pain

Leave a comment Posted on Pain Management

Change Your Home, Work, & Life For Less Chronic Pain

Change Your Home, Work, & Life For Less Chronic Pain

Change Your Home, Work, & Life For Less Chronic Pain

Whether your condition is officially diagnosed as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, or something similar, you’re in chronic pain. What comes simply to others — cleaning your home, driving to work, even maintaining relationships — can be a challenge when you deal with pain on a daily basis.

However, there are changes you can make to your home and your lifestyle that can help. Below are several recommendations that can help you manage your chronic pain so you can live your life again.

Changes To Your Home

Where you live is important. It’s your sanctuary from the pressures (and pain) of modern life. That’s why you need to take a critical look of your home environment and see what changes can be made to help you cope.

Rearrange Your Stuff: It can hurt to reach for things atop high shelves or deep within a cabinet. To help manage your pain, move those objects so they’re easier to reach. Bringing the things you use most often to lower shelves or the front of cabinets can lead to less discomfort. Plus, you’ll feel more control over your life.

Make Your Bedroom Conducive For Sleep: Getting a good amount of sleep can help your body heal and relax. But too many people have bedrooms that aren’t exactly soothing. Make sure your bed is comfortable and try to eliminate as much light and noise as possible.

Changes To Your Work

If you’re like many Americans, you spend more time on the job than at your own home. That’s why you need to examine your work environment and make some changes needed to better manage your pain.

Adjust Your Chair And Work Area: Sitting at a desk and typing most of the day can tax even the healthiest body. Experiment with different adjustments to your chair until you find one that works better than others. Then rearrange the items around your workspace like you did at home — put the objects you use most easily within your reach.

Be Careful About Your Grip And Range Of Motion: Whether you work at a desk or something more active, you will be using your arms and hands. Make sure you stay within 30% of your grip strength and range of motion. This is the optimal zone for anyone dealing with chronic pain.

Changes To Your Lifestyle

You are much more than where you live and work. That’s why a good pain management plan includes taking a look at your lifestyle for any changes you can make there.

Keep Track Of What Triggers Painful Episodes: Some people with chronic pain don’t have a clear idea of what causes flare-ups. Even if you do, you might be surprised to learn what else triggers the pain. To better understand that, and to help your doctor manage your chronic pain, keep a log of what activities you do when the pain comes.

Learn How To Meditate: It might seem silly at first, but meditation and breathing techniques can lead to less pain. When you’re tense or stressed, your pain is more likely to surface. By learning how to meditate (and doing so regularly), you can help your body relax.

 

Chronic pain can be debilitating at times. But by making a few changes to your home, work, and life, you can manage such pain and have a better chance at a normal life.

 

Author: Jackie Waters

Leave a comment Posted on Pain Management, Patient Talk

Using sound to help with chronic pain? Does it work?

Don't let the pain destroy you

Don’t let the pain destroy you

Okay here’s the deal!

As you know I’m very interested in natural and alternative treatments for chronic pain.

So I was fascinated when I came across the idea that certain types of sound frequencies can help with chronic pain.

But does it work?

This is what I want you to help with with please.

Can you listen to the sound clip below and then take the one question poll below that.

Many thanks in advance.


Leave a comment Posted on Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis – what are the signs and symptoms of MS?

Terri wears a tie to promote MS awareness

Terri wears a tie to promote MS awareness

Symptoms of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) can cause a wide range of symptoms and can affect any part of the body. Each person with the condition is affected differently.

The symptoms are unpredictable. Some people’s symptoms develop and worsen steadily over time, while for others they come and go.

Periods when symptoms get worse are known as “relapses”. Periods when symptoms improve or disappear are known as “remissions”.

Some of the most common symptoms include:

fatigue

vision problems

numbness and tingling

muscle spasms, stiffness and weakness

mobility problems

pain

problems with thinking, learning and planning

depression and anxiety

sexual problems

bladder problems

bowel problems

speech and swallowing difficulties

Most people with MS only have a few of these symptoms.

See your GP if you’re worried you might have early signs of MS. The symptoms can be similar to several other conditions, so they’re not necessarily caused by MS.

Read more about diagnosing MS.

Fatigue

Feeling fatigued is one of the most common and troublesome symptoms of MS.

It’s often described as an overwhelming sense of exhaustion that means it’s a struggle to carry out even the simplest activities.

Fatigue can significantly interfere with your daily activities and tends to get worse towards the end of each day, in hot weather, after exercising, or during illness.

Vision problems

In around one in four cases of MS, the first noticeable symptom is a problem with one of your eyes (optic neuritis). You may experience:

some temporary loss of vision in the affected eye, usually lasting for days to weeks

colour blindness

eye pain, which is usually worse when moving the eye

flashes of light when moving the eye

Other problems that can occur in the eyes include:

double vision

involuntary eye movements, which can make it seem as though stationary objects are jumping around

Occasionally, both of your eyes may be affected.

Abnormal sensations

Abnormal sensations can be a common initial symptom of MS.

This often takes the form of numbness or tingling in different parts of your body, such as the arms, legs or trunk, which typically spreads out over a few days.

Muscle spasms, stiffness and weakness

MS can cause your muscles to:

contract tightly and painfully (spasm)

become stiff and resistant to movement (spasticity)

feel weak

Mobility problems

MS can make walking and moving around difficult, particularly if you also have muscle weakness and spasticity (see above). You may experience:

clumsiness

difficulty with balance and co-ordination (ataxia)

shaking of the limbs (tremor)

dizziness and vertigo, which can make it feel as though everything around you is spinning

Pain

Some people with MS experience pain, which can take two forms:

Pain caused by MS itself (neuropathic pain) – this is pain caused by damage to the nervous system. This may include stabbing pains in the face and a variety of sensations in the trunk and limbs, including feelings of burning, pins and needles, hugging or squeezing. Muscle spasms can sometimes be painful.

Musculoskeletal pain – back, neck and joint pain can be indirectly caused by MS, particularly for people who have problems walking or moving around that puts pressure on their lower back or hips.

Problems with thinking, learning and planning

Some people with MS have problems with thinking, learning and planning – known as cognitive dysfunction. This can include:

problems learning and remembering new things – long-term memory is usually unaffected

slowness in processing lots of information or multi-tasking

a shortened attention span

getting stuck on words

problems with understanding and processing visual information, such as reading a map

difficulty with planning and problem solving – people often report that they know what they want to do, but can’t grasp how to do it

problems with reasoning, such as mathematical laws or solving puzzles

However, many of these problems aren’t specific to MS and can be caused by a wide range of other conditions, including depression and anxiety, or even some medications.

Mental health issues

Many people with MS experience periods of depression. It’s unclear whether this is directly caused by MS, or is due to the stress of having to live with a long-term condition, or both.

Anxiety can also be a problem for people with MS, possibly due to the unpredictable nature of the condition.

In rare cases, people with MS can experience rapid and severe mood swings, suddenly bursting into tears, laughing or shouting angrily for no apparent reason.

Sexual problems

MS can have an effect on sexual function.

Men with MS often find it hard to obtain or maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction). They may also find it takes a lot longer to ejaculate when having sex or masturbating, and may even lose the ability to ejaculate altogether.

For women, problems include difficulty reaching orgasm, as well as decreased vaginal lubrication and sensation.

Both men and women with MS may find they are less interested in sex than they were before. This could be directly related to MS, or it could be the result of living with the condition.

Bladder problems

Bladder problems are common in MS. They may include:

having to pee more frequently

having a sudden, urgent need to pee, which can lead to unintentionally passing urine (urge incontinence)

difficulty emptying the bladder completely

having to get up frequently during the night to pee

recurrent urinary tract infections

These problems can also have a range of causes other than MS.

Bowel problems

Many people with MS also have problems with their bowel function.

Constipation is the most common problem. You may find passing stools difficult and pass them much less frequently than normal.

Bowel incontinence is less common, but is often linked to constipation. If a stool becomes stuck, it can irritate the wall of the bowel, causing it to produce more fluid and mucus that can leak out of your bottom.

Again, some of these problems aren’t specific to MS and can even be the result of medications, such as medicines prescribed for pain.

Speech and swallowing difficulties

Some people with MS experience difficulty chewing or swallowing (dysphagia) at some point.

Speech may also become slurred, or difficult to understand (dysarthria).

Leave a comment Posted on Disability, Pain

DDH UK AND THEIR PARAPLYMLIC SWIMMER PATRON FEAR A SLIPPERY SLOPE IS AHEAD FOR HIP PATIENTS

Paralympian Swimmers

Paralympian Swimmers

DDH UK, the only charity in the UK dedicated to supporting families dealing with hip dysplasia, are gravely concerned about plans by the NHS to only refer patients for hip surgery if their pain is so severe it interferes with daily life or the ability to sleep.

In a cost cutting bid to save £2million a year, it is claimed that health trusts are already tightening up their rules in a bid to slash operations by a fifth with others also looking to use a scoring system to rank patients’ pain for both hip and knee operations.

The charity is supporting more and more patients, from teenagers to those in their later years, who are facing hip replacements, often due to the effects of having hip dysplasia (DDH). DDH occurs when the hip joint fails to develop correctly and 2 to 3 in every 1,000 infants will require treatment* and whilst not life threatening, it can lead to pain, disability and the need for hip replacements.

Gemma Almond, DDH UK Patron and Paralympic swimmer who has bilateral DDH, said, “I find the new potential NHS rules worrying. Whilst in discussions with my consultants we have weighed up the level of pain for THR, it is the principle that underlie these new rules that is concerning. Pain is a subjective measure and decisions should be based on consultant / patient discussions about quality of life not funding.  The decision is hard enough to make, without the need to justify it in monetary terms. As someone who will need two THR in the next few years, I fear this could be a slippery slope and a worry for the future.”

Natalie Trice, DDH UK Founder, added, “We are speaking to more and more people who are in constant pain due to hip issues, and are saddened to read about plans that could mean they have to wait even longer for the surgery they need to improve their lives and mobility. My seven-year-old son has DDH and to date has had five operations and we simply don’t know what the future holds and this news is really frightening for us because a hip replacement isn’t out of the question in the future and we don’t want him, and others, to endure years of pain unnecessarily.”

Natalie added, “We understand that cuts do need to be made in the NHS but we would ask trusts to consider not only pain levels but also the quality of life of patients and their every day mobility and independence when putting these criteria together.”

 

For more information go to www.ddh-uk.org,