When it comes to pain management, there are a lot of solutions available. Some of these solutions may work better for certain people than they will for others. Depending on what is causing the pain, the lifestyle of the person, the age and sex of the person, various methods of pain management treatments can be beneficial for some, and detrimental for others.
Pain can be an unending, unyielding experience for people. Excruciating days and sleepless nights can become a normality for some. The good news is that there is most likely a solution for chronic pain that is reasonable and safe.
Chronic Pain
You might be wondering what the problem is with certain medications if a person is suffering from agonizing chronic pain. If they are going to waste away in a state of excruciation for all of their waking hours, what difference does it make if the pain medication that they get is healthy for them.
The problem is that there is an ever-growing issue with opiate addiction that continues to affect families all around the world. Not that this issue has anything to do with a person suffering from chronic pain, but that the government has cracked down on the use of opioid drugs for pain.
In order for a person to be able to get a prescription for these drugs it takes a great act of diligence because doctors are becoming less than willing to prescribe opioids for pain anymore.
Opioid Addiction
Although the hindrance of opiate medication is a bit of an inconvenience for some, the people that have been taking it for long periods of time are going to suffer the most. The problem with opiate addiction is that once a person begins using opioids regularly for a certain amount of time, the body stops producing natural endorphins.
People have natural defenses against pain and stress. The human brain sends signals for the body to produce these endorphins as needed in order to cope with everyday life. Humans produce endorphins to fight pain, to relax, to get to sleep and so on. After prolonged use of opiates, the brain is convinced that it no longer needs to produce these chemicals so it stops.
When the body stops producing the natural chemicals that it needs, it begins to rely on the opiates to take care of its needs. As soon as the body stops taking in the opioids that kept it comfortable, it begins to feel the aches and pains that it already felt, but without the help of any endorphins to ease it. When it is time to relax and go to sleep, there are no endorphins to help it get to that state. The end result is a very uncomfortable, sick person who can’t relax or sleep until the body re-establishes a routine of producing these endorphins. This could take several weeks.
Whether the person was taking the opiates for chronic pain, or to feed an addiction makes no difference to the body. When the opiates are gone, the chronic pain returns and can be even worse without the aid of endorphins.
It is easy to see why there is such a problem with drugs that contain opioids. Opioids are very powerful in many ways. They are very effective with alleviating pain, and they are very addicting. If they were not so physically addictive, they may not be such a bad thing.
Pain Management Methods
Without the use of pain medications that are equipped with opioids, there are not many promising methods for heavy pain. There are aspirins and anti-inflammatory drugs that can be effective for some types of pain, but are not at all of any value to other types of pain.
Other procedures such as trigger point injection and joint injection are effective, but only on certain types of pain. For both of these types of treatment a doctor will inject a solution of anesthesia mixed with anti-inflammatory meds or cortizone directly into the affected area.
The trigger point injection will be administered into the muscle that is causing the pain, and the joint injection will have basically the same elements that are in the trigger point injection method. The difference is that the injection will be directly into the affected joint.
Another promising method that can be helpful with chronic pain is physical therapy. Although there are plenty of injuries and other issues that physical therapy would be absolutely worthless for, many of the causes of chronic pain are ones that can be dealt with by exercises and stretching.
Physical Therapy Solutions
For injuries like broken bones, joint damage, tissue damage and other wounds physical therapy would not be the best solution. The concept of physical therapy is to get movement into damaged areas and build muscle that will enforce the injury or weakened area.
An example of how physical therapy can be useful for some types of chronic pain is lower back pain issues. Lower back pain can be the result of literally thousands of possibilities. However, the most popular one is that the core muscles that support the lumbar area are weak and will not properly engage to protect the area in the way that they are supposed to.
A physical therapist will guide a person with lower back pain through a series of stretches. These stretches will achieve mobility needs that the joints and the tissues in the lower back depend on to keep from getting stiff and tight.
When the muscles in that area tighten up they tend to be easier to injure. Stretches will help to alleviate pain that is caused by stiffness. Joints and tendons that are not regularly stretched tend to shrink and become easier to become inflamed.
Where physical therapy is geared towards implementing a natural solution to a pain problem from the origin of the pain, other pain reducing methods tend to hit the problem head on and not provide a permanent solution.
Stretching and strength building activities help to alleviate the pain from problems caused by inactivity and provide long lasting solutions that get rid of the pain for good.
The Right Choice
Most people when faced with constant pain that refuses to go away don’t really care about the technicalities that go with pain relief. They just want the pain to stop. What does it matter how the method works, as long as there is relief from the pain? The biggest problem with chronic debilitating pain is anybody that suffers from it is at the mercy of the medical industry to help them to make it go away. Many people that suffer from chronic pain feel as if they are forced to resort to street drugs, such as heroin, to get by.
By all means, choosing to use illegal drugs for the purpose of alleviating pain is not a good idea, however it is understandable.
Best for You
In the end the best option for an individual that struggles with pain is to find a doctor, and a health care provider that is going to look out for the patient’s best interest above all. A healthcare professional that is compassionate about the needs of their patients is hard to find at times, however, it is the difference between misery and relief. If your doctor is not working for you, find another one. Pain is a great motivator. Keep searching and you will eventually find a doctor that is compassionate enough to find you the best solution available for YOU.
