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Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

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Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#81

Post by GordonS »

Wistar wrote: post #40

Perhaps naive but from NPR this morning: "For people who live with chronic pain, getting up, out and moving can seem daunting. Some fear that physical activity will make their pain worse. But in fact, researchers find the opposite is true: The right kind of exercise can help reduce pain." https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/09/23/7548691...

I can understand how, for some conditions, exercise could help, not just physically, but against the depressing effects of chronic pain.

But absolutely not for all conditions. For too long, doctors have pushed graded exercise programs for essentially all chronic pain conditions, despite good evidence that it can be harmful, even permanently, for some conditions (e.g. CFS).

I personally suffer from chronic pain, caused by small fiber neuropathy. I used to love walking, and I want to exercise - but if I do too much it can take days or even weeks to recover. A few times, I'm fairly sure I made things permanently (or hopefully semi-permanently) worse.

So, yes, exercise does help some people, but we must be careful not to push it as the be all and end all.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#82

Post by nate »

faissaloo wrote: post #78
nate wrote: post #44

Tangent from the article, but when I read the headline I thought I'd at least share in case it helps anyone who might have chronic pain like I've dealt with lately. For years now I've been suffering from tons of weird shit. I've had this persistent painful skin rash that pops up all over my body. Steroids would kill it for awhile but it would always come back. Folks would ask me if I had burned myself when they'd see…

Sounds like your body was having trouble making collagen

Oh! That's interesting. Sure does sound like that. Thanks for the heads up! Huh. Glad I posted this.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#83

Post by playing_colours »

nate wrote: post #44

Tangent from the article, but when I read the headline I thought I'd at least share in case it helps anyone who might have chronic pain like I've dealt with lately. For years now I've been suffering from tons of weird shit. I've had this persistent painful skin rash that pops up all over my body. Steroids would kill it for awhile but it would always come back. Folks would ask me if I had burned myself when they'd see…

As a comment below guessed you may suffer from collagen vascular disease. I’d like to suggest checking Autoimmune Paleo diet

https://www.amazon.de/Paleo-Approach-Reverse-Autoimmune-Dise...

It helped many people with diagnosed and undiagnosed autoimmune diseases and conditions.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#84

Post by tasty_freeze »

searine wrote: post #29
sdegutis wrote: post #20

Although there is value in trying to removing pain when doing so would be ethical, this thread mentions many situations where there is pain but no possibility yet of removing or reducing it. In these cases, a long-term general solution is to continue research on these situations. But the short-term solution per person is to learn the meaning and value of suffering. It is frowned upon in intellectual forums to discuss…

Jesus died on the cross in six hours. Let's see jesus crush a few vertebrae and live disabled for 40 years without pain meds, and then talk about suffering. Like I get it. Religion does help many, and it can take you away from pain, but suffering is real and don't shortchange people's misery who are dealing with it.

I was going to make a similar comment, so I'll tag on here. Jesus was supposedly crucified for a few hours, which would be terrible, but he also knew what was waiting him, and that he would be remembered and revered.

In contrast, my sister suffered through multiple rounds of chemo, then a divorce by a husband who was jealous that she was "getting all the attention". The cancer spread to her brain and spine and lungs, and towards the end even morphine couldn't stop the pain. She had to say goodbye to her sons without knowledge of what was to lie in store for her or them. When she died, she stayed dead, none of this "Tada! I died without the consequences of death" nonsense.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#86

Post by dghughes »

My dad has rheumatoid arthritis and is in constant pain. Even humeria doesn't help much.

Now I have started waking up in the morning with hands so stiff I can barely make a fist.

The pain doesnt bother me as much as the fear of being doped up on opioids. And the fact organ damage goes along with rheumatoid arthritis.

And to top it off every nut around you says weed or some diet will cure you. It's always cure not maintain or reduce but an outright cure.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#87

Post by cpncrunch »

GordonS wrote: post #81
Wistar wrote: post #40

Perhaps naive but from NPR this morning: "For people who live with chronic pain, getting up, out and moving can seem daunting. Some fear that physical activity will make their pain worse. But in fact, researchers find the opposite is true: The right kind of exercise can help reduce pain." https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/09/23/7548691...

I can understand how, for some conditions, exercise could help, not just physically, but against the depressing effects of chronic pain. But absolutely not for all conditions. For too long, doctors have pushed graded exercise programs for essentially all chronic pain conditions, despite good evidence that it can be harmful, even permanently , for some conditions (e.g. CFS). I personally suffer from chronic pain, caus…

>good evidence that it can be harmful, even permanently, for some conditions (e.g. CFS).

No, there is certainly no evidence that exercise can be permanently harmful for CFS. In fact, all the studies show that graded exercise is beneficial.

It's certainly true that exercising too hard for too long can be detrimental and can cause a crash, and patients do need to be careful. Exercise certainly isn't a cure for CFS, and I wouldn't recommend graded exercise myself, but it's untrue to say that there is evidence that it makes patients permanently worse.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#88

Post by proverbialbunny »

rjurney wrote: post #39
avgDev wrote: post #8

Oof. To answer the headline, there already is a cure to chronic pain and it is called correct diagnosis. When i was 21 I had chronic pain for 8 months, doctors gave me anti-biotics, NSAIDS, steroids.....but pain was just there. After months of research I found a surgeon in California, who performed surgeries on "Sports Hernia", almost like inguinal hernia without any bumps. I flew out to have the surgery, pictures ta…

There is usually no cure for chronic pain. This is medical fact. Your case is not descriptive. It is usually not caused by scar tissue, or an infection. For example MRI reports are only slightly correlated with actual spinal pain. It generally involves an up modulation of pain sensation in the peripheral and central nervous system. It is worthwhile to investigate the cause but most people don't find a cure like you d…

>This is an extremely harmful answer. Do not listen to this person.

They just want to help, and for all anyone knows, they are helping. Saying it's an extremely harmful answer is not only untrue, it's harmful to discourage conversation that can lead to progress.

However, it is helpful to let people know what options they have and who and what they can go to for help. GPs should be doing this, but you'd be surprised how little they know about chronic pain. I've yet to bump into a GP who forwards people with chronic pain in the right direction.

>If you have chronic pain, see a pain management specialist

This is so important. Few know there are chronic pain centers people can go to that literally specialize in just chronic pain. They can help. They usually consist of three doctors and a physical therapist. For people with years of chronic pain a combination of things needs to be done at once to help them get out of it.

Also, optimism is helpful because it can prevent learned helplessness. Imagine living a life in chronic pain that could be cured, but instead every hypothetical was shot down, so not enough attempts towards a solution was made.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#89

Post by zbentley »

CuriouslyC wrote: post #72
rjurney wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is usually no cure for chronic pain. This is medical fact. Your case is not descriptive. It is usually not caused by scar tissue, or an infection. For example MRI reports are only slightly correlated with actual spinal pain. It generally involves an up modulation of pain sensation in the peripheral and central nervous system. It is worthwhile to investigate the cause but most people don't find a cure like you d…

You're falling into the classic trap of thinking doctors know everything, but sorry to say that's not even close to true. Most doctors know next to nothing about myofascial pain (even many that really should). I've seen multiple cases of mobility impairment and chronic pain that even well a respected orthopedic surgeon thought required surgery be corrected by aggressive bodywork, including trigger point myofascial re…

I am glad you found a diagnosis and treatment. It is good to research and seek diagnosis and treatment.

But that's not what GP is saying. GP is saying that associating diagnosis with resolution is a recipe for disappointment and wasted effort. Given our current abilities and the state of the art, finding a cause is not possible for many people, period. It is great that some people find a cause. It is also great that some people turn hard work into millions of dollars. That does not mean that it is a reasonable expectation for others--in fact, it is a harmful one, that obviates or distracts from more constructive alternatives, which GP suggested.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#90

Post by proverbialbunny »

imustbeevil wrote: post #37
mehrdadn wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there already is a cure to chronic pain and it is called correct diagnosis. But correct diagnosis does not imply there is a cure or treatment available for the condition?

Chronic pain isn't a condition, it's a symptom. That's why proper diagnosis is the solution, because the million different "chronic pains" you can have will be treated a million different ways, and you either need to know which one or try them all and risk the side effects, as they did in the GP's comment.

It's not just chronic pain. There are multiple kinds of depression, multiple kinds of anxiety, multiple kinds of autism, adhd, and so on.

As long as the medical industry, especially the psychological industry, continues to name diagnoses off of their symptoms instead of naming them what they actually are, it becomes difficult to create procedures and medicine that work for all people.

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