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.

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.

The Differences In Treating Acute Vs. Chronic Pain

April 28, 2020 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Everyone experiences pain differently, and depending on the type of pain you’re suffering from, it will generally be categorized into one of two groups – acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain is the most common type of pain, and it is typically the result of trauma. For example, if you stub your toe on the kitchen table, you’ll be feeling acute pain in your toe. Conversely, chronic pain is a type of pain that is persistent or that lasts for longer than three months. Chronic pain can develop out of acute pain, or it can develop for another reason. For example, if that same stubbed toe led to nerve damage that never healed properly, you may suffer from chronic toe pain.

Although these two types of pain are often intertwined and related, they typically need to be treated in slightly different manners. Below, we take a closer look at some of the different ways acute and chronic pain are managed.

Treating Acute Pain

We treat both types of pain at our clinic, but acute pain tends to be treated more commonly in hospitals and emergency departments. Fractures, sprains, bruises and cuts are all common forms of acute pain that result from trauma or physical injury. Although treatment should be individualized to the patient, minor to mild acute pain is often treated with conservative options like:

Rest
Anti-inflammatory medications
Pain-relieving medications
Elevation
Compression
Hot or cold therapy
Casting

For more severe forms of acute pain, options like manual therapy, physical therapy or surgery may be recommended. Most providers will recommend that you try six weeks of conservative therapy before you pursue surgery, although certain acute injuries may require more immediate surgical intervention.

Treating Chronic Pain

Treating chronic pain is a little more difficult than acute pain, because it’s not always obvious what’s causing the pain. When you stub your toe, it’s easy to hone in on suspected problems. However, if you’ve been feeling mild discomfort in your spine for the last few months and it’s progressively gotten worse, there are a number of different issues that could be contributing to your pain. Because of this, the most important aspect to developing a successful chronic pain treatment plan is to determine the underlying cause of pain.

With the help of a physical exam, movement screens and imaging tests, a chronic pain specialist can help pinpoint exactly what’s going on in your body. From there, a treatment course is charted.

Many of the same treatment options for acute pain can be applied to chronic pain, but treatment tends to focus on more of the active treatments instead of passive options like rest and medications. While those aspects can play a key role in your recovery, chronic pain oftentimes responds better to treatments like:

Physical Therapy
Exercise
Stretching Techniques
Posture Awareness and Education
Weight Loss and Improve Diet

You’re also more likely to need to adjust your treatment strategy when trying to rid yourself of chronic pain, so take note of what’s working and what’s not working and discuss these options with your doctor. Don’t just keep trying certain treatments if they aren’t producing results, because odds are a few simple adjustments can greatly reduce your pain.

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