What do you do to de-stress??? I read a Better Homes and Gardens magazine article recently that stated that people who are chronically stressed heal 2 times slower than their more relaxed buddies.  Which category do you fit in – stressed or relaxed? I certainly don’t have to tell you that chronic pain can mean chronic [...]

Do you need a personal assitant just to coordinate your health care visits?  Does your appointment book look like this? Monday:  Pain Medicine Doctor Tuesday:  Physical therapy Wednesday:  Psychiatric Pain Management Thursday:  Physical therapy Friday:  Massage therapy, acupuncture and yoga Patients with Medicare typically see 7 physicians in 4 different practices.  Time spent?  Miles traveled?  Too [...]

Here’s a video about the Ketamine coma for pain – a controversial treatment.  Video You might also like:  Just published, reassuing study about the side effects of Ketamine coma. Info about Ketamine. And coming up next month … contests for you to enter to win prizes, including The Most Creative Way To Relax Contest.  Look [...]

Have you heard about the controversial treatment available in Germany for severe pain?  Patients are put under anesthesia to the point of being in a coma with Ketamine.  For many, their pain improves. (Ketamine) However, there’s been concern that significant cognitive (how you think) side effects would occur – and there were no studies to [...]

We all know pain is difficult to deal with when we’re the one in pain.  It’s also tremendously hard to see someone we love in pain, especially a child. Tony is the moderator of RSD/CRPS World News Group.  His granddaughter was 8 years old when she was diagnosed with the pain disorder RSD (Reflex Sympathetic [...]

Imagine for a moment… being in a wheelchair … wearing a brace … needing a hearing aid … requiring an assistant for self-care or mobility … having a guide dog … How would these change your experience of attending your chosen religious services?  Is your religious community, if you have one, accepting of your disability [...]

Those of us with pain can have many different encounters with the legal system… worker’s compensation disability issues, both social security and employer disability a legal case from medical liability or an accident, etc. I asked a colleague, lawyer Deborah Rocco, to answer some questions about basic legal issues for us: How to Cope with [...]

We’ve been looking at how movement can reduce your pain for the past few Wednesdays, (1, 2, 3).  CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) is a severe neurological pain problem, with symptoms including pain, temperature instability, and movement problems like tremors and spasm. 1 type of movement problem is dystonia, a form of significant muscle spasm.  [...]

How our pain experiences relate to our spirituality/religion is a special interest of mine.  Spirituality was an important way of coping for me when I was suffering due to pain, and one of the most important ways I grew as a person because of the difficult time I had. Today is the conclusion to our [...]

Today is Independence Day in the US, marking our  independence from Britain.  Our holiday is celebrated with parades, watermelon and fireworks. Independence also has significant meaning for people with pain.  How would you answer this excellent question I received from a reader recently? My situation is that I’m single and live alone.  I appreciate I don’t have to [...]