Looking On The Bright Side Of Chronic Pain

August 22, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain can be a burden, and while we would never wish it on anybody, we always want to look for a silver lining in life. We’re hesitant to say that there are benefits associated with having a chronic pain condition, but we do think that going through a chronic pain battle gives you a unique outlook and life experience. In today’s blog, we want to look at the bright side of chronic pain.

The Silver Lining Of Life With Chronic Pain

Chronic pain has molded you into the person you are, and that can have an upside! Here’s a look at the bright side of life with chronic pain.

1. You Are Stronger Because Of It – It takes an incredibly strong person to get out of bed and face their chronic pain condition every day. You may not feel stronger because of your chronic pain condition, but trust us when we say that you are strong and resilient. You don’t need to be strong every single moment of every day, because chronic pain is incredibly draining, but in those moments where you force yourself to exercise, to complete your physical therapy routine or to simply eat a healthy meal, you are showing your strength in the face of chronic pain.

2. You Have Empathy – Nobody knows exactly what you are going through, but having chronic pain gives you a unique perspective when it comes to relating to the personal problems of others. Empathy is a trait that many people with chronic pain want others to have with them, so they are often great at giving that empathy to others. You know how to support others even when you don’t know exactly what they are dealing with.

3. You’re More Patient – Chronic pain is rarely overcome with one visit to the doctor or one trip to the physical therapist. Effective treatment takes time, and you need to have patience. Many chronic pain suffers come to the realization that this is going to take time to treat, and they become more patient as a result, and this patience spills over into other aspects of their life.

4. You’re Creative – Living with chronic pain forces you to adapt to flare ups at a moment’s notice. You end up finding creative ways to handle your condition and keep it from disrupting your life. There’s nothing like an unexpected challenge to bring out your creative side.

5. You’re More Perceptive – Finally, we find that chronic pain patients tend to be more perceptive not only to their own health but to the world around them. You begin to sense when a flare up may be coming and take steps to keep it from ruining your day, and you may be more perceptive when others just don’t seem like themselves. Many patients with chronic pain feel like they put on a mask in order to hide their chronic pain condition from the world, and this makes you more perceptive to when other people are putting their walls up.

Dealing with a chronic pain condition is no fun, but we urge you to look at the bright side and see what positive changes your condition has brought out in you. And for help managing a chronic pain issue, we hope you’ll reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team at (952) 738-4580.

Why Exercise Is So Helpful In The Fight Against Chronic Pain

August 16, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Exercise is beneficial for your whole body, but it can also be extremely helpful if you are working to overcome a chronic pain condition. That’s not to say that you’ll be able to cure your chronic pain condition simply by going for a run, but exercise offers a number of specific benefits that can help you manage your pain issue and gain more control over symptoms.

In today’s blog, we explain why you should consider exercising more if you are trying to overcome a chronic pain condition.

Exercise Benefits For Chronic Pain

As we say on the blog all the time, chronic pain is highly unique to the individual, so you may not experience all of the benefits of exercise as significantly as others. That said, exercise is almost always recommended as part of a comprehensive treatment plan because of all the ways it can work to control your chronic pain issue. Here’s how exercise can help.

Muscle Conditioning – Sometimes our chronic pain issue is caused by muscle weakness, especially if muscles can no longer adequately support certain areas that are under stress. For example, a weak core can contribute to inflammation in the spine, leading to irregular or chronic back discomfort. Exercise helps to strengthen muscles so that they can handle the stress you throw at them and continue to provide the necessary support to nearby structures.

Pain Sensitivity Reduction – Studies have found that exercise can alter how the brain responds to pain by promoting the release of analgesics, which are natural painkillers made by the body. This naturally helps to reduce our sensitivity to pain.

Sleep Improvements – When you are active and burning energy during the day, it’s easier to fall asleep and stay asleep at night. Getting quality sleep can aid in pain sensitivity and ensure that we wake up ready to attack the day with more exercise and activity.

Inflammation Reduction – The stress of activity can lead to short-term inflammation as your body handles the physical stress of exercise, but exercise can also lead to an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines produced by your immune system that calm inflammation and promote tissue repair. This helps to reduce inflammation in the long-term.

Mood/Anxiety/Depression Improvements – Exercise can trigger the release of feel good hormones in your brain called endorphins, which can improve your mood and decrease your risk of mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Since chronic pain treatment involves more than just treating physical pain, it’s important that we understand how exercise can help to alleviate chronic pain by improving our mental and emotional well-being.

Weight Management – Finally, regular exercise also make it easier for a person to maintain or work towards an ideal weight. When you’re heavier, your body has to handle more stress with each step you take, and that added pressure can lead to joint deterioration or increased inflammation, both of which can exacerbate a chronic pain condition. Managing your weight can certainly have a positive effect on your chronic pain treatment, and exercise can be the catalyst for that weight loss.

For more information on how exercise can help you overcome a chronic pain condition, or to talk to a specialist about setting up an exercise routine that works for you, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Empathy Can Help Reduce Chronic Pain Sensations

July 20, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

empathy We always recommend that you surround yourself with a support system that is empathetic to your chronic pain condition, but new research shows that empathy can actually help to decrease pain sensations.

According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that patients exposed to empathetic remarks from a physician experienced decreased levels of pain compared to a control group when exposed to the same stimuli.

For the study, researchers used a functional MRI to scan the brains of 20 patients living with chronic pain. During the scans, patients were exposed to stimuli on their legs that ranged from painless to moderately painful, and patients recorded their perceived pain intensity using a standard pain scale. 10 of the patients were subjected to the painful stimuli while alone, while the other 10 were exposed to the stimuli while in the presence of a physician. Of the 10 that were exposed while with a physician, half of those patients had spoke to the physician before the evaluation, while the other five had not had any prior interaction with the physician in the room.

Empathy And Chronic Pain Intensity

After looking at the responses, researchers found some interesting data points. According to the study:

Patients who were alone during the testing reported greater pain sensations than those who were in the presence of a physician.

Patients who had already spoken with the physician in the room felt that the physician was empathetic and understood their pain, and physicians were better able to estimate the pain their patients experienced.

During the functional MRI, researchers noted that there was greater activity in certain areas of the brain that react to pain in the patients who had previous spoken to a physician. They believe this brain activity shows the real-world impact of having an empathetic doctor in your corner when dealing with chronic pain.

While there will certainly be more studies on how empathy and other traits can impact the chronic pain experience, this study highlights how chronic pain can be harder to overcome if you believe you are battling the issue by yourself. Chronic pain is certainly an individualized and oftentimes isolating experience, but you need to surround yourself with friends, family and physicians who believe you and want to help your condition improve.

Now more than ever, it is important to empathize with our patients and show them that we care, and that can be difficult when physicians are tasked with seeing as many patients as possible each day. In order to empathize with the patient and show them that you really care, you need to give them the time of day they deserve, and many hospitals would be smart to remember that the quality of care is much more important than the quantity of care. We always strive to empathize with out patients because we know first hand just how debilitating and frustrating a chronic pain condition can be.

So if you feel like just another patient to your care provider, look elsewhere for care. Dr. Cohn will give you the time and attention you deserve, and you may notice that this attention has positive implications for your chronic pain condition. For more information, or to set up an appointment with Dr. Cohn, give his office a call today at (952) 738-4580.

Where In The Body Is Chronic Pain Most Likely To Develop?

July 13, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain affects tens of millions of Americans every day, and while everyone is going through their own individual battle, many of them are dealing with discomfort in similar locations. But what are some of the most common locations for chronic pain to develop, and why are these the most popular spots? In today’s blog, we take a closer look at five of the most common locations in your body for a chronic pain issue to develop.

Common Chronic Pain Sites

Here’s a look at some of the more common areas of the body that can be affected by a chronic pain condition.

1. Lower Back – The back is likely the most common area of the body for chronic pain to develop, and with good reason. We put a lot of stress on our spines each day, and the system is incredibly complex, with vertebrae, discs and nerves working in close proximity to one another. If acute trauma or natural degeneration causes a vertebra or disc to damage one of the many spinal nerves in the area, chronic pain can develop. Within the spine, the lower back is the most common area for chronic pain because your lumbar spine handles the most stress when you’re bending or sitting.

2. Neck – On the other side of your spine is your neck, and it’s another incredibly common location for chronic pain to develop, especially given the rather recent rise in smartphone adoption. If you’re craning your neck forward to look at your work computer or you’re slouched on the couch scrolling on your phone, your neck is being overstressed from the weight of your head while you’re out of a healthy alignment. Similar to your lower back, there are a number of nerves and soft tissues in the neck region that can become damaged by acute injury or chronic stress, making this area a common spot for pain to develop.

3. Knees – Knee pain is all too common in today’s society, and chronic knee pain can make every step uncomfortable. Because our knees bear a lot of stress when we walk, the protective cartilage that aids in fluid joint movement can break down, leading to bone on bone contact and discomfort. Cartilage degeneration is more common if you are overweight or obese, as this greatly increases the amount of strain on your knees. Obesity numbers in America are growing, so it should come as no surprise that cases or chronic knee pain are also rising.

4. Head – Chronic headaches and migraines are another subject that we cover pretty regularly on our blog, as we’re always trying to help patients put an end to debilitating headaches. Sometimes these headaches are caused by muscle tension from overstress or acute injury to neck and shoulder muscles, while other times a nerve problem is triggering migraine headaches. We can help to relax muscles and stimulate your vagus nerve to help you find a treatment that works for you specific type of headaches.

5. Muscle Pain – Finally, it’s also common for patients to deal with widespread pain in their muscles. This condition is oftentimes referred to as fibromyalgia, and it can lead to chronic pain and tenderness in different muscle groups throughout the body. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for combating fibromyalgia related pain, but many patients find that they can better control symptoms by connecting with a pain management specialist and improving certain lifestyle factors, like exercise, diet and sleep habits.

If you’re dealing chronic pain in one of these locations, or you just want to talk to a pain specialist about discomfort you’re experiencing, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.

Four People To Lean On If You Have Chronic Pain

July 6, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Chronic pain is both incredibly complex and unique, and this can leave the individual feeling very isolated from the world. Nobody else in the world knows exactly what you’re going through, but that doesn’t mean you have to go through treatment all alone.

But where can you turn if you’re feeling isolated and alone due to your chronic pain condition? In today’s blog, we take a look at four groups of people you can lean on if you’re feeling overwhelmed by your chronic pain condition.

Lean On Me

Every person’s situation is unique, so it may not be easy to lean on all of these groups, but odds are that you can find at least one ally if you lean on some of the resources in the below list.

1. A Doctor – As we mentioned above, nobody knows exactly what you’re going through, but a doctor will understand more than most. However, knowledge and understanding aren’t the only qualities that you’ll want to look for in a supportive doctor. Not all pain specialists are the same, and you need to find one that really takes the time to get to know you and your condition. If your doctor doesn’t give you the time of day and simply writes a prescription for a painkiller, they aren’t the best fit for your situation. It may take a little time, but if you can find a doctor who really cares about you and is willing to work to help you find a solution, they will be an invaluable ally.

2. Friends – Hopefully you have a couple friends that you can lean on when things are tough. Unlike a doctor, you don’t need your friends to really understand what’s going on with your chronic pain condition, you just need them to believe you and be there for you. Some friends are great at this, others not so much, so surround yourself by people who care and empathize with your situation. Bonus points if these friends help to push you out of your comfort zone for the sake of helping you overcome your pain condition. Find a friend who likes to go for walks or who is willing to be physically active with you, as exercise and movement will help with your pain control.

3. Family – Family can be a bit of a touchy subject for some people, especially if you family has been less than supportive in your battle with chronic pain, but if you can find family members who care, they can be a great resource. Even if they are just someone who you can call up and vent to for 15 minutes a couple times a month, having someone to talk to can be incredibly helpful for your mental health.

4. Online Support Group – Finally, if you want to connect with people in a similar situation, search online for support groups. Odds are you can find online communities for people battling the same condition, and it can be extremely helpful to talk to others who have gone through similar treatment or encountered similar obstacles. Before you get in too deep with an online support group, we recommend that you read our previous blog on the benefits and drawbacks of these online support groups so that you know what you’re getting into.

If you’d like to connect with a doctor who will be an ally and a helpful resource for you, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.