Peter James Field asked:


At one point or another each of us has experienced pain.

Though few people actually welcome it, few would deny that it has an essential role to play in our survival. After all, without pain, we simply wouldn’t be aware that tissue damage is taking place somewhere in our body and that we need to do something - fast.

In any approach to pain, of course, we need to first check with a qualified doctor or other medical practitioner. It is essential that we get a proper medical evaluation of our situation and the correct treatment for any disease or injury that we may have suffered.

But what if we have already done this? But what if we have already received and understood the message pain brings, done all we - and the doctor - can do and yet still the pain exists?

This is the predicament faced by millions of us on a daily basis. And living with this kind of pain seriously affects the quality of life for anyone forced to experience and endure it.

Generally speaking, pain may be divided into two distinct types: Acute pain and chronic pain.

Acute pain is useful and indeed, essential. It informs us of what needs attention and this is the reason for its existence. It’s a signal relayed from the wounded area to the brain alerting us to take action.

But chronic pain is altogether different. With pain of this kind, we have already received the message and still it persists. It is ongoing and relentless. It’s as if we seem to be just stuck with it.

Indeed, the chronic pain generated by conditions such as rheumatism, back and shoulder pain, arthritis, migraine headaches, post surgical pain, cancer (and sometimes its treatment), fybromyalgia etc serves no useful purpose. It is unneeded for our survival.

Put simply, chronic pain is useless pain.

When pain outlives its usefulness it needs to be muted or silenced.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that we almost always look to ourselves last in any attempt to control our chronic pain. Yet it is within our self and our own mind that real pain relief and truly effective pain control can be found.

Because we are so accustomed to looking outside of ourselves for help with pain, we seem to have a learned mind-set of helplessness when it comes to chronic pain. We have been conditioned to accept that something or someone external to ourselves is responsible for making pain go away.

Understanding that we have it within our self to control pain is a major step forward in releasing its truly debilitating grip on our life.

And this is the wonderful power of using hypnosis and self-hypnosis for pain relief.

With properly applied hypnosis we are empowered to instruct our own mind to dramatically reduce - and in many cases totally eliminate - any pain we may be experiencing.

No drugs, no apparatus, no TEMS machines are needed. Indeed, hypnosis is so powerful that it can be, and sometimes is, used instead of local or general anaesthetic in order to completely eliminate pain even in major surgery.

All that’s required is your mind’s own innate capacities and abilities.

If you or someone you care about suffers from chronic pain, there really is something you can do about it.

By working with an experienced and fully qualified transformational hypnotherapist, you can learn how to control even long-standing chronic pain.

Using the power of your own mind you can indeed learn to control pain - and regain control of your life.

Anna Hart asked:


Is ongoing chest pain a sign of heart failure? Chest pains of any type can be frightening. You may think you are having a heart attack. The thought that it might be heart attack can increase chest pains. You should see a doctor immediately to be sure.

Supposing, though, that you have seen a doctor about your ongoing chest pain. You were not having a heart attack. Your doctor sent you home, but the chest pains continue to come and go.



Is ongoing chest pain a sign of heart failure that the doctor might miss?

Possible Reasons for Ongoing Chest Pains

Chest pains are often, but not always heart related. The nerves flowing from the spinal column can echo pain, making us think one part of the body hurts when the problem is actually in another part. Once we are convinced that chest pains relate to the heart, it can be difficult to find the true source of the problem. Physicians are frequently faced with this dilemma. The chest pain is not “all in your head”. It is real pain. It may not relate to the heart, however, no matter how much your head tells you it does.

We do not have space here to list every cause of chest pain, but we can give examples. Assuming you have already undergone physical examination for your chest pains, consider the following. You will want to discuss your chest pain with a qualified, licensed physician.

* Anxiety: Chest pains often are caused by anxiety. Your body responds to stressors by preparing for fight or flight. However, you do neither. Instead, you continue the anxious state of preparation. Your body continues to pour forth chemicals to help you fight or flee. This process can trigger ongoing chest pain. If this is true in your case, the ongoing chest pain is not a sign of heart failure. It is your body’s warning that you need to reduce anxiety.

* Angina pectoris: Chest pains may indicate blocked arteries. Do you get the chest pains when you engage in physical activities, try to handle emotional stress, or endure extreme temperatures? Do the chest pains feel like pressure under the breastbone? If so, ask your doctor to check for angina.

* Costochondritis: This cause of chest pains is really an inflammation of the joints in your chest. Inflammation where ribs and breastbone connect may cause chest pain along the edges of your breastbone. Your pain may get worse when you cough or take a deep breath. An anti-inflammatory medicine or heat may relieve the pain. This problem usually goes away on its own. Ask your doctor about it.

* Periconditis: Chest pains may also be caused by another type of inflammation - inflammation of the heart lining.

* Musculoskeletal: Ongoing chest pain may be a matter of muscle strain. Perhaps you twisted or lifted in such a way as to pull a chest muscle. This type of ongoing chest pain hurts when you touch the chest.

* Gall Bladder: A gall bladder attack can cause excruciating chest pain. This can stop and start many times. It is related to eating, however, and not to the heart.

* Acid reflux: A common cause of ongoing chest pain is acid reflux, GERD, or heartburn. This feels like the heart is in pain. It can come and go frequently. Ask your doctor if your ongoing chest pain may be related to your digestive system.

Make the Connection

Is your ongoing chest pain a sign of heart failure? It might be - if you have other symptoms of heart failure. Do you have trouble breathing? Do you become uncomfortable when lying flat because you feel short of breath? Are your legs and arms swollen with excess fluid? Have you gained weight from water retention? Do you feel like you have indigestion, and you would rather not eat because of it?

With your ongoing chest pain, do you feel tired, weak, and not able to do the physical things you usually do? Are you restless and confused? Does it seem that your attention span has grown shorter and your memory is failing?

These are some, but not all, of the symptoms that accompany chest pain if you are experiencing heart failure.

Helpful Tip

Your doctor will probably be able to make a tentative diagnosis of heart failure if you have swelling and are short of breath. He or she will listen to your chest, tap the chest, and even take a chest X-ray. If your doctor suspects heart failure, other tests will be ordered.

Many therapies can help ease your heart’s workload. If your chest pains are caused by heart failure, your physician can help.

CAUTION: The information presented here is for general educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice. You should not rely on this information to make health decisions. Consult your family doctor about your personal condition.

Hemant Yagnick, M.D. asked:


Patients with advanced cancer often have pain as their chief complaint. Although advances in cancer treatment have lengthened survival among cancer patients, cancer pain remains under treated in patients. It has been estimated that 25% of all cancer patients who die, do so without adequate pain relief, despite the fact that the tools for adequate pain control are available. With advanced disease, 90% of patients with cancer require strong opiates to control their pain. However, many physicians remain concerned about inadvertently making a patient an addict if they prescribe narcotics to treat pain. Cultural and attitudinal barriers, knowledge deficits among health care professionals, and the influence of state and federal drug regulatory agencies also contribute to the fact that the pain experienced by cancer patients, all too often, is under-treated.



Cancer pain is classified according to pain duration and quality. Duration of pain can denote the acute or chronic nature of pain. It is common to experience anxiety, apprehension and depression in patients with cancer pain. The types of pain most commonly experienced by cancer patients are:

- Acute cancer related pain

- Chronic cancer related pain

- Pain unrelated to cancer

- Pain in opiod tolerant cancer patients

- End of life pain

After an appropriate medical history review and a physical, a pain physician will tailor a suitable pain treatment program. Because everyone has a different response to medications and therapies, the other types of drugs with pain relievers. They include anti-inflammatory steroids, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants. These drugs may be effective treatments for specific types of pain or pain with specific causes. For example, the doctor may prescribe antidepressants to help relieve certain types of pain. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the patient is suffering from depression. Similarly, steroids often are effective in relieving pain associated with inflammation.

Cancer pain can be controlled effectively through therapies already available today. Pain treatments range from mild, nonprescription pain relievers, to stronger prescription medications, to neurological surgery, to alternative therapies such as relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery, and acupuncture.

Oncologists and pain specialists can devise a treatment plan based on the type and severity of pain, side effects, and how the patient responds to the treatment. Some common approaches to treat cancer pain include:

1. Oral Medicines- Aspirin & NSAIDs, Opiods, Adjuvants

2. Intravenous drugs

3. Transdermal drug delivery systems

4. Nerve blocks

5. Interthecal drug pumps

6. Neuroablstive procedures

Although they have cancer pain, many patients are afraid of getting addicted to pain medicines. When cancer pain medicines are given and taken in the right way, patients rarely become addicted to them. To be sure, they should talk to the doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about how to use pain medications safely. Many patients only need pain medicines for a time, until the cause of the pain goes away due to other treatments like chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. When they are ready to stop taking the medicine, the doctor gradually lowers the amount of medicine they take. By the time they stop using it completely, the body has had time to adjust. Some patients will need to take pain medicines for the long-term. Taking medicines regularly should not make patients feel like an “addict.”



Physical dependence, tolerance to medication and addiction are three different issues in people treated with strong pain medications. The patient’s physician can explain the subtle but important difference between them. It’s often easier to control pain in its early stages, because it becomes severe. Therefore, it is better for cancer pain patients to ask for adequate pain relief.

A primary care physician or oncologist can help explain the possible options for pain relief and can make a referral, when necessary, to a pain medicine specialist for optimal pain management.

About Walton Rehabilitation Health System:

Walton Rehabilitation Health Systems (WRHS) is a leading not-for-profit comprehensive, multi-specialty, dedicated provider of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Our mission is to be an advocate for wellness by providing a continuum of services to treat the whole person. WRHS, whose reputation extends throughout the south, is a trusted partner with just the right expertise and treatments to help people with disabling injuries and illnesses return to work and to a fulfilling life. By pursuing its mission, WRHS has grown to include Walton Pain and Headache Centers, Walton Community Services, Walton Options for Independent Living, Walton Foundation for Independence, and Walton Technologies. We are located at: 1355 Independence Drive, Augusta, GA 30901-1037. For more information visit www.wrh.org or call 866-4-WALTON.

peterhutch asked:


Joint pain & body pain have been a matter of serious concern. One way or other most people of old age suffer from it. But not only have the old, even young people also experienced these pains. In younger people it is mostly the aftermath of any serious injury suffered earlier which reoccurs from time to time.

Human body function like a locomotive system comprises of the axial skeleton (spine) & the limbs (upper & lower) where two or more bones meet and a joint is formed. The particular surfaces are designed to provide movement. In the form of joints life starts with movement & movement continues throughout life. Ageing joint shows wear & tear and symptoms of pain appear. A systematic phase becomes symptomatic. Aging cannot be arrested or stopped. But it can be delayed and the pain can be cured.

Pain is the most common reason that people seek medical attention. But pain is actually hard to define because it’s a subjective sensation. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines it as an “unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.

Joint pain can be caused by injury affecting any of the ligaments, bursae, or tendons surrounding the joint. Injury can also affect the ligaments, cartilage, and bones within the joint. Pain is also a feature of joint inflammation (arthritis) and infection, and can be a feature of tumors of the joint. Joint pain is also referred to as arthralgia.

Symptoms of Joint Pains

No matter what the cause, joint pain can be quite bothersome. The intensity of the pain as well as its duration is variable, and may increase with use of the affected joint. Weakness, numbness, tingling, sleeping difficulties, lack of energy and depression may accompany the pain. If the pain lasts for more than six months, it is considered chronic.

More severe symptoms of joint pain, often related to chronic conditions, will require prescription NSAIDs to reduce pain, inflammation or swelling. Unfortunately, most of these over-the-counter and prescription medications have potentially harmful side effects which can increase the risk of a stroke or heart attack in patients.

Menopause symptoms joint pain has a very intriguing effect. When menopause starts it is almost confirmed that the lady would have joint pain also. Survey shows that today 2 out of 3 ladies have joint pain if they have their menopause.

Symptoms of joint pain are persistent joint pain, involuntary weight loss, severe, unexplained joint pain accompanied with other unexplained symptoms. Pain can also be felt due to joint inflammation (arthritis) and infection or due to tumors of the joint.

Joint pain is due to aging, but it’s not true wholly. Menopause can also be the cause. With the onset of the menopause the joint pain starts. Firstly menopause generally attacks the smaller joints and then comes the turn of hips, shoulders, knees in the later 60s.

Liver flavored chewable tablet product that animals love to chew as much as owners love the results. Many pets respond quite rapidly to CMO’s joint improving benefits. It is not uncommon to see a dog limping in pain one day and running around like a new pup 4-5 days later. Cats that have not been able to jump up on a bed or a sofa for quite some time may soon be back to the pain free ‘kitten stage’ of jumping up on the table.

Anna Hart asked:


Your back hurts. It hurts a lot. You ask, “What are the exercises to stop the back pain now?” or you plead, “Give me information on back pain exercise!”

Surprisingly, too much rest during an encounter of back pain will often make the condition worse. A day or two of rest should be followed by specific back pain exercise for complete recovery.

How Can Exercise Stop Back Pain?

Careful, thoughtful back pain exercise will help distribute nutrients up and down your spinal column, feeding your muscles, ligaments, nerves, and joints. Specific back pain exercise will stretch you back, making it supple. Other back pain exercise will strengthen your back, and make it strong. Weakness and stiffness, increased by rest, can be overcome by back pain exercise.

Exercises to stop the back pain now will also prevent future back pain, since you will be increasing your back’s ability to handle extra stress or injury.

CHOOSE EXERCISE, NOT REST, TO STOP BACK PAIN NOW

Before you begin back pain exercise, check with your health care provider. Not every back pain exercise will be right for you. If your injury is severe, a spine care specialist will recommend specific exercise techniques to meet your need. Your back pain exercise program should work the entire body, even though your primary target is the back.

What Are the Exercises to Stop Back Pain Now?

Once you decide that back pain exercise is essential, you will want to choose appropriate exercises. We recommend a doctor’s advice, and suggest that you show your doctor these possibilities.

1. Back Pain Exercises - Stretching

Stretching muscles, ligaments and tendons is essential for back health. Whether or not you are currently experiencing back pain, regular stretching of the back will give strength to overcome or prevent injury and trauma to the back. If yours is chronic back pain, plan on regular, daily stretching for as much as six months to give your back the flexibility and strength it needs. You may want to schedule more than one stretching session per day, but work carefully. Eventually, you will find that back pain exercise keeps back pain from recurring.

Set goals (expectations with due dates) for each muscle group. Decide a date by which you want each of these muscle groups to be strong. Write down each date, and determine to meet it.

Warm Up First for Safe, Efficient Back Pain Exercise!!

If there is any pain, stop or take it more slowly.

Cool down after your back pain exercise.

* Gluteus muscles. The muscles in your buttocks support flexibility in your hips as well as your pelvis. Back pain exercise should include these muscles daily.

The gluteus stretch. Sit in a straight back or folding chair. Move your bottom only forward several inches from the chair back. In that position, lightly press your feet against the floor. Now squeeze your gluteus muscles together, and hold for 5 minutes. This stretch allows you to get back pain exercise while watching TV.

* Hamstrings. Located in the back of each leg, your hamstrings help give you correct posture.

The hamstring stretch. Place one foot on a chair, keeping the other leg straight. Bend over until your chest touches the knee of the foot on the chair. Keep your chest on the elevated leg as you slowly back the other leg away from the chair. Hold your stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. This stretch gives good back pain exercise without equipment.

* Piriformis. The piriformis syndrome is caused by the piriformis muscle irritating the sciatic nerve. You feel pain in the buttocks, and referred pain from the back of your thigh to the base of the spine. Many people call this lower back pain “sciatica”.

The piriformis stretch. Lie on your back, right hip and knee flexed. Grasp your right knee with your left hand, and pull the knee towards your left shoulder. In this position, grasp just above the right ankle with the right hand, and rotate the ankle outwards. Repeat with your left side. You might want to do this back pain exercise with gentle music.

* Psoas Major. Lower back mobility can be greatly limited by a tight Psoas Major. This muscle often causes back pain that makes it difficult to kneel on both knees, or to stand for extended periods.

The Psoas Major stretch. Kneel on your right knee, left foot flat on the floor, left knee bent. Rotate the right leg outward. Place your hand on the right gluteus muscle and tighten the muscle. Lean forward through your hip, careful not to bend the lower spine. You should feel the stretch in the front of your right hip. Hold for about 30 seconds. Repeat with your left leg. If you have young children, include them in your back pain exercise.

2. Back Pain Exercises - Strengthening

Back pain can be stopped now, and greatly avoided in the future, by decreasing lower back stress. These exercises develop critical muscles in the abdomen, lower back, and gluteus. Both of these back pain exercises are learned better when working with a trained physical therapist, but if you are careful, you can learn them alone. Although you may do daily stretching back pain exercises, it is important to take a few days off each week from strengthening back pain exercises.

Lower Back strengthening. Begin by lying flat on your back on the floor. Do not push your back down on the floor. Bend both knees. Pull your navel (belly button) in toward your back while keeping your back relaxed. As you breathe out, stretch your arms upward as though you are reaching for an overhead chandelier. Gradually raise head and shoulders from the floor until your shoulder blades are barely touching the floor. Hold the position one to two seconds. Repeat 8 to 12 times. If you feel pain with this back pain exercise, stop or try to do it more gently and slowly.

3. Back and Leg strengthening. This is one of the McKenzie Exercises, named after a New Zealand physical therapist. Lie on your stomach, and push up off the floor with both hands, raising only your chest. Keep your pelvis flat on the floor. Raise your back to a comfortable stretch and hold for 8 to 10 seconds. Repeat 8 to 12 times. You should feel no pain with this back pain exercise, only a pulling up of the spine.

It is strongly suggested that any back pain exercise be done only after seeking professional medical advice.

Stephen Lau asked:


Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lau

Pain is not localized because it is the outcome of a series of reactions in the body and the mind. Pain is felt and experienced only when the injured area sends signals through your nervous system to your brain, which receives and interprets these signals.

Pain is always connected with inflammation. When the injured area becomes inflamed, the inflammatory response intensifies, and so does your perception of pain.

What should you do when dealing with pain? Most people’s first reaction in dealing with pain is to stop the pain with a painkiller - it is understandable. However, this may not be the best option for dealing with pain, because it only temporarily relieves the pain but does not prevent the pain from happening again.

If you have chest pain, which may portend an imminent heart attack; your priority is to avoid the heart attack rather than the pain itself. In fact, sometimes pain may be a positive sign of warning of the imminence of a disease. Therefore, in dealing with pain, it is important to prevent a health crisis rather than just suppressing the pain.

Take another example: if you are prone to migraine attacks, your priority in life is to prevent a migraine episode from happening, rather than dealing with the pain that results from the crisis. Migraines are not caused by trauma, but by chemicals in your body that control pain and inflammation. Accordingly, to deal with migraines is to anticipate and control the inflammation, rather than the resultant migraine pain. Like the common cold, once it has started, taking vitamin C or a cold tablet will not stop the cold - you just have to let it run its course. Any cold medication may only further weaken your immunity down the road, just as a painkiller may make your body more toxic, and thus more susceptible to pain in future.

Therefore, dealing with pain is not to influence your perception of pain, but to stop the damage from causing the pain in the first place.

Using diet is the most effective way in dealing with pain (see my previous article), not only by preventing the occurrence of pain but also by combating the pain itself. For example, hot chili peppers contain a chemical called capsaicin, which is effective in blocking your nerves from transmitting pain messages to your brain. Capsaicin is one of the most important active ingredients in ointments used for arthritis, shingles, and post-mastectomy pain.

Apart form diet, exercise also helps you boost your pain resistance. Your body makes natural painkillers - enkephalins and endorphins. Exercise may activate these chemicals in your body. This is best explained by pain tolerance in competitive athletes. In vigorous competitive sports, the body releases endorphins to block out pain perception. The kind of exercise that stimulates endorphin release is aerobic - bicycling, running, and walking - exercise that pumps your heart and works out your lungs, as opposed to weight lifting that targets only your muscles.

Acupuncture is another way to deal with pain.

For thousands of years, acupuncture has been used by the Chinese to decrease pain by increasing the release of endorphins. Many acu-points are located near nerves. When stimulated, these nerves cause a dull ache or feeling of fullness in the muscle. The stimulated muscle then sends a message to the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), causing the release of endorphins. The theory is based on the belief that there is “qi” (vital life energy) coursing through your body, and that diseases are caused by lack of balance between the positive and negative energies in an individual. Acupuncture not only generates its analgesic effects through sensory stimulation, but also removes the problem that causes the pain.

Alan Densky asked:


The axiom “no pain, no gain” simply is not true. Envision all of the times pain has hindered you from engaging in activities that you enjoy - perhaps running, playing tennis, fishing and even sitting can be impossible when you are in pain. Did you gain anything from missing out on memories?

However, the adage that “Pain is all in your head” can, in fact, be true. If that is the case, then the cure is all in your head, also. With hypnosis, pain can disappear completely. Despite what you may think, hypnosis is simply a mental state during which messages can reach the unconscious more easily. The state of hypnosis is characterized by deep relaxation. In fact, with regular practice of a self hypnosis pain elimination regimen, you will feel much more calm over all.

Pain is a signal that something in your body is amiss. So pain is actually a positive thing. But after you have your doctor check you out to ensure that the pain is not indicating a harmful condition like a tumor, it’s time to manage or even eliminate the pain.

There is no risk in a hypnotherapeutic pain relief program. You cannot “get stuck” in a hypnotic state. The worst that would ever happen when you use self hypnosis for pain reduction is that you could fall into a natural state of sleep for a half hour- think of all of the nights that pain has kept you from sleeping!

This is not to say that a hypnotherapeutic pain management system is similar to sleep, because that is the major misunderstanding about hypnosis. When you are asleep, you’re unconscious. If you are unconscious, then you cannot hear anything. If you cannot hear anything, then a hypnotherapist cannot assist you. Hypnosis is actually a state of keen awareness.

Despite being consciously aware of everything, hypnotherapeutic pain management programs can tackle both physical and mental causes and introduce many effective avenues to eliminate pain. Medicines only block the reception of the physical symptoms of pain briefly, but hypnotherapeutic pain regimens can actually decrease the amount and strength of pain signals that you sense. You can literally reprogram your body to send less pain-inducing chemicals to your receptors. This means that you can use fewer pain-killing medications, or in many cases no medications at all.

Endorphins are opiate-like elements that are manufactured in the brain. They are the elements that cause athletes to get a high when they workout very hard. Using self hypnosis, you can also discover how to program your brain to create pain-relieving endorphins on demand and then send them to the painful area where they are required.

Thanks to endorphins, the brain is capable of inducing analgesia, which is a mild anesthesia, as well as complete anesthesia (numbness). Medical journals are full of reports both in pre-anesthesia days, as well as in modern times, when major surgery has been completed under hypnoanesthesia.

Hypnosis can also be used to program the mind to direct your attention away from pain, which will help you perceive much less discomfort. Further, hypnotherapeutic pain management CDs can help our mind realize and understand that the pain is there, but not to let us feel it. A qualified hypnotherapist will know how to completely address additional hypnotic suggestions that will aid in your recovery.

A very effective hypnosis pain remedy lies in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. No doubt that after dealing with chronic pain, you may be doubtful that a hypnotherapeutic pain program will get the job done. In many cases, NLP techniques actually are more successful for modern thinkers than traditional hypnosis does because it was created for people like you who are brought up to question and analyze everything. When we analyze, we tend to put up barriers to the acceptance of post-hypnotic suggestions.

Stressful feelings always make us perceive far more pain than we are actually experiencing. One of the most successful NLP patterns for eliminating stress is known as the “Flash.” This tool reprograms the unconscious mind to use mental images that create stress to actually trigger thoughts that create feelings of relaxation in their place. After you have used this technique, it will be difficult or impossible to think the thoughts that trouble you, because your unconscious will instantly and automatically exchange them in a Flash for thoughts that relax you instead.

Self hypnosis and pain relief go hand in hand. If you are exhausted from coping with prescriptions that render you in no condition to drive or to fully experience life, or worse, of living with the throbbing, stabbing or shooting pulsations of discomfort, a hypnosis pain elimination program can provide safe, natural and instantaneous relief.

Antonio LeMaire asked:


Back pain is one of the most common medical complaints that doctors hear about. It affects more than 80% of adults at some point in their lives.

While it can impact those of varying ages and backgrounds, certain people are more at risk for back pain than others. And there are a variety of strategies they can use for back pain relief.

The following is a summary of the main risk factors that could leave you susceptible to back pain, followed by some of the most common causes of back pain, and treatments for back pain relief.

Risk Factors for Back Pain

* Age. Your chance of suffering from back pain increases with age. Because the discs that provide cushioning to the spine can wear out over time, older people are more likely to experience back pain than the young.

* Obesity. Being overweight places an added burden on the spine. This can unduly stress the back, resulting in back pain.

* Sedentary Lifestyle. People who sit for long periods of time at a desk are more susceptible to back pain. Sitting, especially in a slumped position, can put you at increased risk for back pain. People who exercise and are more physically active are less likely to injure their backs or suffer from back pain than others.

* Occupational Hazards. People with jobs that require large amounts of standing, lifting, bending, and/or twisting are more likely to suffer from back pain. These activities place additional strain on the spine, which can contribute to back pain or injury.

* Smoking. Smokers appear to have a higher risk of back pain than non-smokers. This may be related to the fact that smoking reduces blood circulation. In addition, smokers tend to take longer to heal than non-smokers, which could mean that back pain lasts longer for them.

Common Causes of Back Pain

* Injuries. Pulled or strained muscles, fractures, sprains and other injuries are often the root cause of back pain. These injuries, even when not affecting the back directly, can increase pressure on the spine, which stresses the back.

* Spinal Disc Problems. Discs act as cushions between the spinal vertebrae. Disc degeneration, ruptured or herniated discs and other disc-related conditions can result in sudden or chronic back pain.

* Arthritis. Various forms of arthritis, or inflammation of the joints, can either cause back pain or make it worse. Osteoarthritis, in particular, is a common cause of back pain among older adults.

* Other Diseases or Conditions. Scoliosis, kidney stones, endometriosis, and fibromyalgia are among the conditions that are associated with back pain. In rare cases, back pain may be caused by infection or cancer in the spine.

Common Treatments For Back Pain Relief

If you suffer from back pain, you should consult with a physician for a proper diagnosis and to determine the best treatment options, because the best method of managing your back pain often depends on what caused it.

Here are some treatments and pain relief medications often prescribed by doctors for back pain:

* Over the Counter Pain Relief. Aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen can all be effective for back pain relief.

* Prescription Pain Relief Medication. A variety of prescription medications have been shown to be effective in the treatment of back pain. These include muscle relaxants, narcotics, and prescription-strength anti-inflammatory drugs.

* Exercise and Physical Therapy. Chronic back pain can often be eased through certain types of exercise or physical therapy, though strenuous exercise is usually not recommended for acute back pain.

* Heat Therapy or Cold Packs. Hot or cold packs can sometimes provide effective pain relief. Cold packs help reduce swelling and can numb back pain to some extent while heat helps loosen and relax muscles.

* Alternative Pain Relief Treatments. Some people with back pain have been helped by alternative treatments including: massage therapy, acupuncture and acupressure, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).

* Surgery. Surgery is considered only in cases where chronic back pain does not respond to other treatments.

Michael Douglas asked:


Doctors differ in how they deal with pain. Older ones - of the family doctor variety who have a lot of experience in treating a variety of non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses - often dismiss pain with a hearty, “You’ll feel better soon.” Younger specialists, who have to fight much harder to earn their livelihoods and are also more materialistic, are much more solicitous of their patients’ comfort and prescribe painkillers as easily as they would offer a child sweets.

But on the whole doctors tend to under-treat pain. There is a feeling that pain is just a fact of life. It accompanies all illnesses and it has to be borne. There is also the fear - both among doctors and among patients - that if painkillers are taken too often, they could become a habit.

But, as doctors are realising, pain can take a heavy toll on a patient’s health and spirits. Compared to this, the risk of becoming addicted to painkillers is small. OTC (or over the counters) drugs are medicines that can be bought without a prescription and can relieve pain quite miraculously if they are used before the pain becomes really bad. And if one medicine does not work, a stronger one can be tried.

But does this mean that OTC medicines can be popped as nonchalantly as we pop chocolates into our mouths? Many people think that they can, but they are wrong. In fact, there are many misconceptions about pain. Here are the myths and the true facts about them.

Misconception 1. If pain goes away with OTC medication, it cannot be anything serious.

This is not true. Your response to OTC medicines has nothing to do with the seriousness of your medical problem. A sprained ankle is definitely not life-threatening, but the pain can be excruciating and may not respond to OTC medicine at all. On the other hand, serious illnesses like cancer or strokes may cause so little pain (at times) that OTC medicines work fine for patients.

So when do you take pain seriously? A rule of thumb is that minor ailments, even if the pain is agonising at first, normally heal or get much better in a week. They also don’t come on very suddenly. You should see a doctor if the condition does not improve, if the attacks of pain are sudden and strong and if OTC medicines do not work at all.

Misconception 2. Women deal with pain better than men do.

Actually, research has proved that neither sex is better in dealing with pain per se. There are different kinds of pain and men and women deal with them differently. Women are able to deal better with chronic pain than men are, but men can deal better with sudden, acute pain - like when you hit your thumb with a hammer or touch something very hot.

Women, however, recover from pain quicker than men do. So in the case of, say a tooth extraction, women suffer more initially, but are less bothered by the lingering discomfort over the next few days.

Research on people suffering from osteoarthritis has given a reason for this ability of women to deal with chronic pain. They cope because they complain to friends, seek support, pray and ask their doctors for help. So they get emotional support and this helps them. Men, on the other hand, try to grin and bear it, to keep up their macho image and, as a result, they do not cope as well.

Misconception 3. Breast cancer does not cause pain.

It is true that breast cancer doesn’t cause pain in the initial stages, but this does not mean that if something is causing you pain in your breast, it cannot be breast cancer. Certain uncommon types of breast cancer can cause pain - for example, cancer that affects the skin and lymph glands in the breast.

But generally, tenderness in the breast is nothing to worry about. This can be caused by the peaking of the hormone progesterone just before one’s periods and also by hormones that older women take after menopause.

Harmless cysts, too heavy a workout and even a bra that doesn’t fit properly can cause pain in the breasts and this is nothing to worry about. But one should visit the doctor if one notices a lump in the breast, if there is a change in the appearance of a breast or nipple, if there is a swelling, redness, a persistent nagging pain in either breast or if one experiences unusual sensations in a breast, whether painful or not.

Misconception 4. Everyone responds to pain in the same way.

Not only do men and women respond to pain in different ways, but different individuals have different thresholds of pain. Some bear the pain of a broken arm without a murmur while others weep and moan over a small bruise. Again the same individual may react differently to pain when she is upset, is under stress, is with a friend, is calm and when she knows that she has to cope by herself. Hormone levels can affect response to pain too. Women are generally more sensitive to pain just before their periods.

Misconception 5. One should always take medicine for a headache.

No, one should not take medicine for a headache because, though the pill makes you feel better immediately, headache medicine actually makes the brain more susceptible to pain and so popping pills can, in the longer time period, cause “rebound” headaches.

So analgesics should be reserved for really bad headaches and for times when you have to function at your best. At other times, a short nap in a quiet, preferably dark, room is a good way to get rid of a headache. So is meditation or the application of a cold pack to the area in front of the ear on the side one has the headache.

Misconception 6. A pain that is strong in the morning and then decreases as the day progresses can be ignored.

This often happens with joint pains. Muscles, joints and tendons tend to be stiff in the mornings and hence cause pain. But, as the day progresses and you move around, these loosen up and the pain subsides. Such pains can be ignored when you know that they are caused by minor injuries which will get cured.

But if the pain is not caused by an injury, it is not going to get cured by itself and something has to be done about it. If this kind of pain (which is worse in the morning and gets better as the day advances) persists, becomes worse and becomes chronic, it could be something like osteoarthritis and you should see your doctor.

Misconception 7. No pain, no gain.

This is what all trainers and fitness experts say when they start you off on a new exercise regimen or fitness programme. Yes, sore and painful muscles are a part of all these programmes when you start, but if your workout leaves you in real pain even after a while, it could mean that you are overdoing it, that you are developing an overuse injury or that you are exercising incorrectly.

So you should ease into a new exercise regimen slowly and work different muscle groups on alternate days. Jog and cycle one day and swim the next. Of course, walking is the best. It rarely results in injury and it can be done every day.

Misconception 8. OTC pain relievers are safe and can be taken in any quantity.

Most people feel that the medicines a doctor prescribes are strong and that one has to be careful about using them. They also feel that OTC medicines that one can get without prescriptions are safe and that one can take any amount of them. But this is not true. Overuse of OTC medicines can increase the risk of ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding or damage to the liver. So watch out as you blithely pop those analgesics and cold medications.

Misconception 9. Doctors prescribe anti-depressants when they should be giving you pain relievers.

This is the complaint when a patient who is ill and is suffering from pain is given antidepressants. But it is just not true that the doctor is messing up. Constant pain causes people to be depressed and this worsens the physical symptoms of their illness. Depression can also trigger certain types of pain. Antidepressants on the other hand, help by increasing levels of chemicals that control our moods and the way we perceive pain. So they are good for the treatment of pain.

Misconception 10. All pain can be banished for good by a good doctor.

Unfortunately, this is not so. There are some chronic pains - like backache - that just cannot be cured. But people can learn to manage these pains so that they can function better. Today, doctors are less afraid that patients will become addicted to painkillers and so prescribe them for even chronic pains - to be taken when the pain gets worse, when the patient is under stress or when he or she has to function particularly well.

Today, many doctors operate on the principle that people have the right to be free of pain. They weigh the dangers of becoming addicted to painkillers against the relief that they bring and then take a decision.

Even young patients are given painkillers when the doctor knows that recovery is going to be quick enough for addiction not to be a risk. And at, say, the terminal stage of cancer, they decide to let the patient leave the world free of pain, even if “addicted”.

Doctors also prescribe relaxation exercises and suggest behaviour modification that will help avoid pain. For example, people suffering from back problems should learn not to make sudden movements, to always carry a small pillow for the small of the back when they know they have to sit for a long time and to learn to pick up weights without straining the back.

Physiotherapy can also strengthen the surrounding muscles and having a pain-reliever while this takes place does no harm.

Pain management also includes biofeedback. Many doctors allow post-surgery patients to use a pump that allows them to decide when they need intravenous narcotic painkillers. And doctors have discovered that this way, patients take small and more frequent doses that reduce the total amount of medication they take to be comfortable.

Pain may be a part of life, but we need not suffer from it too much.