New Study Reports Ginger Effective for Muscle Pain Relief

GLENVIEW, IL, Sept. 15, 2010 – Daily doses of raw or heat-treated ginger are effective for relieving muscle pain following strenuous exercise, according to research reported in The Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, ampainsoc.org.

Though a favorite remedy of Chinese medicine practitioners for centuries, ginger has not been studied widely as a pain reliever. Some research, however, has shown that ginger may have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties similar to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In one study, four to 36 weeks of daily ginger doses (30 to 500 mg.) achieved reductions in knee pain from osteoarthritis.

Researchers from the University of Georgia and Georgia College and State University examined the efficacy of multiple days of ginger doses for relieving experimentally induced muscle pain from 18 eccentric muscle exercises. For the study, student volunteers were tested on 11 consecutive days while taking ginger supplements. Seventy-four students were divided in three groups given either raw ginger, heated ginger or placebo. The authors hypothesized that pain ratings after exercise would be lower in the ginger group compared to placebo subjects.

Results from the subjects’ responses data showed that both raw and heat-treated ginger lowered muscle pain intensity after eccentric exercise by 25 and 23 percent, respectively. Heat treating ginger, therefore, did not increase the analgesic benefit.

About the American Pain Society

Based in Glenview, Ill., the American Pain Society (APS) is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering. APS was founded in 1978 with 510 charter members. From the outset, the group was conceived as a multidisciplinary organization. APS has enjoyed solid growth since its early days and today has approximately 3,200 members. The Board of Directors includes physicians, nurses, psychologists, basic scientists, pharmacists, policy analysts and others

Two Causes of Pain: Pinched Nerve vs. Disc Pain

By: Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD

In identifying the cause of the patient’s pain, there are two general types of spinal disc problems physicians classify as the cause of the pain:

• Pinched nerve – When a patient has a symptomatic herniated disc, it is not the disc space itself that hurts, but rather the disc herniation is pinching a nerve in the spine. This produces pain that is called radicular pain or radiculopathy (e.g., nerve root pain) leading to pain that may be referred to other parts of the body, such as from the low back down the leg or from the neck down the arm. Leg pain stemming from a pinched nerve in the lower spine is usually described as sciatica.
  
• Disc pain – When a patient has a symptomatic degenerated disc (one that causes low back pain and/or leg pain), it is the disc space itself that is painful and the source of pain. This type of pain is typically called axial pain.

Either of the above two conditions can occur in the neck, upper back or lower back. They tend to be most common in the lower back because the lower back bears the most torque and force on a day to day basis.
It should be kept in mind that all the terms – herniated disc, pinched nerve, bulging disc, slipped disc, ruptured disc, etc.– refer to radiographic findings seen on a CT scan or MRI scan. While these test results are important, they are not as meaningful as the patient's specific symptoms and the doctor's physical exam results are in determining the source of the back pain and then evaluating potential back care and pain treatments.

What Treatments Do Pain Medicine (or Pain Management) Specialists Provide?

Susan Spinasanta

Senior Medical Editor

SpineUniverse

 

Pain medicine (or pain management) specialists provide many diverse treatments including activity modification, medication, diagnostic and therapeutic injections, physical therapy, and alternative types of care such as acupuncture, manipulation, and music or art therapy. Multidisciplinary pain medicine combines two or more treatments to maximize pain control. Treatments include:

• Restrict activities that increase pain (activity modification)
• Prescription medication: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, narcotics (opioids), anti-depressants, and anti-seizure drugs. Some anti-depressant and anti-seizure drugs have proven to help manage types of chronic pain.
• Injection therapy: Injections help to pinpoint the cause of pain, as well as provide pain relief. Therapies include epidural steroid, facet joint, and sacroiliac joint injections; and nerve root, medial branch, peripheral and sympathetic nerve blocks.
• Physical Therapy: Heat/ice, massage, spinal traction, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), ultrasound, and therapeutic exercise.
• Pulsed Radiofrequency Neurotomy is a minimally invasive procedure that prevents nerves from sending pain signals to the brain.
• Rhizotomy uses heated electrodes to turn off pain signals from specific spinal nerves.
• Spinal Cord Stimulation is an implanted device that produces electrical impulses to block pain perception.
• Intrathecal Pumps are sometimes called pain pumps. The device is surgically implanted and dispenses measured doses of medication within the spinal canal.
• Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine, sterile and disposable needles into any of the body's 20 Meridian points or 2,000 acupuncture points. Acupuncture is central to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which includes other holistic therapies.
• Manipulation is performed by chiropractors, osteopathic doctors (DO), and some physical therapists - although the therapy varies among these professions. Manipulation is the therapeutic application of manual pressure or force to treat a musculoskeletal disorder.
• Music and art therapy are ways to distract your thoughts away from pain. Besides a creative outlet, these therapies promote relaxation, provide a means for emotional expression, help to reduce stress, increases self-esteem, and are fun.

Pain Management Agreement
Some pain patients require stronger medications to manage pain. These medications are technically called Schedule II drugs and require a special type of prescription. Schedule II drugs (like morphine) are carefully regulated. Because of the addiction potential and other risks associated with taking a Schedule II medication, you may be asked to sign a treatment agreement. The agreement puts into writing important information you and your pain management doctor have agreed to. The terms of the agreement may include using one pharmacy for all prescription medications, how to take care not to lose medication, detailed dosing information, and what do to in case side effects develop. In cases where potent narcotics are prescribed, a pain agreement is simply good medicine!

And so it begins..

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Its all coming together and this office, which we know with the leadership of our fellowship trained physicians, our loving staff and comfort friendly facility will be offering Austin Texas a wonderful service.


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What do pain management specialists do?

For thousands of years, doctors have been helping to relieve their patients' pain with a variety of medications and treatments. Like other areas of medicine, a new subset of doctors have become specialists in treating pain. They are focused on managing all types of pain - studying what causes it, how the body reacts to it, how different medications dull or eliminate the pain, and how other treatments can be used to relieve many painful conditions.

The Specialty of Chronic Pain Management


1. What does a pain management specialist do?

A pain management specialist is a physician with special training in evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of all different types of pain. Pain is actually a wide spectrum of disorders including acute pain, chronic pain and cancer pain and sometimes a combination of these. Pain can also arise for many different reasons such as surgery, injury, nerve damage, and metabolic problems such as diabetes. Occasionally, pain can even be the problem all by itself, without any obvious cause at all.



As the field of medicine learns more about the complexities of pain, it has become more important to have physicians with specialized knowledge and skills to treat these conditions. An in-depth knowledge of the physiology of pain, the ability to evaluate patients with complicated pain problems, understanding of specialized tests for diagnosing painful conditions, appropriate prescribing of medications to varying pain problems, and skills to perform procedures (such as nerve blocks, spinal injections and other interventional techniques) are all part of what a pain management specialist uses to treat pain. In addition, the broad variety of treatments available to treat pain is growing rapidly and with increasing complexity. With an increasing number of new and complex drugs, techniques, and technologies becoming available every year for the treatment of pain, the pain management physician is uniquely trained to use this new knowledge safely and effectively to help his or her patients. Finally, the pain management specialist plays an important role in coordinating additional care such as physical therapy, psychological therapy, and rehabilitation programs in order to offer patients a comprehensive treatment plan with a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of their pain.



2. What should I look for in a pain management specialist?

The most important consideration in looking for a pain management specialist is to find someone who has the training and experience to help you with your particular pain problem and with whom you feel a comfortable rapport. Since many types of chronic pain may require a complex treatment plan as well as specialized interventional techniques, pain specialists today must have more training than in the past, and you should learn about how your pain physician was trained and whether he or she has board certification in pain management. All our physicians at Republic Spine and Pain completed a pain management fellowship at UT Southwestern at Dallas.



3. How can I be referred to a pain management specialist?

The best way to be referred to a pain management specialist is through your primary care physician. Most pain physicians work closely with their patients' primary care physicians to insure good communication, which in turn helps provide the optimum treatment for their patients. Patients are also often referred by specialists who deal with different types of pain problems. Back surgeons, neurologists, cancer doctors, as well as other specialists usually work regularly with a pain physician and can refer you to one.

Republic Spine and Pain accepts most insurance plans.

4. What should I expect during my first visit to a pain management specialist?

On your first visit to a pain management specialist, he or she will get to know you and begin to evaluate your particular pain problem. This will usually involve a detailed history, a physical exam and review of tests that you have had performed. The questions you are asked and the physical examination will focus on your particular problem, but your pain physician will want to know about past and current medical history as well.

Often you will be given a questionnaire before your first visit that will ask detailed questions about your pain problem, and you will probably be asked to bring any imaging studies (such as X-rays, computed tomography [CAT] scans, or magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] scans) or other tests that have already been done. You should know before your first visit whether or not a procedure is anticipated. If so, you may need a driver to take you home.


Most importantly, this visit is an opportunity for your pain physician to begin to analyze all of this new information and discuss with you an initial assessment of your pain problem. He or she may know exactly what is causing your pain, or perhaps further diagnostic procedures will be needed. But no matter what type of problem you have, you should leave this first visit with a clearer understanding of your pain and the course of further evaluation and treatment that is planned.