Ron’s Wanderings

Over the past several months we’ve heard the news about some of the COX-2 inhibitors that have been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The most prominent one that comes to mind is Vioxx.

Since many of these have been withdrawn from the market, those who suffer from arthritis pain have begun looking for more simple pain management strategies. As always, it makes good sense to confer with your medical professional to determine what solutions are available to help you, it is also helpful to look at some of the other ways to manage pain.

Have a Good Laugh

In a study published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing, patients were told one-liners after surgery and before painful medication was administered. Those exposed to humor perceived less pain when compared to patients who didn’t get a dose of humor as part of their therapy. Laughter – particularly the kind that comes from the belly -– can result in muscle relaxation and releases hormones associated with stress response.

This is good news. A daily dose of laughter may help to ease pain, and stave off depression. Look for comedies to rent, joke websites, and friends and family members to provide sources of laughter.

Better Hot or Better Cold

Applying heat to muscles or cold to swollen joints can help ease pain and inflammation. For many people, alternating heat and cold works well. But each person is different so don’t hesitate to experiment. Before beginning, it’s important to check with a physician, as some conditions might mean one or the other is inappropriate.

Types of heat applications include heat lamps, heating pads, hot water bottles, and gel packs. Types of cold applications include bags of frozen vegetables, or ice wrapped in a towel, cold packs, and vapocoolant sprays.

Cool It — Relax

Relaxation not only helps to loosen up painful muscles, it also encourages the body to release pain-relieving endorphins -– the same hormones that are released in laughter. A successful relaxation technique will stimulate this release.

Relaxation techniques can be learned on one’s own, but consulting a health professional such as a doctor, therapist, or physical therapist may be the quickest route to finding one that is effective. It’s helpful to learn a technique that doesn’t depend too much on outside aids, other than a darkened room, peace and quiet, and a comfortable place to sit or lie down.

Go To Sleep

You’re right — it’s a vicious cycle. If you don’t get enough sleep, you hurt more — and, if you’re hurting, it’s hard to sleep. But being tired all the time really does contribute to pain, so prioritizing sleep where possible is key to quality of life.

Suggestions for ensuring that you get a good night’s sleep include: keep regular hours, avoid caffeine and alcohol, especially close to bed time, and use your bed for sleep only – don’t pile it high with articles on how to sleep.

Do Something Different

There’s that old saying that if you keep busy it’s a lot easier to not notice the pain as much. There’s a lot of truth to that. I agree, it can be difficult to concentrate on other things while you’re hurting, but studies have shown that distraction actually does help reduce the experience of pain by patients.

There are lots of things you can do — you can watch some good films — see if you can find something good on TV — or get actively involved in something you feel strongly about. Try cooking or playing games, or reading a good book. These are great ways to focus your attention on something other than your pain. And if some of those activities are social, so much the better – isolation has a way of making you feel even worse.
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Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti,

Ron

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 15th, 2006 at 10:28 am and is filed under Nutrition and Weight Loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.