Pain
Everyone experiences pain at some time. It might be the result of an injury, operation, or pushing your body too hard. Headache, infection, arthritis, and other health problems cause pain. Unchecked, pain can rob you of the ability to sleep, work, and enjoy life. It can also lead to depression and anxiety.
We've come a long way from the days of "grin and bear it," or "no pain, no gain." Pain begets pain, so it's important to stop it early. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to pain relief. Standard medications can be a good option for many pain sufferers, but a wide range of effective nondrug therapies are also available.
Pain Articles
The 10-point pain scale has been used for decades to help patients communicate pain levels to their doctors, but a more thorough approach is a multi-tier method. This includes placing pain into different categories like mild, moderate, and severe, with some levels of degree under each one, as well as describing the pain and explaining its location, severity, duration, and specific qualities.
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One of the main reasons for the growing addiction to pain medicine is the ease at which it is often prescribed. Yet, depending on a person’s type and severity of pain, there may be nondrug options available that can help control, manage, and perhaps treat the underlying cause of painful flare-ups. These include physical therapy, yoga, mind-body therapies, and complementary treatments, among others.
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Back pain often comes on without warning and will usually get better on its own, even when imaging shows changes such as arthritis and disc degeneration. The best way to treat back pain is to avoid prolonged rest and stay active instead. Aggressive interventions may actually make the condition worse.
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An estimated 10% of men ages 60 and older having symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or aspirin, and steroid injections can temporarily soothe arthritis pain and inflammation. But an easier and safer way to manage symptoms is to be more active as bones and cartilage need the stimulation of regular movement to stay healthy and pain free.
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More than two dozen states have enacted tough new laws regulating opioid prescriptions. The rules limit the amount of opioids that medical professionals can prescribe for temporary (acute) pain from surgery, injury, or illness. Some of the new opioid laws give doctors the ability to override and refill a prescription for acute pain, but only after the first prescription has been used up. Often, a person who wants opioids will have to go back to the doctor’s office to pick up the new prescription.
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Research suggests that many common prescription and over-the-counter medications have depression as a potential side effect.
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Researchers found that early referral for physical therapy when people have low back pain can help reduce the need for strong medications.
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Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the creative process of art to address and work through emotional and physical issues, especially those related to chronic pain. Art therapy does not replace the need for pain medication, but it helps lower the perception of pain by moving people’s mental focus away from the painful stimulus, and teaching them how to relax and alter their mood, so the pain no longer controls them.
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In May 2018, the FDA approved erenumab (Aimovig), the first medication designed to prevent migraine headaches.
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Fibromyalgia is a misunderstood but real condition that experts believe may be caused when the brain essentially overreacts to external stimuli that would not typically cause pain.
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