Living with chronic pain, non-cancer pain, often causes other problems besides the pain itself. These problems can range from physical issues, such as overusing one side of the body to protect the other, to psychological issues, such as depression, to social issues, such as isolation.
Chronic pain is also extremely difficult to treat in most cases. Acute pain is caused – usually – by an identifiable source and is fixable. This includes a broken bone, an incision from surgery, a toothache. But chronic pain is not as easily identified, not as specific, and often not fixable.
A new study, published in the …read more

Someone asked me an interesting question the other day. When she found out that beside my regular freelancing, I write for a few blogs. She didn’t ask me why I wrote the blogs – a question many people ask – but why she should read my blogs? So, after thinking about it, here are the 10 reasons I think that people should read Help My Hurt. Please add your ideas if you have any.
1- If you don’t live with chronic pain, a blog like Help My Hurt may help you understand what it is like to live with pain and …read more

People sometimes say that they eat to help them feel better. Of course, they usually mean this to be feeling better emotionally or psychologically, but can food help you feel better physically too?

According to this article, Healing Meals: Foods That May Fight Pain, yes, certain foods can help people who are living with chronic pain. The article doesn’t recommend any particular diet or foods, but rather counsels on the trial-and-error method of elimination diets: eliminating different foods one by one to see if you feel a difference in your pain levels.
Might be worth a try.
Image: Newcom
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Ok, let’s take a look at what’s really happening. Just today, I’ve read the following headlines:

US fentanyl deaths topped 1,000 over 2 years
Fentanyl deaths topped 1,000 over two years
Fentanyl deaths topped 1,000 over 2 yearsin US
Fentanyl deaths in the United States topped 1,000 over 2 years

Seems clear enough, right? Over 1000 people died in the US, over a 2-year period because of fentanyl, right? WRONG. It’s not clear at all.
Want to know what the real headline should be?
Click here to read more.

While getting a diagnosis of a disease like Crohn’s disease isn’t what most people want, when you’ve been sick or affected by chronic pain, severe pain, getting such a diagnosis is often a relief.
An 18-year-old in the United Kingdom had been experiencing severe abdominal pain for five years before she was finally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Now that she has a diagnosis, doctors can work on trying to get the disease under control.
The disposable “camera pill” is swallowed and then tracked as it goes through the patient’s digestive system. The radio transmitter provides the images of areas in the body …read more

If you consider the amount of time we spend on our feet and how much weight and pressure is put on them on a daily basis, we really don’t give our feet enough credit for being the marvelous structures they are. Feet are often neglected and even abused if you think of the sky-high heels some women wear, the stubbing of toes as we walk barefoot, the blisters, and so on.
The problem with us and our feet is this is truly one of those situations of “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” It’s only when our feet …read more

Have  you ever wondered how exactly it is that you feel pain after you’ve banged your elbow – what the process is? Whether it’s acute pain from breaking your ankle or living with chronic pain, the process seems to be mysterious.
The MayoClinic.com has this article and a video to help you understand: How you feel pain.
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People who live with chronic pain or chronic disease in the United States know how costly it can be. As the costs add up, they may often wonder how they will be able to afford all their necessities.
The American Pain Foundation has put together some helpful information on this topic, Financial Issues. According to the article, “Chronic pain can affect all areas of your life including your finances. The following are some practical financial tips to cope with the financial issues that often go hand-in-hand with a chronic illness.”
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R is for…

rubber duckie!
And R is also for:
Radiating pain: If you tell your doctor or nurse about the pain you are having, you’ll likely be asked if the pain is radiating. This means, does the pain go beyond the original spot. For example, if you have pain in your stomach area, does it radiate to the back or up into the chest?
Repetitive stress injury: These days, when we hear repetitive stress injury, or RSI, most people automatically think of carpal tunnel syndrome. However, RSIs are injuries that can happen anywhere on the body and are caused by doing the same …read more

Company’s Calling, a popular Monday feature, hasn’t appeared for a while because I ran out of volunteers who wished to be interviewed. I would love to get the feature going again because I get emails (and comments) from people who appreciate learning how others have dealt with and who are dealing with their issues of chronic pain.
When people are living with chronic pain, they often feel alone – and we definitely know that they aren’t. Would you or someone you know be interested in sharing your story? You can remain anonymous if you would like and you can answer the …read more