Is there a cure for

Pain Management

It’s often said that things are easier said than done. Today there’s no better example than physicians who are trying to relieve chronic pain.  For instance, a recent newspaper headline read, “Chronic Pain Sufferers Deserve Better Than Opioids.” But the dicey question is what else can doctors prescribe for pain? One story illustrates the problem.

William Shakespeare wrote in the play Richard II, “They breathe truth that breathe their words in pain.” The truth is that people with chronic pain are usually having genuine pain that is soul destroying day after day. They justifiably want relief.

Today many people have become addicted to opioids. North Americans have become soft and have lost their tiger in the tank. They’ve been programed by big pharma’s ads that there’s no need to endure any pain when popping a pill is the answer. It starts a vicious cycle towards addiction.

Popping painkillers is no favour to the liver and kidneys that metabolize and excrete these drugs. The main cause of liver failure in the U.S. is Tylenol overdose. As Sir William Osler once remarked, “The main thing that separates humans from animals is the human desire for pills.”

But what about those who have not abused painkillers and genuinely need pain relief? It’s not easy to do it. The best example is a patient I knew who never rushed even for a baby Aspirin. He sustained a neck injury in his thirties which set the stage years later for arthritis and cervical stenosis. The chronic pain interfered with his work. He quickly discovered that was no free lunch with painkillers. Opioids made him drowsy and unable to work. Equally important, they did practically nothing to relieve the constant pain and caused troublesome constipation. So why take them?

A University Pain Clinic suggested the pain might be relieved by neck injections. This was done without any change in the pain. He was then referred to a well-respected university chiropractor. But several treatments resulted in no improvement. This is when a doctor’s options are starting to run out.

Finally, the patient made an appointment to see a doctor who had specialized in acupuncture. Again this failed to ease the pain. Becoming rather desperate, this man wondered if daily massage would be helpful. It made him feel good during the massage, but the pain immediately returned after treatment. Doctors wondered if an MRI could pinpoint the cause of pain. It did reveal changes in the cervical spine, but was unable zero in on what was triggering the pain.

So what happened? He found that pumping up an inflatable neck support while lying down for 15 minutes and keeping it on while working provided relief for an hour or two. A solid neck support with an ice pack under it also gave temporary relief.

What does this prove? It is much easier to ease acute pain of short duration. Chronic pain takes pain control to a new dimension that leaves much to be desired.

Doctors specializing in chronic pain do relieve some patients of their constant discomfort. But there are cases such as this one where unfortunately patients must learn to live with their pain.  Even with the best of care, some pain cannot be cured unless you become totally zonked out with medication. Eventually, patients who reach this point without relief of pain have no pain options left. It’s small wonder that their constant pain becomes soul destroying.