What is chronic pain?

Pain is a normal reaction of our body to illness or injury. Pain is a warning that there is something wrong in your body. But sometimes pain continues to exist long after its cause even disappears. When any pain lasts for 3 months or more it is called chronic pain. Sometimes the pain is normal. If you have recently had surgery, injury or illness this type of pain-usually disappears by itself. But if the pain is intense, continuous or it makes you unable to do your regular activities then it can be chronic. In that case, you should seek a doctor’s opinion as soon as possible.

Chronic pain may limit the movements of the sufferer and also decrease strength, stamina, and flexibility. Chronic pain management is tough but not impossible. Chronic pain is not just a long term pain but it is accompanied by anxiety, depression and many more problems. Chronic pain can affect the people of all ages and both sexes but it is most common in women. People with mental health disorders and major depression are more likely to get chronic pain.

Causes of chronic pain:

The exact cause of chronic pain are unknown. Chronic pain often starts with a painful condition or injury such as:

• Back pain

• Arthritis or other joint problems

• Nerve damage

• Cancer

• Broken bones

• Fibromyalgia (muscle pain)

• Repetitive stress injuries

• Headaches

• Lyme disease

• Ulcers

• Acid reflux

• Muscle sprains and strains

• Irritable bowel syndrome

• Inflammatory bowel disease

• Endometriosis

• Surgery

Symptoms of chronic pain:

Chronic pain affects emotions, physical health and even social life of the patient over time. Common symptoms include:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Irritability

• Poor sleep

• Guilt

• Loss of job

• Suicidal thoughts

• Family or Relationship issues

• Alcohol or drug abuse

• Loss of interest in sex

• Tired or wiped out feeling

Common pain management techniques:

• Physical therapy

• Occupational therapy

• Psychological counseling

• Biofeedback

• Nerve blocks

• Spinal cord stimulation

• Braces

• Relaxation techniques

• Pain medications

• Surgery to treat the condition causing pain

Chronic pain medications:

Chronic pain medications can provide you effective pain relief but they do not treat your pain. Long term use of pain medications can make you dependent on them and may also cause possible side effects. It is better to take a bit of advice from your doctor before taking any pain medications. Some patients take more pain medications to manage their pain which can make them dependent on these medications.

Common pain medications which can help you manage your chronic pain are:

Opioids: Strong pain medications. They can provide you relief if you have pain due to broken bone, surgery or cancer.

Over the counter medicines: Naproxen (Alec’s and generic), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, generic), and acetaminophen (Tylenol and generic). These medications build up in the blood and fight inflammation to provide general pain relief.

Antidepressants: These can improve function and relieve pain. These can be used to treat chronic pain due to fibromyalgia, arthritis and nerve damage. Some examples are amitriptyline, duloxetine, sertraline, and fluoxetine.

Anticonvulsants: It may help relieve pain such as low back pain. Some anticonvulsants are topiramate, pregabalin, gabapentin, and phenytoin.

Chronic pain management tips which can effectively help you cope with it:

Meditation or deep breathing techniques to relax your body. It releases tension and tightness from the body and helps ease the pain.

Manage your stress. Stress and anxiety can intensify chronic pain. Learn stress releasing techniques.

Regular exercise strengthens muscles and prevents reinjuries and also make your body release endorphins. These are brain chemicals that block pain signals.

Avoid alcohol and smoking. Alcohol can worsen sleep issues. No alcohol and smoking policy can boost your chronic pain management efforts.

Massage can help relieve tension and reduce stress. Neck and back pain sufferers can take maximum benefits from massage.

Eating a healthy and well-balanced diet aids your digestive process and improves overall health. Proper diet can also maximize your chronic pain management treatment.

Try to distract yourself from pain. Make some efforts not to focus on your pain. Keep doing some activities which you love to do. It keeps you busy and distracts your mind.

Effective and non-invasive treatments for chronic pain:

Physical therapy is an effective technique to relieve chronic pain. It helps improve movement and function. Physical therapy is one of the best options you can choose when you have chronic pain. It can help you function and feel better. Physical therapy involves stretching exercises, strength exercises, pain relief exercises and low impact aerobic training. Your physical therapist may also use heat and ice packs, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, ultrasound and massage. The goal of physical therapy is to decrease pain, improve your function and mobility and make you feel better.

1. Psychological treatment: Chronic pain may also lead to a feeling of despair, sadness, anger, and hopelessness. Pain can alter your personality, affect your sleep and interfere with your relationships and works. As a result lack of sleep, stress, anxiety, and depression can make your pain worse.

Psychological treatment offers a safe and no-drug way to treat your pain directly by reducing the psychological stress which often aggravates pain. Psychological treatment involves psychological counseling and helps patients acquire skills and techniques to manage chronic pain.

2. Acupuncture: It is the oldest healing art. It appears to be a reasonable and effective option for chronic pain patients. Acupuncture decreases the pain by boosting the release of endorphins (that block pain). Acupuncture can be very effective in chronic pain management along with other pain management techniques.

3. Chiropractic treatment: It is the most common pain treatment. It is effective for treating chronic neck and back pain. Chiropractic can help alleviate chronic symptoms and also may correct underlying dysfunction. The goal is to help reduce pain and manage their pain better.

4. Massage: Massage is popular among patients suffering from chronic pain. Massage can relieve tension and stress by increasing blood flow. It can also reduce the substances that may generate and sustain pain.

Conclusion

Chronic pain can be confusing and dealing with it can leave you and your doctor perplexed. Chronic pain can take a toll on your self-esteem and make you feel frustrated, anxious and angry.

Chronic pain may lead to long term lack of physical activity. It can impact your emotional, psychological, neurological, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal processes. It requires a combination of therapies to enable you to live a pain-free and normal life. Alternative therapies like acupuncture, nutritional supplements, chiropractic care, massage, meditation, and biofeedback can help manage chronic pain.

6 Early Signs of Osteoarthritis That You Must Be Aware Off

If you are in your late 60s and experience sharp pain, stiffness, swollen joints that restrict your daily movement, then these are symptoms of osteoarthritis. It also occurs to people in their 20s and 30s and women over 50 are prone to this joint disorder.

Recent studies reveal that in the United States about 54 million adults and 300,000 children suffer from arthritis or rheumatic diseases. Adding to this, arthritis among Americans is expected to increase 49% to 78.4 million by 2040, as published in a study by Arthritis Foundation, U.S.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic condition of the joints including knees, hips, neck, lower back, hands, etc. Commonly known as a ‘degenerative joint disease’, it occurs when the cartilage within a joint starts breaking and the underlying bone starts changing. It hampers your ability to do daily work due to constant chronic pains.

This article will help you to know about the symptoms and how you can live a normal life even after you are caught up with constant joint pain. Even though Osteoarthritis is a long-term disease, you can get rid of its chronic pain through opioid pain medication.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

1.Severe joint pain

Osteoarthritis is considered to get worse with time. In severe conditions, the patient won’t be able to sleep or move due to the shooting pain.

2. Swelling

This is caused due to excessive accumulation of fluids in the joints.

3. Stiffness

It is usually experienced in the morning and may get better within 30 minutes, but, the pain can continue throughout the day with daily movements.

4. Crepitus

It is a crackling noise or sensation experienced due to friction between the bone and the cartilage. This occurs as the smooth surface between the joints turn rough due to the frequent movement of the affected part.

5. Bony Protuberances

People suffering from osteoarthritis can experience bony outgrowth (osteophytes) under the skin near the joints. These bone spurs increase with time.

6.Inflexibility

The joints become less flexible which restricts your movement.

OA can worsen with time with bony growths or spurs that are formed under the skin. Cartilage or bits of bone peels off and can be seen floating around in the joint. Due to inflammation, proteins and enzymes are produced that further damages the cartilages. While in the final stages, the cartilage is worn out and the rubbing of bone against each other can lead to severe pain and damage the joints. These patients can seek opioid pain medication to get relief of chronic pain.

Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis

A rheumatologist will identify OA through a series of tests like physical examination, X-rays, lab tests, etc. These are the following ways that can diagnose if you have OA or not:

1. Pain experienced while moving the knee or lifting heavy objects

2. Stiffness experienced in the morning for less than 30 minutes

3. Numbness in the fingers or problem while moving, twisting or holding hands

4. Shooting pain in the thighs, buttocks or knees

5. Weakness or numbness felt in the arms and legs

6. A crackling sound heard while moving

7. Bony outgrowth in the joints

Osteoarthritis normally occurs in the fingers, knees, hips, and spine; there are very fewer possibilities of OA in the elbow, wrist or ankle.

Treatment of Osteoarthritis

There are tons of physical therapies recommended by doctors one of them being opioid pain management. To add more:

• Physical therapy to improve physical movement using canes or crutches.

• Exercises to strengthen muscles, joints.

• The advice of weight loss.

• Regular medications and a balanced diet.

• In extreme cases, immediate surgeries are advised.

Kroll care is a pain management clinic in Atlanta that provides opioid therapy for chronic pain. All the doctors are dedicated and determined to improve their patient’s quality of life through effective methods of curing.

What are the Causes & Treatments of Chronic Low Back Pain?

According to the American Chiropractic Association, low back pain costs Americans at least $50 billion in health care each year along with the lost wages and decreased productivity and that figure easily rises to more than $100 billion.

Experts claim that about 80% of people experience low back pain in their lifetime.

This common form of pain is curable with effective treatments available such as opioid therapy for chronic pain. Back pain is regarded as the third most common reason to visit the doctor after skin and joint disorders. It is a very common experience that we all have gone through during chronic back pain. Join us in understanding its causes and some simple treatments that can help if practiced regularly.

What causes back pain?

The main cause of back pain is difficult to identify. A pull, stretch or strain in the tissues including muscles, soft connective tissue, ligaments, and joint capsules cab cause back pain. Chemicals substances are released that stimulate pain. The chemicals give an inflammation sensation that results in swelling and the pain continues for several weeks.

The common causes of chronic back pain are mainly due to a recent fall, accident, lifting heavy objects, desk-bound jobs, obesity and likewise.

5 Conventional Ways to Treat Your Low Back Pain

1. Relax your back pain using a hot or cold pack. This is the most common way to reduce inflammation and may relax your muscles and nerves.

2. Exercise can be the best way for a speedy recovery. A morning exercise can help to strengthen and build muscle strength that is essential for people suffering from musculoskeletal disorders.

3. Yoga is an effective treatment for several disorders. Regular yoga practice can strengthen the back, stretch it and improve the circulation to the spines and nerves. Just search for some yoga postures for back pain and you may get multiple options.

4. Bed rest can worsen your back pain. Studies reveal that excessive bed rest can result in depression, decreased muscle tone and blood clots in the leg. Back pain can increase with bed rest, start with your normal work without giving much stress to the back. You may also start with some stretching exercises.

5. Join a physical therapy program that may help in improving flexibility and promote better positioning.

Easy Tips to ease low back pain

1. Carry a lightweight backpack that might put less pressure on the spine. Make sure your children also carry a light bag. Use a wheeled briefcase in other cases.

2. Avoid high heels.

3. Sleep on a hard surface.

4. Maintain proper body balance at home and work.

5. Quit smoking.

6. Eat foods rich in calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorous for better bone growth.

If your pain continues, then it is advisable to visit a chiropractor. Visit a pain management specialist that offers advanced treatment for acute and chronic pain disorders. With the appropriate use of opioid therapy for chronic pain, patients can alleviate these body pains.

Understanding Chronic Pain Management

Pain. We’ve all fallen victim to it. Understanding the how, why and when of that pain along with having the knowledge on how to deal with it in a healthy way is crucial.

So, let’s start with the basics.

There are two types of pains: Chronic and Acute. And the differentiation is fairly simple.

Any pain that is caused right after an injury and persists until the wound heals, will be classified as acute pain.

While any pain that has been around for a longer time and is caused by trauma or is the result of some disease or condition is chronic pain.

Now that you know the basic types of pain, here are a few symptoms to look for:

• Fatigue
• Joint Pain
• Sleep Irregularities
• Mood Swings
• Muscle Ache
• Loss of Physical Activity

There’s a wide range of reasons why one may suffer from such pains. From a low-quality mattress, to excessive weight, to ill-fitted shoes.

Here are a few causes, according to experts:

• Surgical Trauma
• Cancer
• Wear and tear on the cartilage between bones (Osteoarthritis)
• Swollen Joints (Rheumatoid Arthritis)
• Inflammation in the bowels
• Nerve compression or muscle strain around the spine

A bunch of people suffering from back pain visit clinics providing chronic pain management in Atlanta. Suffering from back pain can cause plenty of trouble in your daily life. Work, personal life and the mental health of a person can be adversely affected by it. It is essential that an effective back pain relief plan be provided.

Various treatments, medical and alternative, have been made available today which efficiently help you get rid of your pain.

• The initial approach may include physical therapy which will help in reducing the pain and increasing the mobility of the joint or muscle.
• Thereafter nerve blocks might be used to interrupt the pain signals.
• Medicines such as anti-inflammatories, steroids or muscle relaxers are used to relieve the pain.
• Although the effects are short term, one of the most effective ways of treatment for people with an unbearable amount of pain is by using opioid therapy for chronic pain.
• It is said that acupuncture reduces the pain in the 50% of people who have tried it, while only 30% of people felt a difference with various other medical treatments.
• Hypnosis. Yes, it is known that certain types of pain, like the ones caused by inflammatory bowels, can be treated using hypnosis.

And while all these treatments are available, there are things you can do for yourself to try and get better. Start by talking about it. Sharing your problems will help you in dealing with built-up emotions. Add meditation to your daily schedule. A calm mind may eventually lead to a calmer body.

In the end, whatever you decide to do, get the help your body needs to help you live a better life. Ask a professional for help. There are services available for chronic pain management in Atlanta.

Kroll Care aims at delivering personalized services to help manage and eventually rid patients of the pain.