Pain Control

 

Volume 55.

 Pain Control-Management-Relaxation Guide

 

Chronic Pain-Headache Introduction

 

Most of us had a toothache.  I felt suicidal once when I had a toothache.  Some people live like that all the time.  Do drugs help?  I don’t know.  I read an article about swimming for pain management.

 

There’s a lot of talk about marijuana for pain management.

 

For me personally it’s about keep moving, stay inspired about your life.  When I do that I don’t focus on my tinnitus, this ringing in my right ear 24/ 7.

 

Check out #616.0472 or RB127 at the library for books about pain control.

 

painreliefnetwork.org

ampainsoc.org

wrongdiagnosis.com/p/pain_disorder/intro.htm

paincare.org, the national foundation for the treatment of pain

asipp.org, association of interventional pain physicians.

mayoclinic.com/health/pain

painconnection.org/

 

Chapter 1. Pain Info

 

Pain Control/ Pain Management

 

Pain is the body screaming to the mind saying "Danger, Danger" warning you to either sit still to avoid further injury or to do something about it.The span ranges from localized acute pain for injuries to long-term chronic pain. 

 

Pain exists in a relationship between the brain and the body within a complex network of nerves (neurons), hormones and psychological factors. 

 

Pain ranges the spectrum from irritating to agonizing.  There are some medications and therapies around to help reduce pain sensations. 

 

Many people who use pain medication then get hooked on it and have a hard time breaking away, if ever.  In extreme cases, the doctors will cut the nerves leading to the CNS in order to stop the pain signals from reaching the brain.

 

There is fast, intense pain and a slow, low level, dull pain.  Nobody really knows exactly where pain begins or where it ends but a salient factor is that the mind has a lot to do with its intensity and management. 

 

With the mind, you can will the body to create its own pain killers, i.e. morphine and endorphins usually released automatically in response to painful, stressful situations. 

 

Exercise and an active lifestyle are great ways to prevent pain.  Relaxation is the best way to heal pain.  Use your common sense to deal with pain.  The mind is very powerful in dealing with pain. 

 

Focus the pain away by thinking of other things.  If it's really bad, get up and get mobile if you can as a distraction.  Most pain will go away as hormones and neurotransmitters come to the rescue to block it away.  If something still hurts, rest it rather than strain it.

 

Beyond drugs, there are many specific suggestions and techniques available to relieve pain from typical conditions and illnesses like stomach cramps, toothache, knee injuries, etc. 

 

Beyond this, there are a whole host of alternative techniques like;

 

Acupuncture.

 

Biofeedback (learning body control by watching your performance on machines/ gauges).

 

Chiropractic.

 

Physical therapy.

 

Support groups.

 

Mind power (switching focus, relaxing, visualization, learning to take it).

 

Exercise (takes your mind off the pain and releases natural pain killers called endorphins).

 

Cold for injuries and acute sudden pain like headaches.

 

Heat for sore joints and arthritis.

 

Massage.

 

Hypnosis.

 

Relaxation.

 

Meditation.

 

Sleep.

 

Social support.

 

Booze.

 

Avoid chemicals in foods.

 

Take aspirin.

 

Drink water.

 

Eat something.

 

Sex.

Be active to take your mind off the pain.

 

Try to be happy.

 

Be with other people so you don't focus on the pain as much.

 

Don't be angry.

 

Help yourself in the healing process.

 

Eat healthy foods.

 

Don't overeat.

 

Do anything to take your mind off the pain.

 

For people with extreme pain like cancer, doctors can do what they call a permanent nerve block which is essentially cutting a nerve or a Cordotomy, destroying a bundle of pain transmitting nerve fibers (spinothalamic tract) in the spinal cord to wipe away the pain from the specific area. 

 

Another technique called Deep Brain Stimulation is implanting an electrode in the brain which either/ or stops pain receptors or releases pleasurable endorphins.  A wire is attached to it and a radio receiver is implanted just below the collarbone.  The patient activates it whenever he feels pain and a mild electrical current goes off in his brain. 

 

Physiatry is a physician specialty concerned with the use of a variety of techniques to relieve pain.  There is a machine called Transcutaneous (Across The Skin) Unit (Tens Unit) where little electrodes are put on the skin where the pain is and a small electrical current jams the pain signal from the brain to the body part.  The cost is around $500-$1500. 

 

Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) is a device where the patient is hooked up to a pain drug intravenously and when he presses a button, some medication is released.

 

Acupuncture, biofeedback, humor, hypnosis and meditation are all techniques used to control pain.  Refer to alternative medicine for different techniques.

 

There are many quack devices on the market.  Check with the FDA first to find out if the one you're considering is FDA approved or talk to a physical therapist about them, fda.gov.  Since caffeine and tobacco are stimulants, if you're in pain, they may heighten it.

 

A new technique in pain control is called monochromatic infrared irradiation.  It's just the use of infrared light of one wavelength on painful joints.  This brings healing blood to these inflicted body parts.

 

Ask yourself the following questions about pain.  Bring it to your doctor.

How often does it occur?

 

How would you describe the quality of the pain?

 

What makes your pain worse?

 

What makes your pain better?

 

Do you have any other symptoms like nausea, fatigue, constipation, etc?

 

A&E did an investigative reports show about pain, the neglected crisis.  You can buy a video of this program at aetv.com, 800-423-1212 for about $25.

 

Through fsmb.org, the federation of state medical boards, 817-868-4000, you can get information about state laws regarding prescribing of controlled substances for extreme chronic pain.

 

Chronic Pain Info

 

He has seen but half the Universe who has not been shown the house of pain.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Pain has an Element of Blank

It cannot recollect

When it begun-if there were

A time when it was not

It has no Future but itself

Its Infinite realms contain

Its Past-enlightened to perceive

New Periods of Pain.

Emily Dickinson

 

Acute pain is serious pain right here and now.  Chronic pain is lingering pain that could come and go or be there all the time for the rest of a person's life.

 

Chronic pain was originally defined as pain that has lasted at least 6 months but now it is defined as any pain that lasts longer than it normally should.

 

Chronic pain can affect your whole life, your sense of identity and social life.  Many people say they vecome loners because they're always in pain.  Othwer people don't want to deal with it.

 

Your whole life is affected by chronic pain; the physical, emotional, medical and spiritual.

 

Many people go outside the bounds of conventional medicine to look for solutions to their pain and some of them work.

 

Chronic pain is an invisible epidemic.  Millions have it but stay quiet about it.

 

People don't want to tell their doctor because if he can't find a definite reason, they think that he thinks they're nuts.

 

Relatives and friends get tired of someone always complaining that they can't do anything becaiuse of pain.

 

The problem with pain is that you never really get used to it.

 

A patient called chronic pain a long, long slow death.

 

Chronic pain could happen to anyone.  All it takes is one accident or one injury.

 

Some people say that the usual pleasurable things relieve their pain for awhile like drugs, alcohol, sex, music, nature, love, getting absorbed in an inspirational activity, etc.

 

If you took a hundred conventional pain experts and asked them a bunch of questions about what is good or bad, they would all contradict each other.  Some say exercise is good, some so no.  Some say use hot packs, some say use ice, etc.

 

You have to decide on how much conventional medical you'll take because a lot of it has bad side effects.

 

Science can only go so far.  It cannot solve chronic pain yet.

 

People say the best way to deal with chronic pain is to form or join a support group.

 

Beware of fraudsters offering snake oil as a pain relief product.

 

Chronic pain of the body which cannot easily be explained as injuries or infection could be a signal of chronic water shortage.

 

Many people write stories about their chronic pain.

 

People in chronic pain want the right to die which is why you should check out right to die organizations if you’re interested.

 

Try #616.0472 or RB127 at the library.

 

Holistic Pain Treatments

 

Refer to the holistic relaxation section in my health book.

 

The following holistic substances have been linked to pain control.

 

Aloe.

Amino acids.

Arnica.

Black beans.

Boswellia.

Cayenne.

Elderberry juice and tea.

Feverfew.

Fruit juice, celery juice.

Garlic mixed with milk.

Gingko biloba.

Horse chestnut.

Horseradish poultice to affected area.

Kava.

MSM.

Nux vomica.

Parsley.

Peppermint.

Sulphur.

Tree bark, willow bark, bark extract.

Vegetable juice.

Vitex.

Watercress.

 

Use a hot water bag on the afflicted area.

 

Take hot baths.

 

Olive oil massage on afflicted area.

 

ampainsoc.org, american pain society.

beliefnet.com

benmoonpharma.com

blatmanpainclinic.com, cincinnati clinic specializing in holistic management of myofascial painchronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

bodymemory.com/treatment.html

chiromfa.com, holistic care, hands-on treatment, and pain control.

cure-back-pain.org/holistic-medicine-for-back-pain.html

ehow.com, how to use holistic medicine for pain management.

ezinearticles.com, try-holistic-treatment-for-arthritis-pain.

globalhealingseminars.com/treatment.html, holistic treatment of pain, stress, infertility and body memory.

gouldchiropractic.com, cincinnati, ohio.

healthzine.org/pain-treatment

herniateddiscrelief.com

holisticacupuncture.net

holistichealthtools.com

holisticjunction.com/categories/hpd/back-pain.html

holisticmed.com/www/treatment.html

holisticspecifics.com

mayoclinic.com/health/back-pain-treatment

medscape.com/medline/abstract/15798880, holistic medicine seems to be efficient in the treatment of chronic pain in internal organs.

miamiacupuncture.com

naturalandholistic.com

naturalholisticmedicine.com/pain-alleviation-management.html

nextstepinstitute.org

ohiowholisticacupuncture.com, columbus, oh.

quick-pain-relief.com, herbal plasters, herbal scent and herbal ointments.

quick-pain-relief.com/html/alternate_pain1.html

secretsofeden.com

theholisticcare.com

ventpain.com, venting the chronic pain.

wholisticphysicaltherapy.com

youtube.com, type in chronic pain holistic treatment.

 

Health Journey

800-800-8661

Healing imagery tapes.

 

Stress and Physical Inactivity Increase Pain

 

The more stressed out you are, the less active you are and the more unhealthy your body is, the worse your pain is.

 

The more relaxed you are, the more physically active you are and the more healthy your body is, the less your pain bothers you.

 

Physical inactivity can cause muscle atrophy (shrinkage), muscle tightness and spasm (myofascial dysfunction), 

loss of elasticity in tendons and ligaments and brittle bones, potentially causing fractures.

 

Surgery for Pain Control Should be Rare

 

Barbers give haircuts, surgeons do surgery.  A surgeon wants to do what he was trained to do even if the patient doesn't really need it.  If a doctor recommends surgery to you to relieve pain, decline, get a second opinion then regardless of what the second doctor says, go on a physical fitness and healthy eating regimen for at least a year to see if that helps minimize pain.  There are a few exceptions to this like:

 

1.) A piece of disc has broken off from your spinal cord and is pressing up against it.

2.) A bulging disc is blocking a blood vessel or otherwise causing bowel or bladder incontinence.

3.) You have severe knee or hip osteoarthritis where there is no spongy material left between he joints.

4.) Extreme carpal tunnel syndrome.

5.) A tumor on a nerve causing neuropathic (nerve injury) pain.

 

Other possible exceptions are if you're in extreme pain all the time or if you have a terminal disease and you want your last months to be comfortable.

 

The most common unnecessary pain surgeries are back surgery and sinus surgery supposedly for sinus headaches but many medical professionals don't even believe there is such a thing as a sinus headache.  A headache is a headache.  It has nothing to do with the sinuses.  It's all in the brain.

 

Chapter 2. Advanced Ways to Stop Pain

 

Cryoanalgesia/ Cooling a Nerve

 

Cryoanalgesia causes the destruction of peripheral nerves by extreme cold (destroys flesh) which helps stop pain signals to the brain.  It is used mostly for cancer pain, facial pain and chest pain. The duration of pain relief lasts anywhere from a few days to seven months or longer.

 

Electrical Stimulation of the Nerves

 

Within the peripheral nervous system, electrical stimulation blocks some types of sensory nerves.

 

Electrical stimulation can also help block pain signals in the central nervous system.

 

The peripheral nerve stimulator/ PNS is a device that is first used on a trial basis on the outside of a patient's body for a week or so.  If the patient says the PNS helps him or her and there are no adverse effects, the PNS is implanted under the skin so that nothing shows on the surface of the skin. 

 

The patient turns the stimulator on and off with a magnet.

 

This is an advanced treatment.  Make sure the doctor implanting it has done at least ten before doing it to you.

 

There are possible side effects like bleeding, infection, the wires moving out of position and battery failure which means you have to be cut open to put a new battery in.

 

Nerve Blocks to Stop the Pain Signal

 

A nerve block is a procedure that interferes with normal nerve electrical activity to prevent or decrease the pain signal from getting to the brain.  A local anesthetic like lidocaine or medications like cortisone and tnamcinolone are injected around the nerve to block electrical activity within the nerve so that it can't send a pain signal to the brain.

 

Nerve blocks can work anywhere from days to months.

 

There are four types of nerve blocks:

 

1.) Diagnostic nerve blocks to help your doctor discover the cause of pain.

2.) Prognostic nerve blocks are used to try another pain control method that may work better than a nerve block.

3.) Prophylactic nerve blocks (preemptive analgesia) are performed to prevent pain from developing after surgery or trauma.  Research is being done to try to stop chronic pain from developing.

4.) Therapeutic nerve blocks are used to stop or lessen pain.

 

The types of pain that can benefit from nerve blocks are:

 

headaches

myofascial pain syndromes

nerve root compression

neuromas, nerve endings that develop after surgery or injury

osteoarthritis

painful scars

sacroiliac joint dysfunction

spinal degenerative conditions like degenerative or herniated discs

 

Neurolytic Procedures/ Destroying Nerves to Stop Pain

 

If a persion's pain is very great or he has a terminal illness, neurosurgeons will sometimes destroy portions of the nervous system to reduce pain.  This stops the pain signal from going to the brain.

 

Radiofrequency Ablation/ Radiofrequency Lesioning to Burn Away Pain

 

The doctor uses a thermal probe and a radiofrequency generator to burn away specific nerve fibers for pain control.

 

Radiofrequency ablation is most often used for spinal pain disorders and trigeminal neuralgia.

 

Trigger Point Injection to Stop Pain

 

Doctors can put a needle into the trigger point of pain within a muscle, inject some substance into it (botulinum toxin which is an off-label use of this drug) which can cause pain relief for several days. 

 

Usually more than one trigger point is injected during a treatment session.

 

It's only temporary relief.

 

Chapter 3. Some Types of Pain

 

Cancer Pain Info

 

Cancer-related pain could start from the cancer tumor or as a result of the cancer treatments, some of which are fairly invasive.  All types of pain qualities have been reported as cancer pain: dull, burning, shooting, electric, intense, throbbing, etc.

 

Cancer-related pain can envelop the whole body, especially after chemo or radiation therapy.  If you have intense cancer pain, see your oncologist and a pain doctor so they can do their best to help alleviate it.

 

Cancer pain could be a constant dull pain called the baseline pain shattered by short, intense spurts of pain called breakthrough pain.

 

A lot of treatments are available for cancer pain like drugs, yoga, meditation, etc.  They may not be able to alleviate all of the pain.

 

Cancer pain can be caused by the following factors:

 

Spread of cancer (metastasis) to other parts of the body including the bones and organs