Pain

September is Pain Awareness Month

Published: September 11, 2023

Shedding light on the silent suffering

September is a month that signifies the end of summer, the beginning of fall, and for many, the return to routines and responsibilities. However, September also holds another important role—it’s Pain Awareness Month. This dedicated month seeks to raise awareness about the silent and often misunderstood epidemic of chronic pain.

Graphic, pain isn't always black or white

Understanding Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is not just a physical sensation; it’s a life-altering experience that affects millions of people worldwide. It is typically defined as pain that persists for at least 12 weeks, beyond the expected time for healing. Chronic pain can result from various underlying conditions, including arthritis, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, and many others. It doesn’t discriminate by age, gender, or background and can strike anyone at any time.

Chronic pain affects more Americans adults than heart disease,cancer and diabetes combined ~ Stanford Institute of Medicine

Chronic Pain is Like a Car With Four Flat Tires

One of the greatest challenges with chronic pain is its invisibility. Unlike a visible injury or illness, chronic pain is often hidden beneath the surface, leaving those who suffer from it feeling isolated and misunderstood. This can lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, and a sense of hopelessness. Friends, family members, and even healthcare providers may not fully grasp the extent of the suffering endured by those with chronic pain.

Pain Awareness Month is a vital initiative aimed at addressing the challenges of those who suffer with chronic pain. It serves several essential purposes:

Education: It provides an opportunity to educate the public, healthcare providers, and policymakers about the complexities of chronic pain, its various causes, and the importance of effective pain management.
Empowerment: By raising awareness, Pain Awareness Month empowers individuals living with chronic pain to seek help, connect with support networks, and advocate for their needs.
Research and Advocacy: It supports research efforts to better understand and treat chronic pain and advocates for policies that improve access to pain management resources.

Living with pain

If you are living with chronic pain, or caring for a family member who is, listed below are a list of organizations, information and helpful resources.

Pain BC is a registered charity that is transforming the way chronic pain is understood and treated.

Making Sense of Pain Making is a self-management program designed for people with pain who experience marginalization and face barriers to accessing care.

American Chronic Pain Association The mission of the ACPA is to facilitate peer support and education for individuals with chronic pain and their families so that these individuals may live more fully in spite of their pain, and to raise awareness among the health care community, policymakers, and the public at large about issues of living with chronic pain.

Pain, is it all in your head?

Published: July 20, 2017

Kathy James DALL·E 2023-01-01 17.23.49

As I read back through the posts that I have written over the years following my stroke, I recognize that was not a passive recipient of treatment.

In my initial posts I weaved the tapestry of my recovery, postulating and problem solving, often getting the answers wrong.

What I needed right from the very beginning was someone to sit me down and tell me what to expect. This simply didn’t happen, and stroke turned my life upside down. Through all of this I have become my own clinical reasoner and problem solver.

I have written previously that as a consequence of suffering a thalamic stroke, I now have central post stroke pain (CPSP), this condition affects about 12% of those affected by stroke. It is also known as thalamic syndrome or thalamic pain syndrome, it is a neurological disorder and is extremely difficult to treat. CPSP occurs when there is damage to an area of the brain that carries lots of sensory pathways, no particular type of stroke causes CPSP, rather strokes in particular areas of the brain do. Continue Reading

Hallucinogen plant targets pain receptor

Published: March 23, 2012

By C. Hazlett. (Dusenostachys123 at en.wikipedia) Wikimedia Commons

The discovery of how the hallucinogen Salvia affects the brain could lead to new avenues for treating drug addiction, chronic pain, and depression.

At the molecular level, drugs like salvinorin A (the active ingredient of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum) work by activating specific proteins, known as receptors, in the brain and body. [continue reading…]

How to Boost the Power of Pain Relief, Without Drugs

Published: February 3, 2012

Image: StockXpert

Placebos reduce pain by creating an expectation of relief. Distraction—say, doing a puzzle—relieves it by keeping the brain busy. But do they use the same brain processes? Neuromaging suggests they do. When applying a placebo, scientists see activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. That’s the part of the brain that controls high-level cognitive functions like working memory and attention—which is what you use to do that distracting puzzle.

Now a new study challenges the theory that the placebo effect is a high-level cognitive function. The authors—Jason T. Buhle, Bradford L. Stevens, and Jonathan J. Friedman of Columbia University and Tor D. Wager of the University of Colorado Boulder—reduced pain in two ways – either by giving them a placebo, or a difficult memory task. lacebo. But when they put the two together, “the level of pain reduction that people experienced added up. There was no interference between them,” says Buhle. “That suggests they rely on separate mechanisms.” The findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, could help clinicians maximize pain relief without drugs. [continue reading…]

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