http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/Chronic-pain-blog.html The Chronic Pain Blog at Chronic-Pain-Alternatives provides an unbiased review of the latest news in the world of chronic pain management en-us Chronic pain Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:22:54 GMT Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:22:54 GMT chronic-pain-alternatives.com http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/trigger-points.html Trigger Points are discrete, focal, hyperirritable spots located on a taut band of skeletal muscle. There are a number of treatment options available. Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:49:58 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/neck-pain-and-cancer.html Neck Pain and Cancer. Not all neck pain indicates the presence of cancer, but it is important to know what additional symptoms may be a cause for concern. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:41:26 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/back-pain-and-exercise.html Back Pain and Exercise. How exercise helps in the relief of back pain; learn what exercises provide the most benefit. Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:38:31 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/chronic-pain-and-depression.html Chronic Pain and Depression. How do chronic pain and depression interact. Learn how to break the vicious cycle! Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:08:20 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/back-pain-forgiveness.html Back Pain Forgiveness. There is a connection between your ability to forgive and your experience of pain. Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:02:40 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/fibromyalgia-insomnia.html Hi Interesting site. My wife has fibromyalgia, and from what I've read and been told, one of the main problems with fibromyalgia is insomnia. Is Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:41:48 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/chronic-pain-concepts.html Chronic Pain Concepts. Read about the 6 Chronic Pain Concepts that can help you better understand your chronic pain. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:06:00 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/MSM-benefits.html MSM Benefits. There's a lot of talk about MSM supplements for chronic pain. What are the facts? Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:15:06 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/Chronic-pain-blog.html#Isometrics-and-Pain-Tolerance There is a lot of medical evidence that aerobic exercise can raise a person's pain threshold. Unfortunately, many people with chronic pain are not able to exercise at a high enough intensity to trigger those effects. Isometric exercises are a totally different type of exercise, in which the muscle is contracted without movement. If you put your hands against a wall and push, tensing the muscles, then you're doing and isometric exercise. Isometrics are not as hard on joints and can be tailored to each person's individual capacity. A recent study done at the University of Wisconsin in Madison looked at whether short isometric exercises of moderate intensity would increase tolerance to pain. They had young women squeeze their hands at about 50 of maximum for two minutes, then measured their sensitivity to pain. Pain thresholds increased significantly after isometric exercise. If the pain stimulus was provided before the isometric exercise, then doing then exercises decreased the ratings of pain. Cautions: This is a limited study done with healthy people. However, it does show that it does not take much exercise to have some impact on pain threshold. Take Away Information: If you are able to do moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise, isometric exercise may provide some benefit in terms of increasing your tolerance to pain. Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:09:18 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/arthritis-exercises-for-joint-pain.html Arthritis Exercises for Joint Pain. Learn what exercises work best for chronic arthritis pain. Do more and feel better. Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:21:31 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/Chronic-Pain-Answers.html Chronic Pain Answers to Your Questions. Leave us a question via our Contact Us form, and we'll answer it for you. Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:20:26 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/back-pain-and-pregnancy.html Back Pain and Pregnancy. You don't have to accept back pain during pregnancy. Find out what you can do to reduce back pain. Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:04:10 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/Chronic-pain-blog.html#Qigong-and-Exercise-Therapy-for-Neck-Pain Qigong is a Chinese therapy that uses a combination of slow movements, breathing exercises and meditation to help restore or maintain a balance between the body and the mind. In a recent study, people with long-term neck pain went through either a Qigong program or an exercise therapy program that incorporated stretching, strenghening and endurance training. They continued in their programs for a period of 12 weeks. At the end of the 12 weeks, both groups showed significant improvement in both neck pain and in range of motion of the neck. There was no difference between the qigong group and the exercise therapy group, suggesting it doesn't matter exactly what type of exercise you use, but <b>that you consistently follow some type of exercise plan.</b> Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:31:49 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/rheumatoid-arthritis-pain.html Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain. Information and guidance on developing a plan to manage chronic RA pain. Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:31:08 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/rheumatoid-arthritis-pain-medication.html Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain Medication. Read about usage of DMARD and analgesic medications, and recent advances in treatment approach. Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:24:15 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/neck-pain-exercise.html Neck Pain Exercise. What simple exercises can you do on a daily basis to help combat neck pain? Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:15:07 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/pain-education.html Pain education results in making the best decision about your health care. Ask the right questions. Sun, 16 Dec 2007 03:17:11 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/fibromyalgia-causes.html Fibromyalgia Causes. Learn about the potential causes of fibromyalgia and fibromyalgia pain. Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:03:10 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/fibromyalgia-and-exercise.html Fibromyalgia and Exercise. Current information on the importance of exercise, and exactly what type of exercise is effective and safe. Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:55:38 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/chronic-back-and-leg-pain.html Chronic Back and Leg Pain What are some of the causes, and what treatment options are there for people who have not responded to other treatments? Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:15:19 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/pain-meditation.html Pain Meditation. Why don't more people use meditation to help with pain? Learn how meditation works? Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:07:32 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/Chronic-pain-blog.html#Does-Acupuncture-Work-For-Neck-Pain? Some researchers recently took the trouble to review not only the Western Medical literature on acupuncture, but also a Chinese database on traditional Chinese medicine. <b>The Results:</b> There is some indication that acupuncture is helpful for people with neck pain, including those with radiating pain. There is some indication that you get better results if you receive six or more acupuncture treatments. It's not clear how long the improvements last; there is a need for studies that look at more long-term outcomes. This is still more indication of the value of non-traditional treatments for people with chronic pain. I'll be addressing this study in more detail in an upcoming article. Look for it in our monthly e-zine. Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:26:40 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/chronic-pain-center.html Chronic Pain Center. A chronic pain center or clinic can help you with pain management,, IF you know what to look for. Find out what makes a good pain clinic. Sun, 02 Dec 2007 02:40:59 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/Chronic-pain-blog.html#Chronic-Pain-and-Employment-Problems:-Is-<b>Working-at-Home</b>-a-Solution? In building this site I've been focused on helping people with chronic pain by providing free information, as well as links to other resources that I believe can help people with chronic pain. I know a lot of you have had changes in what type of work you are able to do, and maybe a reduction in your income. For some of you, working at home may be either a full or part-time option, and I write more about that in the article below (which will open in a new window). <a href="http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/work-at-home.html" target="_blank">Is Working at Home an Option for You?</a> Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:14:07 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/Chronic-pain-blog.html#Chronic-Pain-And-Alternative-Treatments<br>What-The-Vioxx-Settlement-Really-Means What Does the Proposed Vioxx Settlement Really Mean? As most of you already know, the pain medication Vioxx was pulled from the market in 2004 after concerns that it raised the risk of heart attack and stroke. Merck, the company that produced Vioxx, was making 2.5 billion dollars yearly from the sale of the drug. There are estimates that as many as 20 million Americans used Vioxx while it was still on the market, and there are currently over 27,000 active lawsuits against Merck regarding the medication. Public health care watchdog and advocacy groups allege that Merck knew for years that Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and used strong arm tactics to keep the information under wraps. The company admits no fault of course, as is usually the case in a personal injury lawsuit. Merck official just offered a national settlement of 4.85 billion dollars to settle the lawsuits, even though they have been winning the lawsuits that have been tried by a 2 to 1 margin. Some estimates are that by settling the cases, Merck can avoid as much as 20 billion dollars in legal fees. It seems likely that this proposed settlement will eventually go through, and put an end to the Vioxx ordeal. There is something important any chronic pain patient can learn from this mess, regardless of whether you believe Merck acted in bad faith. The lesson is this: Every medication carries with it risk, and the reality is we never know in advance what the full extent of that risk is. The development of new medications is expensive and also risky, and there are literally billions of dollars in profits at stake. The factors that go into the development of medications certainly includes concern about patient welfare, but also substantial business and financial factors, and you should never assume otherwise. If you are a chronic pain patient, every alternative treatment technique you use gives you a chance to use that much less medication, and absorb less risk. Give new consideration to techniques like: *Meditation, *Acupuncture, *Hypnosis, *Massage Therapy, *Progressive Exercise, and *Relaxation and Guided Imagery. Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:14:07 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/about-me.html About Me. I'm Barry Hughes, find out about me, and about Chronic Pain Alternatives. Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:03:02 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/books-on-chronic-pain.html Books on Chronic Pain. Review and discussion of chronic pain books that will help you with pain management. Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:35:14 GMT http://www.chronic-pain-alternatives.com/Chronic-pain-blog.html#New-Study-on-Migraines-and-Heart-Defect A recent study shows that migraine headaches in some people may be related to a common heart defect called patent foramen ovale, or PFO. <p>Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Researchers noticed that many of the people who had PFO defects surgical corrected later reported that their migraines had either disappeared or gotten significantly better.<P>A larger scale study is being planned to see how reliable the results are. Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:31:44 GMT