Pain is a massive problem in our society, in fact it is estimated that at any given time, around a third of the population suffers from pain. Pain of any kind is the most frequent reason for medical consultation. It is an important symptom in many medical conditions, significantly interfering with quality of life and general functioning.
Therefore, management is an extremely important part of medical care because people who are forced to continue living with extreme pain often become depressed and have poor treatment outcomes.
Some types of pain are still not really understood and up to a third of the cases have unknown origins.
Here are some of the things we know about pain:
* It is constant for about 20% of people.
* Back pain is the most common pain.
* Most of the chronically ill have had pain for at least 3 years.
* As expected, the incidence increases with age.
* Women report suffering more often than men.
* Only 70% of patients seek professional help.
Pain management
Modern management programs must be multidisciplinary, combining the input of physicians, acupuncturists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, clinical psychologists, and occupational therapists, among others.
1. Narcotics are often prescribed for severe pain, but narcotics carry the potential for side effects and addiction, so patients and caregivers must weigh the level of pain against these dangers in the management process.
2. Numerous studies have found that certain complementary therapies are effective in management.
3. Massage therapy can accelerate pain relief, relieve stiffness of sore muscles, and reduce inflammation and swelling.
4. Managing psychological pain teaches people skills to cope with their condition. Research has shown that thinking helpful and realistic thoughts is an important part of management.
5. Natural pain relief is sought as an alternative to drugs and drugs based on chemicals and other synthetic drugs. Herbs have been used for centuries to relieve pain, but many have not been the subject of extensive study. Some allergic reactions can occur with some patients using natural pain relief, but can be easily controlled or prevented by a skin test before using natural pain relief.
6. One of the pain management modalities is trigger point injections and nerve blocks using long-acting anesthetics and small doses of steroids.
7. NSAIDs will not only relieve pain, but also reduce fever and inflammation. However, there are real downsides associated with long-term use of these drugs.
8. Aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen are other common remedies used for acute pain relief.
9. Morphine is the main active substance in opium and a very powerful pain reliever. Morphine will act directly on the central nervous system and is commonly used as a medication for acute and severe pain caused by surgery or major trauma. Morphine is also used as a pain reliever for moderate and severe chronic pain, such as that caused by cancer.
10. TENS machines provide short-term pain relief for many people. These machines are pretty cumbersome, but at least they don’t have any side effects.
11. Finally, there is a new modality that has just hit the market and that is the powerstrip pain patch that combines the technology of far infrared heat activated by body heat with quantum energy, red ginseng and marine phytoplankton.