27 September 2013

Pain Management Tip of the Day


With the change of seasons comes the bite of certain pain conditions.  During the summer your body was enveloped in the moist heat of the summer sun or the ice cold nip of an A.C.  Much like being in Physical therapy all day,,.. 20 minutes on , 20 minutes off… full body moist heat and/or biofreeze.   Perhaps you feel that the closer to winter we get, the greater the impact on the body.  Well, here are a few tips & tricks I’ve learned over the decades that may help ease your suffering.

·        If you’re someone with sensitive skin who is unable to use OTC or Rx creams, rubs, sprays and the like there is a solution.  Granted, it is a bit of an odd solution yet I have found that KY (or store brand) warming lubricants and massage oils provide just the right amount of warmth for arthritis/joint/muscular issues without the harsh impact of the sports rubs.   However, be warned, do not slap the stuff on haphazardly.  The products are developed for sensitive skin areas/mucus membranes,  it will take a bit for it to absorb into thicker skin.  Apply a thin layer over the afflicted area and wait to feel it.  Give it a few minutes,… you’ll start to feel it.  Reapply as needed.

·        We often hear ‘a body in motion stays in motion’, heck, it’s the premise of most NSAID ads.  Movement is essential.  Long term pain patients surely are no stranger to pt and aquatics with a list of exercises that must be done when homebound.  However, no one can quite grasp the struggle it is to push through the pain to force oneself to stand in one’s living room doing leg lifts or hooking exercise bands onto door knobs… it tends to go the way of old exercise equipment.  However, being stagnant only leads to increased pain.  It is also quite unhealthy for state of mind.   Failure you uphold daily movement will ultimately result in atrophied muscles, worsening of other medical conditions and symptoms and each day becomes harder to complete simple tasks.  So it must be done. 

There is a way to accomplishment movement without the dread, and perhaps risk of injury from failure to do the exercises correctly.  I have found that mimicking dance moves which involve slow, fluid motions is a great way to get yourself moving.  However, before making any changes to your exercise routine or medical care you must first consult your physician, no ifs and or butts.  The videos below I’ve posted in the past so please forgive the duplication.  If you notice the footwork and observe the motions most are low impact to the joints and slow-controlled fluid motions with the added benefit of music to spur you along.  To each their own, everyone has their own taste and methods yet perhaps the above will provide you with some sort of foundation for change.

(watch for more pain mang. Tips & tricks to be posted soon)

Disclaimer:  The above information is not a substitution for medical care. Before making any changes or additions to your health care it is strongly advised to consult your attending physician.  Any injuries or Incidents are not the liability of the author of this blog entry.  The above is for informational purposes only.  Reader assumes all liability and responsibility for their own health situation.  (sorry, … ‘tis the world we live in, soon, instead of saying ‘excuse me’ or such following a sneeze we’ll need to spout a disclaimer instead… ‘any illness resulting from my discharge of germs from my sneeze yadda yadda yadda, you get the point, :o)