronic health condition can be so difficult to stomach. You want to remove their pain and the burden it is placing on them, and there are some steps you can take to help increase your likelihood of successfully treating their condition. Below, we share some tips for parents who want to help their child overcome a chronic pain condition.

Parenting A Child In Chronic Pain

There is no perfect playbook for parenting a child with a chronic pain condition, but there are some ways to help improve your child’s odds of overcoming their condition or helping reduce their symptoms. Those steps include:

Professional Help – Finding a professional who is willing to work hard to uncover the true source of pain is a must for any parent of a child with a chronic pain condition. If the doctor is treating the symptoms or the wrong underlying issue, your child will not find relief. Find a doctor who is invested in your child’s health. It may take a few visits to different clinics (or just one call to Dr. Cohn’s office), but don’t stop until you find someone who is willing to go the extra mile for you and your child.

Focus On The Positives – It can be easier for both parent and child to focus their attention on the negatives of a health condition. They may dwell on the fact that pain forced them to miss school, or that playing sports is too uncomfortable. Instead of focusing on what pain may be taking away from you, try to focus on the positives as it pertains to treatment. Focus on all the things you’ll be able to do again if you work hard to get control over your condition. Think about what they have to gain from treatments like physical therapy or exercise, and really try to motivate your child to follow through on their daily treatment regimen.

Give Them Independence – A chronic pain condition can rob a person of some of their independence, and this can be especially hard for kids and teens who are growing into their own person. We know that you want to help them when things get tough, but it’s imperative that you let them do things on their own, even if it’s harder for them. They’ll be better off trying and failing and learning to succeed on their own than having you do things for them because of their pain condition. Obviously there are times when assistance is needed, but you’ll both be better off if you keep their independence in mind.

Not Just A Physical Problem – Whether you’re young or old, you need to realize that a chronic pain condition may be causing physical symptoms, but it’s not just a physical issue. A chronic pain condition can have serious implications for your mental health, and these issues can be amplified in young and impressionable minds. Don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about mental health resources or if talking to a therapist could be beneficial. Make sure you monitor your child’s mental health just as much as you monitor their physical health.

Listen – Finally, make sure that you do just as much listening as you do talking when it comes to helping your child with their pain condition. Sometimes all they need is a person to vent to, or maybe they want to open about about what’s bothering them. Instead of trying to jump in and provide solutions, just listen. You’ll be amazed at how helpful you can be when you don’t say anything.

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

Self Management Tips For Chronic Back Pain

July 1, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic back pain is one of the most common conditions that affects Americans over the age of 40. Because it is so common, many people often try to push through the pain and keep on living their daily life. While this is admirable, it may not be your best move, and it can actually lead to worse pain. However, if you are proactive and deliberate in how you care for your spine, you can help treat these types of pain and get back to a pain-free way of living. We share those tips in today’s blog.

Managing Back Pain On Your Own

There’s no perfect playbook for managing chronic back pain on your own, but here are some helpful tips to start you off on the right foot.

Get A Diagnosis – Now, this may go against your idea of managing your back pain “on your own,” but getting a diagnosis can play a key role in helping you self-manage your pain. If you don’t know what you’re dealing with, it can be hard to follow the right self-care management techniques. The vast majority of spine specialists will recommend conservative care before moving towards surgical intervention, so one appointment can lead to a comprehensive conservative care plan. Knowing what you’re dealing with and how to best treat your pain leads to higher treatment success rates.

Exercise – This may seem like it goes against conventional wisdom, but exercise or physical therapy can help strengthen weakened spinal areas and resolve inflammation that could be leading to pain. Your first instinct may be to rest, but after 24-48 hours, controlled activity often proves more helpful than extended rest. Again, this depends on your root cause of pain, which speaks to the importance of getting a clear diagnosis.

Don’t Over Rely On Painkillers – Painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications can help manage pain, but they don’t always target the underlying cause of discomfort. Simply relying on rest and painkillers to fix the issue will often leave you unsatisfied and still in pain. Use these medications to pursue more active treatments if pain is making things like therapy or exercise unbearable.

Don’t Overdo It – Your spine is with you for the long haul, so be sure to prioritize your long term health over your short term physical desires. Athletes, for example, are notorious for trying to rush back from injury before they are truly ready. The same can be said for many older adults who work manual labor. Listen to your body and realize that missing a game or a couple days of work is worth it to help it heal instead of overstressing it while it’s injured. Manage these issues before they snowball because you tried to power through them.

Food And Water – A healthy diet can also go a long way in helping provide back pain relief. A diet rich in key vitamins and nutrients can help strengthen your spine, and staying hydrated will ensure healthy blood flow to key spine structures. A good diet can also help you maintain a healthy weight, which will limit excess stress and strain on your spine.

Mind Your Mental Health – Finally chronic pain back can be just as much of a mental battle as it is physical, so don’t ignore your mental health. Make sure you are doing things that benefit your mental health, like exercising, reading, socializing and getting a good night’s sleep!

For help managing your chronic spine pain, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today!

Where To Turn For Support If You Have Chronic Pain

June 17, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

A chronic pain condition can leave you feeling isolated from the rest of the world. Not only is pain incredibly specific to the individual, but it can be hard for others to truly understand what you’re going through, and that can lead to feelings of loneliness. Being isolated can also negatively impact your mental health, which can leave you feeling both mentally and physically exhausted from your illness. This makes the totality of your pain condition harder to treat.

That’s why it is so important to have a support system that you can lean on as you’re treating your chronic pain condition. They can provide an outlet for stress, they can listen to your issues or they can just help take your mind off your pain, all of which can help in the grand scheme of chronic condition treatment. But where should you turn for support? We talk about some support systems for chronic pain patients in today’s blog.

Chronic Pain Support Systems

Here’s a look at some places you can lean on for support if you’re dealing with a debilitating pain condition.

1. Friends and Family – The first place many people turn to for support is friends and family, and rightfully so. These groups tend to have your back no matter what, so this is a great place to turn to for support. However, not everyone is close to their family, and as we said above, it’s not always easy for others to empathize with your pain, so your friends might not “get it” so to speak. When that happens, you’ll have to look for other areas of support.

2. Your Medical Care Team – One group of individuals who will always have your back is your medical team. You can always lean on us if you have questions or concerns about your condition, and we’re an expert source of trustworthy information. We may not know exactly what you’re going through, but odds are we’ve helped patients who are dealing with the same condition in the past, so we have expert insight into the best things you can do for your health. Between your doctor, their staff and your physical therapy team, you have plenty of medical team members you can reach out to for help.

3. Online Support Groups – If you’re dealing with a highly unique condition, you may not know anyone in your area that is dealing with the same condition, and that can leave you feeling alone and misunderstood. However, odds are you’re not the only one in the word who is battling CRPS or Raynaud’s Disease. If you do a simple google search, you can find online communities or Facebook groups of people who are battling the same chronic condition. This can allow you to connect with others who are dealing with some of the same things you go through on a daily basis. Online support groups can do wonders for you mental health by showing you that you aren’t alone.

If you keep these three groups in mind, we’re confident that you’ll find a healthy support system to help you combat your chronic condition. And if you’re looking for a medical team to be part of your support system, look no further than Dr. Cohn and his experienced team. Reach out to them today.

New Study Shines Light On Vagus Nerve Stimulation – This Time For Chronic Pain Care

June 10, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

ear icon on light background

If you’ve been following this blog for a while now, you know that we’re very interested in how vagus nerve stimulation can be used to help treat certain health conditions. Our focus has mainly been on how vagus nerve stimulation can help with migraine headaches, and we’ve always paid attention to see what new studies are saying about the potential treatment. A new study suggests vagus nerve stimulation may be helpful in treating some forms of chronic pain.

For the study, researchers at the Medical University of Veinna, the Vienna University of Technology and other institutions used what’s known as high-resolution episcopic imaging (HREM) to generate histologic volume data from donated homan cadaver ears. They then used the data to reconstruct anatomical vascular and nerve structures, and a 3D model was used to calculate an optimal stimulation pattern of the vagal nerve branches.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation

It’s a little complicated, but essentially, researchers were able to find three points along the nerve that were within a close radial distance to a good portion of other nerves and vessels. By delivering a series of oscillating electrical pulses to these three areas, researchers believed they could help drown out pain signals.

“The blood vessels can be made clearly visible in patients by shining light through the ear. The nerves, however, cannot be seen,” said study co-author Professor Wolfgang Weninger, MD, of the MedUni Vienna division of anatomy. “Our microanatomical measurements on donated human bodies now tell us exactly where the nerves run in relation to blood vessels, as well as the average distance between blood vessels and nerves at certain important positions of the ear. This helps us to find the correct spot for placing the stimulation electrodes.”

Researchers then took the next step and tested their hypothesis on volunteers with chronic pain. The team said their understanding of pain was proven correct when the triphasic stimulation pattern was tested on real patients.

“In our computer simulation, it was shown for the first time that from a biophysical point of view, a triphasic signal pattern should be helpful, similar to what is known from power engineering, only with much lower magnitude,” said senior author Professor Eugenijus Kaniusas, PhD, of the Institute of Electrodynamics. “Vagus nerve stimulation is often a lifesaving option, especially for people with chronic pain who have already been treated with other methods and do not respond to medication anymore.”

Hopefully we can build on this understanding and really hammer out which types of chronic pain conditions could benefit from this triphasic stimulation of the vagus nerve. It certainly won’t be easy, especially considering that pain is unique to the individual, but it’s another step in the right direction for providing chronic pain patients with the right treatment options.