Fortnightly features' series: Dealing with Pain

Dealing with Pain

 

Pain

 

Pain is the topmost reason that for a visit to the doctor’s for most patients. Almost everyone has experienced some sort of pain at some point. Certain pains are obvious, such as a fracture, burn or a cut. Some pains are acute and serious, pointing to conditions such as a perforated appendix, cancer or chest pains associated with heart attacks while chronic pains like arthritis can affect patients indefinitely.

 

How people react to pain differs greatly as everyone feels pain independently. Pain is highly subjective. And because it is not visible, and few can even describe it properly, management can be difficult.

 

Pain is often described as sharp, dull, tingling sensation, burning, aching or even itching. The most common types of chronic pain are lower back pain, migraines, neck and facial pain. The brain processes the sensations of pain and people’s sensitivities to pain may vary as the nervous system receives and sends such pain signals.

 

Pain can often lead to sleep problems and other psychological problems such as anger, depression, anxiety and frustration.

 

Types of pain management

 

While there is no magic cure-all for pain, there are various options that patients can utilise to relieve some pain when needed. It is worth consulting with a trusted physician to find out what works best.

 

Here is a description of some common methods of pain relief:

 

Stimulation- Using electric stimulation to treat chronic pain is gaining popularity, although there is not a lot of scientific evidence to support this form of treatment modality yet. Used mostly to treat chronic back and leg pain, stimulation involves the implantation of a small wire through the back to deliver electrical impulses to certain areas in the spinal cord.

 

Another technique, known as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, is also being used in lower back, muscle and arthritic pains. Electrical currents are passed through a patch placed on the skin and are supposed to reduce sensations of pain.

 

Drugs- From over-the-counter analgesics to potent prescription-only pain relief medications, drugs are often the first option for most patients as they work rapidly and are convenient. However, the pain-relieving effects do not last long enough and the risks of nasty side effects are ever present.

 

However, new drugs are constantly being developed and there are now a whole lot of different pain medications that target specific pathways in the brain to treat different pain conditions and it may be worthwhile to discuss with your doctor which is best for you. It is also advisable to seek treatment early so that any underlying conditions can be discovered and treatment will easier.

 

Alternative therapies- Certain alternative therapies, in particular, Acupuncture and Biofeedback have been studied and found to be quite effective in the treatment of chronic pain. Acupuncture involves the sticking of needles into certain parts of the body to offer pain relief while biofeedback requires patients to control their breathing, muscle tension, heart rate and blood pressure.

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