Snow Judging from the clinical and daily intervention practices of pain departments, there is no universal "specific solution" to chronic pain. A customized joint intervention plan based on the cause of individual pain is often the most stable alleviation effect.
Aunt Zhang, a patient with lumbar prolapse who I followed up last week, has had recurring low back pain for almost three years. She used to think that "the medicine is only half of the poison". She had to take a piece of ibuprofen until she couldn't straighten her waist in pain. She didn't dare to take more when she had acid reflux. Later, we adjusted the plan for her: take a small dose once a day to nourish the nerves and relieve pain. After taking medicine for muscle tension, plus core rehabilitation training twice a week, using a lumbar support when sitting for a long time, and standing up and taking two steps every half hour, she said that the pain level has dropped from 7 out of 10 to 2 points in just 2 months. Now it has no impact on shopping for groceries in the morning and picking up her grandson in the afternoon.
When it comes to taking medicines, many people have very polarized attitudes towards painkillers. They either refuse to take them for fear of becoming addicted, or they take them without restraint when they feel pain. In fact, there is no absolutely unified standard for the use of painkillers in the industry, such as neuropathic pain such as post-herpetic pain and trigeminal neuralgia. Now more clinical evidence supports the regular use of low-dose nerve-regulating drugs such as pregabalin, which is more effective than taking it after the pain is unbearable, and the total intake is lower.； If it is just an acute attack caused by occasional cold or fatigue, you can take non-steroidal analgesics temporarily for emergency relief. As long as you have no underlying gastrointestinal diseases, there will be basically no major side effects, so there is no need to panic.
Of course, most chronic pain cannot be solved by taking medicine alone. After all, many times the root cause of pain is muscle strength imbalance, joint degeneration and even emotional problems. I have met several patients with fibromyalgia before who suffered from traveling pain all over their body. After all the tests, no organic problems were found. However, the more they practiced blindly following online fitness videos, the more painful they became. Later, I saw a professional rehabilitation practitioner for myofascial relaxation, and I also took 15 minutes a day to do mindful breathing. After half a month, I basically felt that the pain was significantly reduced. Nowadays, there is always a debate on the Internet about whether chronic pain should be rested or exercised. In fact, it is not so absolute at all. The core is to stop the movement to the extent that it does not cause additional pain, and just take your time. For example, if you ask a patient with knee arthritis pain to squat or run or jump, it will definitely not work. But do 2 sets of silent squats against the wall every day. Squat until the thighs are slightly sore before getting up. On the contrary, it can strengthen the muscles around the knee joint, slowly stabilize the joint, and the pain will naturally be relieved.
There are also some methods that everyone thinks of as "off-the-beaten-path" methods, such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, acupuncture, and moxibustion. Now there is a lot of evidence-based evidence to support that they are effective for some people. I have a 20-year-old patient with migraine. He used to take all kinds of painkillers and couldn't suppress it. Later, he took it regularly every week. Acupuncture doctors in regular hospitals perform two injections, and the frequency of attacks has dropped from three or four times a week to once a month at most. Of course, there are also patients who get no results at all after the treatment. This has a lot to do with the operator's level and personal constitution. There is no need to deify or kill him with one stroke.
Another point that many people don’t believe at first is that emotions have a great influence on chronic pain. When the pain lasts for a long time, it is easy to become anxious, and anxiety will amplify the feeling of pain, creating a vicious cycle. There was a girl in her 20s who suffered from chronic pelvic pain for four years. She took medicine and went through rehabilitation. Every time she checked again, her indexes were almost good, but she still complained of pain. Later, she was transferred to a psychological department for two months of counseling to relieve the emotional stress accumulated during school. The pain level dropped by half immediately, and now it basically does not affect her normal work life.
After all, everyone’s pain causes, tolerance, and living habits are different. Don’t copy other people’s “magic methods.” It’s best to go to the pain department or rehabilitation department of a regular hospital for a comprehensive evaluation, and then slowly try an intervention combination that suits you. It is much more reliable than blindly trying online folk remedies and pain relief tools.
