Slam your finger in the car door and it hurts. No, it really hurts. But after a few minutes and an application of ice, the pain recedes to a dull throb. By tomorrow, only the bruise remains to remind you of the incident. You've just experienced acute pain - pain related to a short-term cause, such as a burn, bump or broken bone.
But around four in ten adults aged 65 and older have ongoing, chronic pain that doesn't go away. This becomes more common with age, and may be linked with a variety of causes, or sometimes no specific cause can be found.
Chronic pain may follow an injury (even a trivial one), surgery amputation or a shingles outbreak. It may be part of a condition such as fibromyalgia or multiple sclerosis, related to long-term medication or it may simply come from years of wear and tear on your body. After five or six decades of active living, you naturally become more likely to experience ongoing pain from arthritis, worm joints or weakened bones. And if you have certain chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, you can develop neuropathy - damage to nerves that results after decades of high blood sugar levels and may cause pain. Back pain is particularly common with age (up to half of all those aged 65 and older cope with it daily), due largely to mechanics: the bones and muscles that bear so much of the burden of keeping you upright are also the primary guardians of your largest nerves.
A number of other diseases are also linked with chronic pain. Older people are more likely than their younger counterparts to experience pain related to chronic health conditions such as coronary artery disease, Alzheimer's, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and Parkinson's. As the chronic condition impacts on your ability to remain physically active, the pain increases. The more you hurt, the less you move and socialise, making both the chronic condition impacts on your ability to remain physically active, the pain increases. The more you hurt, the less you move and socialise, making both the chronic condition and your pain worse in a debilitating cycle.
The difficulty with chronic pain, whatever the original cause, is that it can become a self-perpetuating problem. Acute pain occurs when electrical signals from the damaged tissue travel to the brain in a process called nociception. You don't actually feel the pain until the signal hits the brain. But if the pain goes on for a long time, it seems to lead to persistent changes in the nervous system - perhaps some damage to the nerve cell 'wiring', degeneration or faulty repair within the nervous system, spontaneous electrical or chemical nerve signals, faulty pain 'memory' in the brain or even an autoimmune attack on the nerves. While the exact mechanism is uncertain, scientists think that somehow the nervous system begins generating its own electrical signals - irrespective of any injury. Those messages travel to the brain and activate pain centres in a kind of feedback loop from the brain to the nerves and back again that's become stuck in the 'on' position.
This is no small thing. Chronic pain significantly affects your quality of life: it increases your risk of depression, keeps you away from the health-enhancing benefits of socialising and disrupts your sleep. It can even affect your memory and ability to learn.
That is the harsh side of the pain discussion. There is a positive side as well. Over the past decade, the medical world has made huge strides not only in understanding pain and its remedies but also in how to help to communicate with patients regarding pain. The latter point is important; it wasn't long ago that pain was seen as a side issue to other health problems, either to be coped with or deal with via strong painkillers - many of which have been proven to have serious side effects.
Today, doctors understand much better how to manage chronic pain, and specialist, multifaceted pain management can often make an enormous difference, especially if the pain is part of a larger health issue. So don't suffer in silence - talk to your GP about whether referral to a pain clinic or pain specialist is appropriate.
The message: no one, NO ONE, needs to suffer in silence from chronic pain.
Managing pain the smart wayIf would be great to give you the perfect mix of tips to guarantee that you won't ever face chronic pain, but it's not possible. There is just too wide a range of causes, from disease to injury to old-fashioned wear and tear.
While we have to acknowledge that chronic pain becomes more prevalent with age, there are effective ways to minimise it and, in some cases, erase it. And so, here are 12 proven, smart ways to control ongoing pain. If you're already taking pain-relievers, these tips may allow you to use less medication, or to forgo it altogether.
Jump on the exercise bike Studies show that exercise can be a powerful antidote to pain. There are many reasons: strong muscles take pressure off the joints; exercise washes your body with nourishing oxygen and nutrients, and it also releases feel-good brain chemicals that provide relaxation and relief. The key is to go for more than 10 minutes - shorter bouts don't seem to help. But, in fact, nearly any type of physical experience will significantly
improve your pain - as long as you stick with it (even after you start feeling better).
Say 'ohhmmm' Okay, you don't really have to chant, but meditation can do more for low back pain in older adults that any over-the-counter drug. In a study published in the journal Pain, 37 adults aged 65 and older either joined a minduflness-based meditation programme or were put on a waiting list for the programme (the control group). Those meditating significantly improved their scores on an objective pain scale and upped their activity levels comapred with the control group.
Another study found that people who listened to a 7 minute tape that helped them to relax, focus on the images their pain elicited, then change those images with their mind, described their pain as 'more tolerable' or 'easier to control' that a control group. These tapes are available online and from most healthfood shops.
Sign on for biofeedback Biofeedback teaches you to control involuntary reactions, voluntarily. For instance, instead of tensing when you feel pain, which can make the pain worse, you learn to relax, which stems the release of pain-reducing stress hormones. In one study, 17 participants between the age of 55 and 78 learned to use biofeedback to relax their muscles and breathe more slowly and deeply. NOt only did their pain improve, but they were able to elicit certain physiological changes that contributed to the decrease in pain For instance, their skin temperature increased, an indication that there was more blood flow to the painful area, which helps to clear away toxins and inflammatory chemicals that may add to the hurt.
Join a group It doesn't matter what the group does, as long as you're interacting with other people. Studies find that older people who keep busy and engaged, including maintaining a strong social network, have significantly less chronic pain than those without.
Become a student of pain management Use the internet or your local library to find information about chronic pain. Simply learning the whys and wherefores of your pain can significantly improve it. Enlist the help of friends and family members so they can better understand your experiences as well as help you to find the most effective approaches.
See a therapist Cognitive Behaviour Therapy teaches you to avoid negative thinking and self defeating behaviour (for instance, 'I hurt too much to take a walk'), and provides positive
Assessing pain
Pain is so subjective that it's often difficult to describe to other people, including doctors. It's also impossible to measure - there is no 'pain' chemical or virus you can test for. So doctors often rely on simple rating systems as a way of determining the intensity of your pain. These are often as easy as rating your pain on a scale from 1 to 10, or picking a drawing of a face that best portrays the pain level (ranging from smiling happily to grimacing).
Another way doctors monitor pain is through non-verbal indicators, such as these.
Vocal complaints moans, gasps, sighs or exclamations
Facial expressions such as grimaces, winces, cienched teeth, furrowed brows or narrowed eyes
Bracing movements clutching a railing or grabbing a body part
Rubbing movements massaging the affected area.
reinforcement for achieving your goals (take that walk!). It also teaches you coping skills for better pain management. You should see results in just 6-15 sessions, but check that the therapist is experienced in working with pain patients. In some areas, your GP may be able to refer you to a therapist on the NHs.
Follow an anti-inflammatory diet Chronic inflammation is often the culprit behind chronic pain, particularly with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. And the cause of much of the inflammation in your arteries and the rest of your body is from free radicals, those destructive molecules that damage cells. An anti-inflammatory diet has two main components: lot of antioxidants to neutralise free radicals in your bloodstream, and plenty of healthy fats such as olive oil to reduce inflammation. So what should you eat?
But around four in ten adults aged 65 and older have ongoing, chronic pain that doesn't go away. This becomes more common with age, and may be linked with a variety of causes, or sometimes no specific cause can be found.
Chronic pain may follow an injury (even a trivial one), surgery amputation or a shingles outbreak. It may be part of a condition such as fibromyalgia or multiple sclerosis, related to long-term medication or it may simply come from years of wear and tear on your body. After five or six decades of active living, you naturally become more likely to experience ongoing pain from arthritis, worm joints or weakened bones. And if you have certain chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, you can develop neuropathy - damage to nerves that results after decades of high blood sugar levels and may cause pain. Back pain is particularly common with age (up to half of all those aged 65 and older cope with it daily), due largely to mechanics: the bones and muscles that bear so much of the burden of keeping you upright are also the primary guardians of your largest nerves.
A number of other diseases are also linked with chronic pain. Older people are more likely than their younger counterparts to experience pain related to chronic health conditions such as coronary artery disease, Alzheimer's, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and Parkinson's. As the chronic condition impacts on your ability to remain physically active, the pain increases. The more you hurt, the less you move and socialise, making both the chronic condition impacts on your ability to remain physically active, the pain increases. The more you hurt, the less you move and socialise, making both the chronic condition and your pain worse in a debilitating cycle.
The difficulty with chronic pain, whatever the original cause, is that it can become a self-perpetuating problem. Acute pain occurs when electrical signals from the damaged tissue travel to the brain in a process called nociception. You don't actually feel the pain until the signal hits the brain. But if the pain goes on for a long time, it seems to lead to persistent changes in the nervous system - perhaps some damage to the nerve cell 'wiring', degeneration or faulty repair within the nervous system, spontaneous electrical or chemical nerve signals, faulty pain 'memory' in the brain or even an autoimmune attack on the nerves. While the exact mechanism is uncertain, scientists think that somehow the nervous system begins generating its own electrical signals - irrespective of any injury. Those messages travel to the brain and activate pain centres in a kind of feedback loop from the brain to the nerves and back again that's become stuck in the 'on' position.
This is no small thing. Chronic pain significantly affects your quality of life: it increases your risk of depression, keeps you away from the health-enhancing benefits of socialising and disrupts your sleep. It can even affect your memory and ability to learn.
That is the harsh side of the pain discussion. There is a positive side as well. Over the past decade, the medical world has made huge strides not only in understanding pain and its remedies but also in how to help to communicate with patients regarding pain. The latter point is important; it wasn't long ago that pain was seen as a side issue to other health problems, either to be coped with or deal with via strong painkillers - many of which have been proven to have serious side effects.
Today, doctors understand much better how to manage chronic pain, and specialist, multifaceted pain management can often make an enormous difference, especially if the pain is part of a larger health issue. So don't suffer in silence - talk to your GP about whether referral to a pain clinic or pain specialist is appropriate.
The message: no one, NO ONE, needs to suffer in silence from chronic pain.
Managing pain the smart wayIf would be great to give you the perfect mix of tips to guarantee that you won't ever face chronic pain, but it's not possible. There is just too wide a range of causes, from disease to injury to old-fashioned wear and tear.
While we have to acknowledge that chronic pain becomes more prevalent with age, there are effective ways to minimise it and, in some cases, erase it. And so, here are 12 proven, smart ways to control ongoing pain. If you're already taking pain-relievers, these tips may allow you to use less medication, or to forgo it altogether.
Jump on the exercise bike Studies show that exercise can be a powerful antidote to pain. There are many reasons: strong muscles take pressure off the joints; exercise washes your body with nourishing oxygen and nutrients, and it also releases feel-good brain chemicals that provide relaxation and relief. The key is to go for more than 10 minutes - shorter bouts don't seem to help. But, in fact, nearly any type of physical experience will significantly
improve your pain - as long as you stick with it (even after you start feeling better).
Say 'ohhmmm' Okay, you don't really have to chant, but meditation can do more for low back pain in older adults that any over-the-counter drug. In a study published in the journal Pain, 37 adults aged 65 and older either joined a minduflness-based meditation programme or were put on a waiting list for the programme (the control group). Those meditating significantly improved their scores on an objective pain scale and upped their activity levels comapred with the control group.
Another study found that people who listened to a 7 minute tape that helped them to relax, focus on the images their pain elicited, then change those images with their mind, described their pain as 'more tolerable' or 'easier to control' that a control group. These tapes are available online and from most healthfood shops.
Sign on for biofeedback Biofeedback teaches you to control involuntary reactions, voluntarily. For instance, instead of tensing when you feel pain, which can make the pain worse, you learn to relax, which stems the release of pain-reducing stress hormones. In one study, 17 participants between the age of 55 and 78 learned to use biofeedback to relax their muscles and breathe more slowly and deeply. NOt only did their pain improve, but they were able to elicit certain physiological changes that contributed to the decrease in pain For instance, their skin temperature increased, an indication that there was more blood flow to the painful area, which helps to clear away toxins and inflammatory chemicals that may add to the hurt.
Join a group It doesn't matter what the group does, as long as you're interacting with other people. Studies find that older people who keep busy and engaged, including maintaining a strong social network, have significantly less chronic pain than those without.
Become a student of pain management Use the internet or your local library to find information about chronic pain. Simply learning the whys and wherefores of your pain can significantly improve it. Enlist the help of friends and family members so they can better understand your experiences as well as help you to find the most effective approaches.
See a therapist Cognitive Behaviour Therapy teaches you to avoid negative thinking and self defeating behaviour (for instance, 'I hurt too much to take a walk'), and provides positive
Assessing pain
Pain is so subjective that it's often difficult to describe to other people, including doctors. It's also impossible to measure - there is no 'pain' chemical or virus you can test for. So doctors often rely on simple rating systems as a way of determining the intensity of your pain. These are often as easy as rating your pain on a scale from 1 to 10, or picking a drawing of a face that best portrays the pain level (ranging from smiling happily to grimacing).
Another way doctors monitor pain is through non-verbal indicators, such as these.
Vocal complaints moans, gasps, sighs or exclamations
Facial expressions such as grimaces, winces, cienched teeth, furrowed brows or narrowed eyes
Bracing movements clutching a railing or grabbing a body part
Rubbing movements massaging the affected area.
reinforcement for achieving your goals (take that walk!). It also teaches you coping skills for better pain management. You should see results in just 6-15 sessions, but check that the therapist is experienced in working with pain patients. In some areas, your GP may be able to refer you to a therapist on the NHs.
Follow an anti-inflammatory diet Chronic inflammation is often the culprit behind chronic pain, particularly with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. And the cause of much of the inflammation in your arteries and the rest of your body is from free radicals, those destructive molecules that damage cells. An anti-inflammatory diet has two main components: lot of antioxidants to neutralise free radicals in your bloodstream, and plenty of healthy fats such as olive oil to reduce inflammation. So what should you eat?
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