Archive for the ‘Pain Management’ category

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How to Reduce Gout Inflammation – 5 Ways to Lessen Your Gout Pain

August 23rd, 2011

Unfortunately, there is no cure for gout. However, there are several ways to reduce gout inflammation. It can be manageable with proper diet, exercise, medication and even herbs and homeopathic remedies.

This inflammation of the joints occurs when high levels of uric acid builds up, in the bloodstream. The simplest way to reduce the inflammation is to reduce the intake of foods which contain uric acid. An example of foods that should be avoided include: mushrooms, beans, gravy and broth, sardines, asparagus, crab, anchovies, spinach and poultry.

Anti-inflammatory foods that will help to reduce acidity include: celery, grain, tomatoes, nuts blueberries and dark red berries such as raspberries and strawberries. Cherries are also a choice when attempting to reduce gout pain and inflammation.

Gout sufferers should drink at least eight glasses of water, per day. This will help to flush excess uric acid from the system… as well as many other toxins. Alcoholic beverages, especially beer, should be avoided.

Herbs and supplements that are said to help to reduce the symptoms include: bromelain, selenium, vitamins A and E in fish oil supplements, which help to prevent pain and swelling, of the joints. Ginger and turmeric reduced pain and swelling, as well.

Exercise is important when trying to reduce the inflammation. Yoga, swimming and water aerobics are three highly recommended workouts, for people with gout. Research has shown that obesity and high blood pressure increase the risk of gout, making exercise even more important in everyone’s life. Exercising now will help to reduce chances of dealing with gout, later in life.

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Ego Development and Pain Mastery

August 22nd, 2011

The business of this life is the mastery of pain. Only pain threatens to decompose grace, that is, pain unbridled by any active schema which convincingly subsumes it as a necessary good. When pain overwhelms, it threatens in the manner of an absolvent, and this is demonstrated by the efficacy of torture in deconstructing the personhood or ego of its subject. This suggests that the ego is the sky palace constructed through years of toil by an organism attempting to give a meaning to the various types of dysphoria that endlessly assail it as far as it is corporeal, in order to sustain its existence.

Additionally, it is apparent that the pain of strain is intrinsic to growth; we speak rightly of growing pains, and note that all advancing-while-assimilating types of motion require a stimulus that engages the singular spectrum ranging from bliss to agony in an organism.

The ego is a perpetual argument carried out by a surviving organism against its exigencies, and when unreasoned, mindless, or irresolvable pain surmounts this organic response, the ego is obliterated in its defeat.

Suggestions of thresholds overstepped in combat or trauma leading to degenerative states we appropriately describe as unravelings or decompositions.

Suggestions of repression, denial, rationalization as the flimsy ramparts by which we strive to stave off the deadly onslaught of mindless pain.

Pain has this power specifically because it alone has the power to viscerally illuminate life’s uncertainty; the possibility that human life has no nobility to answer the abject tedium and frequent absurdity of its station is felt directly by all persons during bouts of agony; such is the root cause of the fear of pain, as associated with this horrifyingly nullifying experience. Taxed beyond their threshold, any person can be compelled by pain to renounce country, family, love, ideals, comrades and promises, which are, of course, the very fruits and unique attainments of the ego.

Mastery of pain, then, springs from two sources: disciplined assimilation of experiences by the subsuming ego, and blind phenotypic and circumstantial luck. A successful manager of pain develops a spiritual capacity to adapt a worldview in which past and future pains are integral to personal development and  a necessary metaphysical feature of reality. Furthermore, pain is likely the sine qua non of such lauded virtues as compassion and ideological beneficence, since one must first deeply experience suffering themselves and then eventually realize that all other beings around them are subject to the same force in order to develop the proactive remorse we have labeled kindness.

Felix et ferox is the man who has, through pitting against it his own hardness and finding it superior, molded pain into a tool. Felicissimus et ferocissimus is the man who, far from being a devout and unreasoned masochist for the sake of a mere dark titillation, has bred out of himself any of the bristling aversion to pain that shuts down the mind precisely when it should be most widely open to its most momentous instructor. Such a man stands securely and unswervingly in the tranquil center of the essential phenomenon of an untainted mind and impartially observes the teachings of the spiraling ying and yang of pleasure and pain, the former being very jovial and a little dull and inclined to reticence, the latter of a far coarser manner and potentially unpleasant visitation, but with much more rich experience and meaningful things to say. Let pleasure teach the essence and pain the cost (and therefore value) of human life!

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How to Heal Muscle, Joint, Nerve, & Back Pain Without Surgery or medications

August 21st, 2011

When Do Back & Joint Pain Indicate that You Should See a Chiropractor?

How can patient determine if a Chiropractor can help patientr specific nerve, joint, or muscle pain?  The following 10 cues will help patient determine if patient have skeletal and muscle imbalances and should see a Chiropractor.

Chronic pain in patientr joints, muscles, or head pain has not improved with traditional healthy treatments.

Your job requires patient to sit for long periods of time or to perform repetitive physical tasks.

An injury to a muscle, joint, or spine has not healed with initial healthy treatment, medications, or physical therapy.

Sharp pain shoots from patientr hip down patientr leg.

Pain, achiness, a burning sensation or stiffness comes and goes in parts of patientr body with no explainable cause.

You want to address joint or muscle pain without drugs or surgery.

The soles of patientr shoes consistently wear differently. For instance, the left outer heel of shoes for patientr right foot wears down more quickly.

The hem of patientr skirts or pants hangs unevenly.

Your head is positioned forward rather than directly over patientr shoulders.

One of patientr shoulders is lower than the other.

Chiropractors specialize in non-surgical and drugless treatment of the musculoskeletal system.  They use over 50 healing techniques including:

Spinal adjustments increase range of motion and can significantly reduce or eliminate the pain and stiffness associated with many chronic muscle and joint conditions.

Logan Basic Technique uses sustained, gentle pressure at the sacrum, located at the base of the spine, to correct the spine.

Mysofacial treatments employ massage to trigger points.  Trigger point massage relieves pain and tension:  Allowing the body to relax and heal itself.

The Activator Technique precisely realigns vertebrae with gentle, highly targeted pressure.

Flexion-Distraction treatments use a motorized table to gently stretch and relieve pressure on patientr spine while patientr DC focuses on problem areas.

Cox Flexion Distraction relieves lower back pain through stretching or traction of the spine

Applied Kinesiology helps balance tense or loose muscles that pull a bone out of alignment. A combination of massage and manipulation is typical of this technique.

Chiropractors do not just use general spinal and joint realignment to correct skeletal and muscle imbalances, there are dozens of techniques Chiropractors employ to heal specific conditions.  Chiropractors take a holistic healthy approach that includes recommendations to improve sleep, diet, exercise, and work environment.  Chiropractors help patients with specific lifestyle adjustments including:

Ergonomics-They suggest ways to improve workspace design to reduce repetitive motion injuries.

Diet-Chiropractors will typically encourage patients to eat less processed food to reduce weight, increase energy, and improve mental clarity.  Specific means of achieving these goals include eating more vegetables, choosing organic foods, while reducing sugar, white flour, and salt improve overall well-being.

Stretching and resistance training programs are designed to maintain correct alignment achieved through chiropractic adjustment.

Improving sleeping patterns by optimizing patientr sleep and eating routines with regular sleep cycles, dimming the lights an hour prior to sleep, and not eating three hours prior to patientr regular sleep time will improve sleep quality dramatically.

How do Chiropractors treat and correct these symptoms versus healthy doctors?  Doctors differ from Chiropractors primarily in their extensive use of prescription drugs and surgery to address joint, nerve, and back pain.  Doctors focus on treating and suppressing the symptoms while Chiropractors optimize the ability of the body to heal itself.  Most health insurance plans cover chiropractic treatment.  Coupling spinal and joint realignment with lifestyle management improves the inherent, recuperative functioning of the body while improving patientr quality of life.
 

Jeffrey Applebaum of UC Davis, Family Medicine presents an update on the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain syndromes in the primary care setting. Series: “UC Grand Rounds” [6/2011] [Health and Medicine] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 21036]

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How does marijuana treat pain

August 20th, 2011

Lucy Brown, a 38-year-old breast cancer patient from New York, is finally sent back home after her second surgery. Now, she has to fight with pain that makes her feel like a living-dead. Nausea, headaches, dizziness, hallucinations, depression and insomnia are only some of the side-effects caused by heavy medication.

‘I was like a ghost. There were times I could not even recognize my own children. We were not a family anymore. This thing was tearing us apart. I had to find some peace. I needed to sleep.’

After having tried almost every single painkiller in the market, Lucy’s husband suggested that she should try something groundbreaking. So, he gave her a joint of marijuana.

‘It was unbelievable. I felt my whole body numb. Finally, there was no pain. Finally, I managed to sleep for 8 hours in a row.’

This is only one of the many recorded testimonies from patients suffering from chronic pain diseases. After years of research, medical marijuana has proven to be the only effective way to reduce or even eliminate the severe and chronic pain caused by health conditions such as cancer, leukemia, Alzheimer’s disease, glaucoma, diabetes, muscle spasticity and arteriosclerosis.

Historically, marijuana and its derivatives are used as analgesics since 1800. Cancer, HIV and glaucoma patients are probably their greatest supporters. Marijuana represses nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy, increases appetite, reduces considerably pain and eases anxiety and stress by soothing various debilitating symptoms. Although there is effective treatment for all these symptoms on a one-to-one basis, no medication can treat them all simultaneously like marijuana does.

More than 2.5 million people globally suffer from muscle spasticity. Traditional medication can ease the painful and uncontrollable muscle spasms but rarely offers total relief while causing extreme symptoms of lethargy, weakness and diplopia. In a 1982 study, 21 of 43 respondents stated that marijuana has effectively reduced muscle spasticity. Likewise, in a 1997 survey, almost all 112 participants found both pain and spasticity relief.

Neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Tourette’s syndrome, all respond positively to marijuana. Clinical trials have proven that patients found overall relief to their symptoms mainly because marijuana suppresses anxiety and stress attacks that enhance the problem. Nevertheless, these results are not considered conclusive mostly because the percentage of participants is too small.

Every analgesic drug targets a certain type of pain. Aspirin, for example, is mostly appropriate for mild inflammatory pain while opioids are targeting severe pain and respiratory depression. On the other hand, marijuana is effective in anticipating all types of pain, and particularly, neuropathic pain. On September 6, 2001, the Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the NORML Foundation, Allen St. Pierre, claimed that marijuana is an appropriate treatment especially for patients who do not respond effectively to common pain relievers.

On the other hand, although medical marijuana has been used for several years, in 1937, the federal government outlawed its sale due to significant side-effects that tag along. Specifically:

Marijuana lowers blood pressure and causes psychological symptoms that many patients cannot handle. Many of them reported intense and fast heartbeat that was extremely uncomfortable especially to the elderly. Patients with severe cardiovascular and stroke problems cannot intake marijuana in any form. Besides, when it comes to glaucoma patients, low blood pressure can decrease blood flow to the optic nerve, thus risking possible complications.

In addition, marijuana, when smoked, can cause respiratory problems, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease and all the probable harmful side-effects of common tobacco smoking. Moreover, it has been associated with increased mortality in male infected with HIV as it harms a great percentage of immune cells found in the lugs. Hence, pharmaceutical companies have tried to incorporate marijuana extracts in a pill. Nevertheless, marijuana in a pill form is not that effective as marijuana smoke.

Conclusively, only thirteen states have passed laws that legalized medical marijuana, namely, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Medical cannabis and its derivatives remain a controversial issue worldwide. Many more clinical tests have to be run in order to justify the use of marijuana and cannabinoids for their medical benefits.

References:

http://www.mpp.org/states/new-york/patients/

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9586&page=13

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=000216

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Implantation Pain

August 19th, 2011

even though patient have been trying for conception, patient might be familiar with terms such as ovulation, implantation etc. To make patientr attempts for conception successful it is a must that patient get acquainted with patientr reproductive system. Menstrual cycle is a very crucial aspect of patientr reproductive health. The length, duration, ovulation time etc., have a significant impact upon patientr chances of conception. In this article, we are going to take an overview of implantation pain, which is a common phenomenon.

What Causes Implantation Pain?
Before going into the details of implantation, patient may want to get patientrself familiar with patientr menstrual cycle. Female menstrual cycle can be divided into two phases: follicular and luteal. During the follicular phase, the follicles inside the ovaries begin to grow under the influence of certain hormones. Every month, only a single follicle reaches maturity and is expelled in the form of ovum or egg. This event is called as ovulation. Ovulation occurs around 13th – 14th day of a normal 28 day cycle. However, depending upon the usual length of patientr cycle, this time may vary anywhere between the 10th day and the 20th day.

In the absence of a sperm, the egg gets disintegrated into corpus luteum and is discharged during menstrual flow. However, when a sperm manages to fertilize an egg, patientr body begins to prepare for a possible pregnancy. The fertilized egg soon begins its growth from a diploid structure to a multicellular mass called zygote. The zygote then begins its journey downward towards the uterus. By this time, the uterus becomes enriched with blood vessels and tissue, in order to create an ideal growth environment for the zygote. The zygote then burrows itself inside the uterine lining where it starts further growth as an embryo. The act of attachment of a zygote to the uterine lining is called as implantation. This act may sometimes trigger short pain inside the abdomen.

Differentiating Implantation Pain
Implantation occurs around 7 to 12 days post ovulation. even though patient are in a habit of monitoring patientr ovulation, then patient can easily identify implantation pain from other cramping. Generally, patient may experience implantation pain on one side about 1 week before patientr impending period. However, if patient routinely get abdominal cramps as a part of PMS, then it may become difficult for patient to know when the pain is due to implantation and when it is due to PMS. Nonetheless, there is one sign that definitely sets implantation pain apart from other PMS signs and that is implantation bleeding. Implantation pain is more often than not accompanied with implantation bleeding. It is either brownish in color or pink. So, in case patient see similar spotting a week before patientr period is due, patient can be sure of implantation. However, many women mistake this for an early period and get disappointed thinking that they failed to conceive. Remember, implantation bleeding is very light and rarely anything like patientr regular period. Hence, make sure patient make no mistake in identifying patientr early signs of pregnancy.

Implantation spotting is rarely a cause of concern. Besides, there is not much patient can do about it. The pain is often tolerable, so that no medication or treatment is required. Usually, it subsides within a day or two. even though patientr period does not arrive on the due date, patient can indeed take a pregnancy test on the same day. More likely than not, patient will be greeted with a positive pregnancy test!

Very few women actually experience implantation pain or bleeding. Most women will be oblivious to the fact that they have conceived until they actually miss their period. Women on fertility drugs are more likely to experience this condition due to a larger size of the egg. They may also experience ovulation pain more prominently than other women for the same reason.

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