Science Time/Some "pain" doesn't have to be endured

[Health Science Day] Some "pain" can be endured without any pain

Content published by Qiangguohao

Health News

2023-10-16

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"Pain" is a problem that everyone often encounters. The International Society for the Study of Pain has designated the third Monday of October each year as "World Pain Relief Day" to remind the public to pay attention to pain and promote public health education on pain diagnosis and treatment.

Pain is one of the common problems in people's daily life. It can be caused by trauma, surgery, disease or other reasons. No matter what type of pain it is, it will bring us discomfort and distress. Many people think that pain is inevitable, or that analgesia is only needed when the disease is serious to a certain extent. In fact, this concept is wrong. The counterpart of pain is analgesia, which refers to the treatment of various types of pain. We can prevent, relieve and treat pain in a variety of ways to improve the quality of life.

In the past few decades, analgesic technology and analgesic drugs have been significantly developed and improved. Now, doctors can choose the most suitable analgesic method according to the patient's specific situation, including drug therapy, physical therapy and surgical treatment.

Drug treatment

Drug analgesia is a common pain management method that uses drugs to reduce or eliminate pain symptoms. This method can be used during perioperative period or for pain caused by disease or injury.

The type and dosage of drug analgesia depends on the severity and type of pain. Common analgesics include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, narcotic analgesics, and anti-anxiety drugs. Drug analgesia may be accompanied by some potential side effects and risks during treatment. For example, long-term use of opioids may lead to drug dependence and drug abuse. Therefore, when using drug analgesia, you should follow the doctor's advice and monitor your body's reactions regularly.

Physical therapy

Physical analgesia is the use of different physical means to stimulate the human nervous system to reduce or eliminate pain. The most common method is heat therapy, which uses heat sources such as hot water bottles, hot compresses or hot towels to increase local blood circulation and relax muscles, thereby reducing pain. Cold therapy is the use of cold sources such as ice packs and cold towels to reduce the metabolic rate of tissues and reduce inflammatory responses, thereby reducing pain.

Physical pain relief also includes massage therapy, traction therapy, and electrotherapy. Massage therapy massages muscles and tissues to promote blood circulation and relieve muscle tension and pain. Traction therapy stretches the spine and joints to relieve pain caused by nerve compression and herniated discs. Electrotherapy stimulates nerves with electric currents, interfering with the transmission of pain signals and thus relieving pain.

Physical analgesia is usually performed by a professional physical therapist or masseur to ensure safety and effectiveness. Safety and few side effects are the advantages of physical therapy, which can be used in combination with other treatments.

Surgery

Surgery is a more active method of pain relief and is used for people with severe pain who cannot get relief from other methods. Surgery can relieve pain by removing the source of pain, implanting an analgesic device, or placing a nerve block.

Nerve block analgesia is a common anesthesia technique that can be applied to different parts of the body and nerves, including the brain, spinal cord, neck, chest, and limbs. The main principle of nerve block analgesia is to block the conduction function of nerves by injecting local anesthetics. These drugs block the transmission of electrical signals from nerve cells, so that pain signals cannot reach the brain, achieving long-term pain relief. Stellate ganglion analgesia, which is more popular today, is a common nerve block pain management technique, which is mainly used to treat chronic pain, such as neuropathic pain. The advantage of this technique is that it can reduce drug dependence.

Although surgical treatments are effective for pain, they also have certain risks and side effects. The surgical process may cause infection, bleeding, or other complications. In addition, a longer recovery period may be required after surgery, and patients need to follow the doctor's guidance for rehabilitation training.

In addition to the common analgesic methods mentioned above, some alternative therapies are also used to relieve pain, such as acupuncture, yoga, and qigong. These alternative therapies may have a certain analgesic effect in some cases, but their efficacy and safety are still controversial and need more scientific research to confirm.

Regardless of the analgesic method used, the doctor needs to evaluate and select it based on the patient's specific situation. Because everyone's pain perception and condition are different, the analgesic method also needs to be individualized and customized. The doctor will consider the patient's disease type, pain level, age, health status and personal preferences to choose the most appropriate treatment plan.

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Good living habits and a healthy lifestyle can effectively prevent pain

Establishing good living habits and a healthy lifestyle and using effective exercise and rehabilitation methods can avoid pain to a great extent.

For example, headaches caused by insomnia, fatigue, work pressure, etc. can be migraines, tension headaches, cluster headaches, and other trigeminal autonomic pain. Among them, the incidence of cervicogenic headaches is getting higher and higher. This is closely related to the prevalence of mobile phones and the "head-down tribe" among the people. Because long-term bad posture can cause the cervical curvature to straighten and deform. Long-term headaches will seriously affect work and life, and may even cause anxiety and depression symptoms.

There are many treatment options for cervicogenic headache, such as ultrasound-guided minimally invasive interventional therapy, precise puncture of stellate ganglion block, oral medication, etc. It is also important to establish good living habits, including changing the posture of bowing the head (avoid bowing the head for a long time), raising the head (looking straight ahead, lowering the chin slightly, shrinking it slightly backward, and the whole head drives the neck to move backward in parallel), moving (moderate exercise, such as jogging, brisk walking, cycling, swimming, etc.), and choosing a cervical vertebrae protection pillow (choose a pillow that is the same height as the shoulders when lying flat).

Text: Yue Hong and Guo Zhenggang, Department of Pain Medicine, Peking University Shougang Hospital

Editor-in-charge: Xu Bingnan