A comprehensive guide on chronic pain, its causes, symptoms, and effective management strategies to improve your quality of life.
The media can’t look to get its stories about Prince right. As the news feed overflows with stories with the word Prince and drug addiction in them, not many of them feature the word chronic pain. Multiple reports show that Prince had suffered from years with Fibromyalgia pain and Severe Chronic Pain in his hips due to injuries racked up during when his performances started. His body was wracked with pain, Prince relied on opiate pain medications to provide him some relief.…
It is a chronic condition that renders sufferers so sensitive that even the lightest touch triggers waves of excruciating pain. Fibromyalgia is thought to affect up to a million Britons, commonly women over 40, and experts have likened the debilitating sensations to ‘death by a thousand needles’. Other symptoms include lack of concentration, memory loss, headaches, and muscle stiffness. And for a long time, there were little doctors could do to help quell the agony.…
A leg cramp is a pain that comes from a muscle in the leg. It is due to a muscle spasm which is when a muscle contracts too hard. It usually occurs in one of the calf muscles, below and behind a knee, but painful spasms can occur in the ankles, shins, and quads (the big muscles of the thigh). The small muscles of the feet are sometimes affected, usually starting with curling your toes…
Scientists, doctors, and other medical experts claim that regular consumption of honey in combination with cinnamon is a powerful remedy that can be used against many diseases. For more than 4000 years, honey has been used as a traditional remedy for almost every disease. The Egyptians used it to treat wounds, the Greeks for long life, and the Indians to maintain balance in the body. Modern medicine shows us that these beliefs were true. They…
Fibromyalgia symptoms can mask the presence of chronic inflammatory disease affecting the joints of the pelvis and spine, according to new research. The study, titled “Prevalence of Axial Spondyloarthritis Among Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study With Application of the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society Classification Criteria,” was published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research. It highlights the importance of vigilant management of fibromyalgia symptoms by doctors and patients, taking into account the possible underlying presence of inflammatory…
So much has been written about the opioid epidemic, but so little seems to be out there about what living with true chronic pain is like. My husband, the Jay, lived and died in incredible pain at the age of 58. As his wife, I lived that journey with him. Jay is no longer here to tell his story, but I want the world to see what I saw. I want you to know how…
If you’re experiencing chronic pain, a doctor may recommend that you have a nerve block, a temporary or permanent procedure that disrupts specific nerve activity. It can help diagnose or treat certain types of neuropathic pain, or pain caused by nerve dysfunction or damage. Nerve blocks may be performed by injecting chemicals or anesthetics to the area or by deliberately cutting or damaging certain parts of the nerve. Many people receive nerve blocks without even knowing it.…
Are you plagued by chronic lower back, buttock, or leg pain? Chances are it’s radiating from your sciatic nerves, which run from your lower back down to your legs. The symptoms can be frustrating, ranging from numbness to outright pain in the affected areas. When you go to your doctor for treatment, they’re likely to prescribe pain medications, pat you on the back and tell you to continue with your day-to-day activities. But not only…
Despite the claims of some government agencies, research has shown that the overwhelming majority of addictions do not start with a prescription, and most opioid prescriptions do not cause addiction. When 58-year-old Zyp Czyk* had a serious mountain biking accident in June, she refused to go to the emergency room even though her injuries knocked her out cold and her husband pleaded for her to seek help. Instead, Czyk slept for two days—contrary to the…
Sometimes prescription drugs are warranted in acute conditions and can save lives. But more often than not, prescription drugs for chronic health conditions can actually deteriorate your health in the long run, and many people are overprescribed drugs that cover up the underlying health issue found in their lifestyle or diet choices. There are some major downfalls of relying on pills for a chronic condition. Western medicine tends to focus on managing and suppressing individual symptoms…