Month: February 2018

Contributor: Managing Chronic Pain in Seniors

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More than 100 million American adults have chronic pain, which is more than the total number of people with diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer combined, according to figures provided by the American Academy of Pain Medicine. As the population ages, the issue of chronic pain in senior adults becomes more prevalent. Pain management and awareness are becoming more common. One such venture is Pain Awareness month, which is run by the American Chronic Pain Association. Why Chronic Pain is Such a Big Issue In 2016, there were approximately 46 million U.S. adults aged 65 and older, with this number expected to rise to 98 million by 2060. Unfortunately, research published by the National Library of Medicine confirms that 50% of adults who live alone and 75 – 85% living in elderly care homes have some form of  chronic pain. Causes of Chronic Pain There are many conditions that lead to chronic long term pain in seniors; however, in a survey conducted by the National Institute of Health Statistics, they noted that there are four conditions contributing to the majority …

How to Succeed on Your Terms When Life Interferes

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Success is only what you put into it. The harder you work for something, the better the success will be. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. I Googled “stupid quotes about hard work and motivation.” How pithy are these quotes? How out of touch with reality are they? My reality, anyway. I think about quotes like this often, especially now, because I thought I was done with this blog. I thought it had taught me all I needed to know. Except… I had another MRI that shows degeneration above and below my two fusions, which explains the pain down my arms and up into my head that grows with intensity every day. Breakdown isn’t supposed to happen after a fusion for at least 10 years. My surgeon said that, unfortunately, I have “bad connective tissue.” Yay. This could lead to what is called the “ladder effect,” which is when you have fusion after fusion, laddering up and down the spine until there …

Contributor: The Latest Approaches To Joint Pain Management 

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Arthritis is now the most common cause of disability in USA, and it is on the rise. In a study by John Hopkins Arthritis Centre, the average time lost from productive work as a result of back pain and arthritis was a staggering 5.2 hours per week. Long-term use of pain-relieving medication can have unpleasant side effects, so let’s look at a few of Nature’s remedies that are at our disposal. These, in combination with stretching, weight loss and other techniques, may be useful tools in the fight against pain. Glucosamine – an amazing sugar Glucosamine is what’s known as an amino sugar, which means it’s a kind of sugar/protein hybrid. It is produced in our bodies, but its production naturally slows as we get older. It is needed to produce substances that are the building blocks of our cartilage – the layer of tissue that keeps our joints well lubricated – and reduce the possibility of our bones painfully grinding together, which is essentially what happens in arthritis. A supplement of Glucosamine may therefore help in the …