3/14/12 5 Controversial solutions to your 5 biggest pain complaints

3/14/12 5 Controversial solutions to your 5 biggest pain complaints

·         BACK PAIN:  instead of back surgery.  Your dr should have ordered an xray, ct scan, and a mri for at least 6 weeks until the pain started.  Not every bulging disc has pain associated with it and may get better. 

i)        Physical therapy:  do these at least 3x a week, or can do every day.  Lie down on your back, come back up on elbows, raise your hips up and down.   Lie on your back, straighten left leg out, poke right foot into the back of the knee of the left leg (making the right one into a bent-knee pose), roll over your legs to the left side, press down on the bent knee a little to stretch it more with your left hand. 

ii)      Chiropractors:  60% of people suffering from back pain claim they get relief from it.  It deals with spinal balance, and can help the body to heal itself.  Stretching, strengthening your core, staying hydrated, and when sitting try to avoid long periods of time without getting up as it puts a lot of pressure on your back. 

·         Weight Loss:  the HCG diet which is very controversial.  Human Chorionic Gonadotropin.  People can lose a pound a day.  Taking the pill and eating just 500 calories per day.  It suppresses appetite and burns fat.  Some dieters swear by it, but doctors say no and that it is dangerous.   The injections –not the drops-  are taken with a meal plan- coffee for breakfast, apple for snack, lunch of small piece protein and lettuce, 2 melba toasts for snack, dinner of small piece protein and veg, snack in evening of an apple.  500cal total.  Problems- it may put you on rebound weight gain;  the body burns selective fat cells and leaves the muscle alone.  A new test just done found out people on the placebo lost more fat and muscle.  DO NOT BUY THE DROPS, they are fraudulent and don’t work at all.  There is no scientific evidence the injections work.  No diet below 1200 calories should be used without having an expert.  If you decide to try it, understand you are part of an experiment.

·         Fibromyalgia:  tired, worn out, overcome by unexplained pain.  No concrete tests can tell that it exists.  80% of women, and over 6million people say they have it.  There are 2 conditions- have to have pain throughout your body for 3 consecutive months and have to have 11 out of 18 “tender points” on the body.  Back of the head, in between the shoulder blades, tops of the shoulders, front of the neck, upper chest, inside of the knee.  Women with it have a decrease in blood flow in the part of the brain region known to discriminate pain intensity.  Doctors think that it hurts because of central sensitization, where pain receptors in the brain become more sensitive to pain, and the pain itself causes the fatigue.  Treatments:  over the counter and rx pain relievers, antidepressants, and anti-seizure drugs. The antidepressants are not for depression, just to boost energy level and help with the pain.  Supplements:  D5 Ribose- sugar found naturally in body, helps especially with mental energy.  Melatonin- helps with pain and sleeping while in pain.  Avoid certain foods- wheat, dairy, and nuts.  Stress reduction techniques also help. 

·         Depression:  can magnetic therapy work?  TMS- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation which uses pulse magnetic energy to stimulate and reset neurons in the brain.  It is non- invasive but revolutionary.  There is a device that can provide a very focused magnetic field to the part of the brain that mediates depression.  TMS activates the region and teaches the brain to pick it up and keep activating the activity.  The magnets turn on the parts of the brain that have been turned off, and also changes the bloodflow to the brain.  The treatment is done every day for a 7day period for 3-6 weeks until the person is completely well.  It was approved 3 years ago, but the limitation is with insurance companies.

·         Stress:  Can wine help us more than hurt us.  If you are hard wired for stress you cope with alcohol differently that others.  One glass will calm down the hard wired person, but the 2^nd glass will actually increase the stress that you feel.  The amount of a single serving should be is 5oz glass per day, drink with friends, and have it with food.  Don’t become a wine drinker to stay healthy. 

·         Bonus Tip:  if you are stretching to relieve pain, remember to stretch all of the muscles around the area where you have the discomfort.  For neck, stretch ear to shoulder.