Major Pains
Pain Assessment
Pain Is A Sign
Chronic Pain
Chronic Pain FAQ’s
Abdominal Pain
Arthritis
Back Pain
Back Pain Severe
Back Pain Causes
Back Pain FAQ’s
Back Pain - Spine
Back Pain - Exercise
Back Pain Prevention
Breathing Pain
Carpal Tunnel
Chest Pain
Chronic Pain
Elbow Joint Pain
Everyday Pains
Genital Pain
Headache & Migraine
Headache Treatment
Knee Pain
Migraine Pain
Migraine Treatment
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Shingles Pain
Shingles Recurring
Shingles FAQ’s
Shoulder Joint Pain
Surgery Pain
Keep A Pain Diary
Pain Relief Drugs
Antidepressants
Antiinflammatories
Marijuana For Pain
Non Drug Pain Relief
Surgery For Pain
TENS Pain Relief
Pain Assessment
Pain Is A Sign
Chronic Pain
Chronic Pain FAQ’s
Abdominal Pain
Arthritis
Back Pain
Back Pain Severe
Back Pain Causes
Back Pain FAQ’s
Back Pain -
Back Pain -
Back Pain Prevention
Breathing Pain
Carpal Tunnel
Chest Pain
Chronic Pain
Elbow Joint Pain
Everyday Pains
Genital Pain
Headache & Migraine
Headache Treatment
Knee Pain
Migraine Pain
Migraine Treatment
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Shingles Pain
Shingles Recurring
Shingles FAQ’s
Shoulder Joint Pain
Surgery Pain
Keep A Pain Diary
Pain Relief Drugs
Antidepressants
Antiinflammatories
Marijuana For Pain
Non Drug Pain Relief
Surgery For Pain
TENS Pain Relief
PAIN RELIEF FACTS AND INFORMATION - PAIN RELIEF TREATMENTS
Everything You Need To Know About Pain, Pain Relief And Pain Management
Facts And Information About Pain, Pain Relief And Pain Relief Treatments
Order Prescription Medications Online To Treat And Prevent Chronic Pain
Everything You Need To Know About Pain, Pain Relief And Pain Management
Facts And Information About Pain, Pain Relief And Pain Relief Treatments
Order Prescription Medications Online To Treat And Prevent Chronic Pain
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The Major Pains - Facts And Information
Arthritis pain.
Arthritis is a general descriptive term meaning a disorder of the joints. The two most common forms are osteoarthritis that typically affects the fingers and may spread to important weight-bearing joints in the spine or hips, and rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory joint disease associated with swelling, congestion, and thickening of the soft tissue around joints. Current treatments for arthritis include aspirin, acetaminophen, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like indomethacin and ibuprofen. Steroid drugs—important anti-inflammatory agents modeled after the body's own chemicals produced in the adrenal glands—were introduced and hailed as lifesavers in the 1950's. But the long-term use of steroids has serious consequences, among them the lowering of resistance to infection, hemorrhaging, and facial puffiness—producing the so-called moonface.
TENS and acupuncture have been tried with mixed results. In cases where tissue has been destroyed, surgery to replace a diseased joint with an artificial part has been very successful. The total hip replacement operation is an example.
Arthritis is best treated early, say the experts. A modest program of drugs combined with exercise can do much to restore full function and forestall long-term degenerative changes. Exercise in warm water is especially good since the water is both relaxing and provides buoyancy that makes exercises easier to perform. Physical treatments with warm or cold compresses are helpful sources of temporary pain relief.
Cancer pain.
The pain of cancer can result from the pressure of a growing tumor or the infiltration of tumor cells into other organs. Or the pain can come about as the result of radiation or chemotherapy. These treatments can cause fluid accumulation and swelling (edema), irritate or destroy healthy tissue causing pain and inflammation, and possibly sensitize nerve endings. Ideally, the treatment for cancer pain is to remove the cancerous tissue. When that is not possible, pain can be treated by any or all of the currently available therapies: electrical stimulation, psychological methods, surgery, and strong painkillers.
Headache
Tension headache, involving continued contractions of head and neck muscles, is one of the most common forms of headache. The other common variety is the vascular headache, involving changes in the pressure of blood vessels serving the head. Migraine headaches are of the vascular type, associated with throbbing pain on one side of the head. Genetic factors play a role in determining who will have migraines, but many other factors are important as well. A major difficulty in treating migraine headache is that changes occur throughout the course of the headache. Blood vessels may first constrict and then dilate. Changing levels of neurotransmitters have also been noted. While a number of drugs can relieve migraine pain, their usefulness often depends on when they are taken. Some are only effective if taken at the onset. Several drugs for the prevention of migraine have been developed in recent years, including serotonin agonists which mimic the action of this key brain chemical. Prompt administration of these drugs is important.
Drugs are also the most common treatment for tension headache, although attempts to use biofeedback to control muscle tension have had some success. Physical methods such as heat or cold applications often provide additional, if only temporary, relief.
Low back pain.
The combination of pain-killers and modest amounts of a muscle relaxant are usually prescribed for the first-time low back pain patient. At the initial examination, the physician will also note if the patient is overweight or works under conditions (such as driving a truck or sitting at a desk for long hours) that offer little opportunity for exercise. Some authorities believe that low back pain is particularly prevalent in Western society because of the combination of overweight, bad posture (made worse if there is added weight up front), and infrequent exercise.
Although bed rest may be necessary for severe back problems, exercise is now considered to be an important addition to treatment and can help speed recovery for many patients with low back pain. Exercise helps reduce stress on the lower back by increasing flexibility and strength. To avoid injury, however, carefully follow the exercise routine prescribed by your doctor. In some cases, a full neurological examination may be necessary, including tests to determine if there may be a ruptured disc or other source of pressure on the cord or nerve roots.
Sometimes x-rays will show a disc problem that can be helped by surgery. Milder analgesics (aspirin, acetaminophen, or stronger nonnarcotic medications) and electrical stimulation—using TENS or implanted brain electrodes—can be very effective for low back pain. What is not effective is long-term use of muscle-relaxant tranquilizers. Many specialists are convinced that chronic use of these drugs is detrimental to the back pain patient, adding to depression and increasing pain. Massage and manipulative therapy are used by some clinicians but, except for individual patient reports, their usefulness is still undocumented.
Neurogenic pain
The most difficult pains to treat are those that result from damage to the peripheral nerves or to the central nervous system itself. Mentioned earlier in this brochure as examples of extraordinarily searing pain were trigeminal neuralgia and shingles, along with several drugs that can help in these conditions. In addition, trigeminal neuralgia sufferers can benefit from surgery to destroy the nerve cells that supply pain-sensation fibers to the face. An advantage to using a treatment called "thermocoagulation"—which uses heat supplied by an electrical current to destroy nerve cells—is that pain fibers are more sensitive to the treatment resulting in less destruction of other sensations (such as touch and temperature).
Sometimes specialists treating trigeminal neuralgia find that certain blood vessels in the brain lie near the group of nerve cells supplying sensory fibers to the face, exerting pressure that causes pain. The surgical insertion of a small sponge between the blood vessels and the nerve cells can relieve the pressure and eliminate pain.
Among other notoriously painful neurogenic disorders is pain from an amputated or paralyzed limb—so called "phantom" pain—that affects a significant number of amputees and paraplegia patients. Various combinations of antidepressants and weak narcotics like propoxyphene are sometimes effective. Surgery, too, is occasionally successful. Many experts now think that the electrical stimulating techniques hold the greatest promise for relieving these pains.
Psychogenic pain.
Some cases of pain are not due to past disease or injury, nor is there any detectable sign of damage inside or outside the nervous system. Such pain may benefit from any of the psychological pain therapies listed earlier. It is also possible that some new methods used to diagnose pain may be useful. One method gaining in popularity is thermography, which measures the temperature of surface tissue as a reflection of blood flow. A color-coded "thermogram" of a person with a headache or other painful condition often shows an altered blood supply to the painful area, appearing as a darker or lighter shade than the surrounding areas or the corresponding part on the other side of the body. Thus an abnormal thermogram in a patient who complains of pain in the absence of any other evidence may provide a valuable clue that can lead to a diagnosis and treatment.
