pain treatments

4 Ways You’re Incorrectly Treating Your Chronic Pain

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

pain treatingWhen you’re dealing with chronic pain, you’re willing to do almost anything to find respite. You’ve probably done some research online or talked to others with similar issues and come up with a plan. But what if you’re treating your chronic pain condition incorrectly? Not only can this prevent you from finding pain relief, in some cases, it can actually make pain worse. Below, we take a look at four ways you may be incorrectly treating your pain condition.

4 Wrong Ways To Treat Pain

It is in your best interest to talk to your doctor about how you can manage your specific condition, but in general, here are four ways that you may be mistreating your pain condition.

1. Not Exercising – You might think that rest is the best thing you can do for your body, and while it may be good in the short term, it may not be the best bet for your long term health. Exercise helps to increase healthy blood flow throughout your body and strengthen key structures that can help prevent pain. For example, if you’re dealing with back pain, although it may cause some discomfort to exercise because of your spine pain, strengthening your core and your back muscles can help to treat the underlying issue. Don’t just assume that rest is what you need to take care of your pain.

2. Over-Reliance on Opioids – Opioids certainly have a place in a pain care management plan, but they shouldn’t be your only source of treatment. Many people assume that because opioids help dull or eliminate their pain, that it is their best source of treatment. However, opioids do nothing to treat the underlying cause of pain. They may make it easier to exercise or fall asleep, but they need to be paired with active treatment options in order to be the most effective. Make sure you follow through on your other treatment options if you are given painkillers to help with your condition.

3. Isolation – There are times when it can feel great to have the house to yourself to do as you please or to shut out the world for a night, but if you’re constantly isolating yourself from others, it’s not going to help with your pain condition. Some people with pain problems avoid group settings or cancel plans because they don’t want to feel like a burden for others, but there have been studies on the importance of human and social interaction when it comes to pain management. We’re not saying you need to take up public speaking or be the office chatterbox, but social interaction, even if it’s just talking with a family member on the phone or having a friend over for dinner one night a week can really help your mental and emotional state. You’d be amazed at how much your mental and emotional health affects your physical health, so don’t shut out the world because of your pain.

4. Not Seeing A Specialist – The rise of the internet has made it much easier for people to research their symptoms and come up with a diagnosis and care plan of their own. The problem is that it’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole of misinformation or incorrectly diagnosis yourself based on inaccurate or surface level symptoms. If you truly want to get a grip on managing your pain, visit a Pain Management Specialist like Dr. Cohn. He’ll be able to provide a comprehensive diagnosis and set you up with an individualized care plan. Contact his office today to learn more about your options.

Can Exercise Help Relieve Pain?

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

Exercise and painA new study suggests that regular exercise can improve a person’s tolerance for pain and discomfort.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of New South Wales and published earlier this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. For their research, scientists recruited 24 healthy but inactive individuals. 12 of the people said they were inactive but were interested in exercising, while the other 12 said they preferred not to exercise.

After the groups were separated they each were put through similar tests to create a baseline pain threshold. This involved putting pressure on a person’s arm until they said the pressure went from unpleasant to painful. Researchers later put individuals through a second pain threshold test, this time asking users to squeeze a device while a blood pressure cuff tightened on their forearm until it became too painful.

After their pain threshold was documented, participants interested in exercise undertook a moderate stationary bike workout three times a week, for six weeks. Researchers noted an improvement in fitness levels as cycling workloads increased each week. The other group continued with their lives as they had prior to the study.

Results

Both groups returned to the testing lab six weeks after the study first began. Volunteers not interested in exercise showed no changes in their pain threshold, but participants in the exercise program saw a noticeable spike in pain tolerance. They experienced pain at the time point they had during the initial test, but they were able to withstand the pain for much longer at the end of the program.

“To me,” said Matthew Jones, lead researcher of the study, the results “suggest that the participants who exercised had become more stoical and perhaps did not find the pain as threatening after exercise training, even though it still hurt as much.”

Scientists have previously hypothesized that a person’s body will emit opitates, such as endorphins, during exercise to slightly decrease discomfort. This process is known as “exercise-induced hypoalgesia,” and usually occurs during a workout and lingers for about a half hour after the workout is completed.

The study didn’t examine the physiological principles at play, but Jones noted that the decision to use a predominately leg-focused workout and an arm-based pain threshold test suggests that “something occurring in the brain was probably responsible for the change.”

If pain is too crippling to begin an exercise regimen, a person may do more harm than good by trying to exercise through the pain, but if you can tolerate even a moderate amount of exercise, you may be able to increase your pain threshold. Consult your doctor if you have questions or concerns.

Related source: NY Times