The number of people with chronic pain is greater than diabetes,heart disease and cancer combined.
The quote above was made by Dr. Sean Mackey, Chief of Pain Management at the Stanford School of Medicine. The Institute of Medicine has reported that 116 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. the potential devastating financial impact of this pubic health concern is being felt by businesses and individuals alike and is costing the nation up to $635 billion each year in medical treatment and lost productivity.
The New England Journal of Medicine has stated that a major new public health campaign is needed in the U.S. to battle and “epidemic” of chronic pain. The biggest concern (from my point of view) is that the National Institute of Health has stated that “drug-induced hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can ocur when patients take certain medications, including NSAIDs,” but currently drugs are the first line of defense for the majority of people in pain.
I’ve read many reports by prestigious sources such as The American Journal of Medicine, the Mayo Clinic, Rice University, and the New England Journal of Medicine, far too many to report here in my little blog, but reports that are really scary. Depending on which report I’m reading the number of
- deaths
reported by NSAID use (I can’t use trade names, but you can look up which drugs are NSAIDs) ranges from 10,000 to 20,000 A YEAR!
The amazing thing to me is that I’ve been teaching people how to self-treat for chronic pain for over 20 years and simply going to my Muscle and Joint Pain forum will show you that self-treatment works! It always amazes me how many medical professionals totally overlook how a tight muscle can (and does) impinge on nerves (causing a long list of nerve related conditions, including numbness, tingling and conditions such as tinnitus and carpal tunnel syndrome); put stress on joints (causing symptoms that mimic arthritis and other range-of-motion problems; and conditions such as plantar fasciitis (foot pain) that is caused by the muscle pulling on the tendon which is then tugging on the insertion point and causing pain in that area.
Perhaps you’ve been reading this blog for awhile and you’ve seen the thread about low back pain and the muscles that rotate your pelvis and can cause everything from hip pain, sciatica, groin pain, numb thighs, chronic calf spasms, knee pain, and even tingling in your foot. Low back pain is a serious problem for millions of people, and in the vast majority of cases just doing the self-treatments mentioned in that thread will either greatly diminish the pain, or in many cases, eliminate it completely — without drugs.
Many of you have already read all about repetitive strain injuries and why they cause pain, and you may have already learned that you can self-treat successfully, and I appreciate that you are telling others about my books and DVDs. Self-treatment can’t eliminate all chronic pain, but it does wonders for so many people that it’s definitely worth your time and effort. Also, if you know a good muscular therapist (basically a massage therapist who specializes in the treatment of chronic pain and not just relaxation massage) I believe you’ll be thrilled with the results. If it doesn’t help you, you can always go the conventional route and try medications or surgery, but with all the negative potential side-effects of drugs, and the scar-tissue and other possible complications of surgery, it’s not the first choice for many people.
Wishing you well,
Julie