Peripheral neuropathy refers to a debilitating health condition which has very few effective treatments. Previously, researchers could not understand the underlying or defining molecular mechanisms, according to new research findings conducted by researchers at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Because of this, peripheral neuropathy research hopes to improve and increase the movement of new treatments to tackle the complexity of the disease. According to information made available by the US National Institute of Health, about 20 million Americans suffer from one or other form of peripheral neuropathy. Either disease or trauma can inflict damage to the peripheral nervous system which causes numbness, weakness, or pain. Also, this can affect people with cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or such other conditions.

Here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho, we continually search for new research and clinical trials into this disease. We strive to study, acquire, and implement better peripheral neuropathy research and treatment for patients suffering from the ailment.

Peripheral Neuropathy in a Broad Perspective

Peripheral neuropathy exists as the form of neuropathy which damages your peripheral nerves. The immediate result of such damage can include: weakness, pain, and numbness. Usually, your hands or feet will be the first affected areas. However, it has the potential to also affect other areas of your body.

The peripheral nervous system of your body works by sending information from the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) to all other parts of your body.

The cause of a peripheral neuropathy can originate from infections or traumatic injuries. Other causes include: inherited causes, problems with your metabolism, and exposure to dangerous toxins. However, diabetes mellitus remains one of the most prominent causes of peripheral neuropathy.

Causes of Peripheral Neuropathy

While not comprehensive, the causes of peripheral neuropathy include:

• Diabetes – Over half of the people suffering from diabetes have some type of neuropathies
• Medications – Some types of medications taken to treat a certain illness, like chemotherapy for cancer, can result in peripheral neuropathy
• Alcoholism – Poor and unhealthy dietary choices undertaken by people suffering from alcoholism can lead to a serious deficiency in vitamin levels
• Exposure to poisons – Hazardous substances like metals and heavy chemicals can lead to serious cases of neuropathy damage to the nervous system
• Autoimmune diseases – These include rheumatoid arthritis, chronic inflammatory disease, and more.
• Tumors
• Vitamin deficiency – Lack of basic B Vitamins like vitamin B1, B12, B6, as well as Vitamin E
• Other diseases – Like liver diseases, kidney disease, connective tissue disorder, and more.

The latest peripheral neuropathy research has discovered over 100 types and causes of the ailment. Each of these cases present unique clues on their own. At the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho, our specialists know exactly how to identify the cause. Also, we offer solutions to them once you have taken the necessary steps at our facility.

What Are the Various Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy?

Each and every nerve which forms part of your nervous system has a design to function in a specific manner. Therefore, symptoms will depend on the type of affected nerve. For the purpose of clarity, let’s categorize the human nerves:

• Motor nerves – responsible for controlling muscular movement
• Sensory nerves – receive and interpret sensations like vibration, temperature, touch, or pain from the skin
• Autonomic nerves – responsible for controlling the bodily functions, heart rate, blood function, bladder, and digestion

In a broader sense, the various signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy might include, but not limited to:

• A gradual feeling of prickling, numbness, or tingling in your hands or feet. This feeling has the potential of spreading upward into your legs and arms
• Becoming extremely sensitive to touch, whether slight or heavy
• Burning, freezing, sharp, jabbing, or throbbing pain
• Falling and lack of coordination
• Affected motor nerves can cause paralysis or muscle weakness

In a situation where autonomous nerves become affected, the symptoms and signs may include:

• Altered sweating and heat intolerance, or
• Bladder, bowel, or digestive problems, and finally
• Lightheadedness, changes in blood pressure, and dizziness

One important note, peripheral neuropathy research has demonstrated the condition can affect just one nerve. In this case, it would be called “mononeuropathy.” The term “multiple mononeuropathies” refers to when it affects two or more nerves in different areas of the body. Additionally, if many nerves become affected, it is called “polyneuropathy.”

At the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho—(208) 629-2492, we have all the technology and experience to diagnose and verify your type of peripheral neuropathy. Also, we will provide you with the right treatment.

In What Ways Can I Prevent Peripheral Neuropathy?

If you have been asking this question, then you have come to the right place. At the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho, our specialists understand recent peripheral neuropathy research findings and recommendations. As a result, these have equipped us to help patients and potential sufferers prevent the disease.

From the latest peripheral neuropathy research, you can prevent the ailment. First of all, you should manage whatever medical condition which exposes you to the risk of peripheral neuropathy. Such medical conditions include diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and alcoholism. Second, our Medicare experts can help you tackle these problems and put you beyond risks of the disorder. Finally, give us a call at (208) 629-2492 and we can set you up for better health. Let us use the latest peripheral neuropathy research findings and clinical trials for your benefit.

Additionally, here are some prevention tips for you which peripheral neuropathy research has taught us.

• Eat and maintain a rich diet which must include fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and whole grain. This helps keep your nerves healthy, also
• Engage in a regular workout under your doctor’s supervision. Get a half-to-full hour of daily exercise for a minimum of three times a week, and finally,
• You should avoid activities which may result in nerve damage. These can include: repetitive motions, cramped positions, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and exposure to toxic materials.

Do any of these above symptoms seem to describe something you have? Call the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at (208) 629-2492, to find out more about peripheral neuropathy research.

Diabetic neuropathy is the damage to the nerves of the body in people who have diabetes. The condition develops gradually and worsens over the course of time. Susceptible people usually have high blood pressure, overweight, and high blood cholesterol. In addition, those who cannot control their blood sugar levels lean toward diabetic neuropathy.

Neuropathy can affect the nerves outside the skull, the ganglia, and the spinal cord. Also affected, the nerves which control the functioning of vital organs, like bladder, stomach, heart, and intestines. Additionally, it affects the nerves which control the periphery or outside of the body like the hands and feet. Finally, it affects the automatic functions of the body like digestion or your heart rate can develop problems. In fact, diabetic neuropathy can affect any part of the body. Pain Care Clinic of Idaho can help diagnose and treat your diabetic neuropathic problems. Simply call us at (208) 629-2492, we can assist you to recover or gain much improvement.

Types of Diabetic Neuropathy

Consider the four main types of neuropathy:

1. Autonomic neuropathy

This the second most common type of nerve damage. It affects the nerves which control involuntary actions of the body, such as sweat glands, digestive system, sex organs, bladder, and heart rate.  Neuropathy of the digestive system causes trouble swallowing, gastroparesis and constipation. Furthermore, it can cause erectile dysfunction in men and vaginal dryness in women. Neuropathy in the bladder can make it hard to empty the bladder fully. People with autonomic neuropathy can also have hypoglycemia causing heart palpitations and sweating which makes it hard to know when blood glucose levels are too low.

People with type 2 diabetes may have reduced blood pressure after standing from sitting, making them feel light-headed or dizzy.

2. Focal neuropathy

Damage occurs in groups of nerves or to one particular nerve, causing weakness of the area and is very painful. Focal nerve damage can affect the upper body, legs or head. This type of nerve damage disappears in weeks or months without leaving extensive consequences, unlike other types of nerve damage. Symptoms include: double vision, focus inability, pain in: stomach, lower back, chest, thigh, pelvic region, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

At Pain Care Clinic of Idaho–(208) 629-2492, we know exactly how to handle these kinds of challenges. Just put a call through to us and let our specialists handle the rest.

3. Peripheral neuropathy

This occurs when the nerves which detect temperature and touch are damaged. It affects the hands and feet. This is the most common type of diabetic neuropathy. Additionally, the mild to severe symptoms, occurring mostly at night, include: burning sensation, cramping or pain, numbness, insensitive to cold and hot temperatures. Also, muscle weakness and reflex losses can lead to changes in balance and mobility.  Nerve damage and poor blood circulation in people with diabetes makes it hard for wounds to heal. (Which causes more risk of complications from foot injuries.)

4. Proximal neuropathy

This is not common but seen in older adults with type 2 diabetes. It affects the legs, hips, and thighs. This type of nerve damage causes inability to stand after sitting without being helped. It is always painful.

Causes of Diabetic Neuropathy among People with Diabetes

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can cause Neuropathy.

Long time exposure to a higher level of glucose can damage the nerves, thereby causing neuropathy. High levels of blood fat called triglycerides and their toxic by-products can cause nerve damage. Good glucose control in type 1 diabetes people can lower nerve damage by 60%. In addition, controlling lipid levels can lower the cause of neuropathy in people with type 2 diabetes.

Other factors which cause diabetic neuropathy:

• Smoking or alcohol
• Vitamin B deficiency
• Carpal tunnel syndrome – Mechanical or repetitive movement injury
• High blood pressure
• Low level of vitamin B12

Diagnosis of Diabetic Neuropathy

The specialists at Pain Care Clinic of Idaho–(208) 629-2492 will carry out a physical examination and foot examination for the following:

• Knees and ankle reflexes
• Responses of legs and feet to stimuli like touch, movement, temperature, and pain
• Color changes
• Changes in skin texture
• Test to know thiamine and vitamin B1 levels
• Finally, check of blood pressure, heart rate variability, and ultrasound.

If the physician suspects diabetic neuropathy, then, the patient will undergo diagnostic tests like Nerve Conduction Velocity test which record the speed of the induced signal in the nerves. Also Electromyogram, which records the electrical activity of the muscles.

Treatment of Diabetic Neuropathy

Especially relevant, managing cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and controlling blood sugar help prevent nerve damage. The treatment of diabetic neuropathy focuses on controlling the symptoms and reducing the pain.

Certain drugs can control diabetic neuropathy pain. These include anticonvulsant drugs, opioid-like drugs, and tricyclic antidepressants like serotonin-norepinephrine inhibitors.

Physical Therapy with drugs can reduce pain and the drug dependency. Physical therapists help people with muscle weakness and muscle cramps. They also reduce the burning sensation in the feet and legs. Electrical nerve stimulation can relieve foot ulcers and the feeling of stiffness.

People who use a prosthesis due to loss of a limb as a result of diabetic neuropathy can undergo Gait training. This ‘relearning’ how to walk helps to prevent foot complications. You can get Gait training from Pain Care Clinic of Idaho by calling (208) 629-2492. Additionally, topical lotions and supplements will also provide relief.

Our massage therapist at Pain Care Clinic of Idaho–(208) 629-2492 can offer regular massages which stretch the muscles. Exercises, such as aerobics or swimming, can maintain muscle strength. Additionally, patients can regain foot sensitivity using high-frequency sound waves to stimulate the tissue under the skin surface (called therapeutic ultrasound).

Prevention of Diabetic Neuropathy

Some tips to reduce the risk of diabetic neuropathy:

• First of all, maintain a healthy weight for your height
• Likewise, exercise regularly
• Also, control fat levels and blood pressure via lifestyle and diet changes where necessary
• Then, control blood glucose levels
• Additionally, visit a physician regularly if you have symptoms of numbness and pain.

Half of the people with diabetes develop neuropathy. It affects the nerves of the feet causing pain and discomfort, which could lead to complications if left untreated. So, where can you get help? Visit us at Pain Care Clinic of Idaho, or call: (208) 629-2492 to discuss your diabetic neuropathy.

Benefits of Having a Pain Clinic Near Me

Pain can hit out of nowhere. You can go from feeling fine to being miserable in a very short period of time. If your pain clinic is not nearby, you may not use their services to feel better. The problem with a pain clinic that is not nearby is that you will not go as often. The more often you go, the more managed your pain can be. If you take steps to keep your pain under control, it can keep the spikes from happening as much. This can mean that your pain shows up less frequently. Plus, it can also mean that when it does show up, it does not become as intense.

By seeking a nearby pain clinic, you work with professionals who understand the importance of managing your pain. You do not want to struggle for the rest of your life with pills as your crutch. There are times where pills can help, but do you really want to use them all the time? Chances are you want as much relief as you can get, as soon as you can get it. By keeping to a regular maintenance routine, you can keep your pain under control much more effectively. Imagine waking up one day and having your pain so well managed that you can live your life. Isn’t that your ultimate goal anyway?

What Kind of Relief Can a Pain Clinic Offer?

There are many benefits that come with visiting a pain clinic regularly. No matter what type of pain you are in, they have treatment options that can help. Some people find relief from pain from simple meditation. Others need more active treatments to help with their pain. It all depends on what is going on with you, and what is causing the pain you struggle with.

The first thing you are going to do when you find a local pain clinic is to get an evaluation. They will want to look over what is going on and figure out why. If the why is already known, they will want to find out what treatment options you have tried. They will track what worked and what did not, so they can help you come up with a treatment plan. The more specific you can be during this phase, the better.

Once your pain and pain causes has gone through the evaluation process, you will then get to try out different options. The more options you try, the more things you figure out either help or do not help with your pain. Once you have a few options that provide relief, they can help you set up regular appointments to come in and get those treatments done. This can help your pain stay down between visits. For some, a regular treatment routine can also provide them with long-term pain relief.

Pain Clinics Are the Best Place to Go for Neuropathic Pain

For those that struggle with neuropathy pain, management is crucial when it comes to keeping the effects under control. Since the pain can come and go at a moment’s notice, you need to have a plan. The best plan is one that manages your symptoms so that when the pain hits, you have a direct response. Part of the problem with neuropathic pain is that it can be difficult to treat. It can come with so many symptoms, you may not know what to do when it hits. You need experienced help to manage this type of pain before it takes away your quality of life completely.

By seeking out a local pain clinic, you can find out about what treatment options they have. Typically, neuropathic pain comes from problems with the messages being sent around the body. You may believe that you are in pain, when in fact, you are not. Your body is struggling to understand what your body actually feels. So, it simply interprets the signals as pain. The way to treat this is through options such as Scrambler Therapy.

You must go to a trained and experienced pain clinic if you want Scrambler Therapy. There are only a small number of places with the proper training on how to use this device effectively. What it does is retrain your body to properly recognize the signals being sent around. This way, when you actually have pain, your body will register it properly. When the sensation you feel is tingling or burning, your body will then understand what the sensation is. Scrambler Therapy is proven incredibly effective for many people when it comes to having long-term relief.

Where Can I Find a Pain Clinic Near Me?

Instead of turning to the internet and searching for a pain clinic near me, turn to the professionals here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. We understand your pain. We also understand the importance of having help nearby. Call us and let us work with you to figure out the best treatment plan to manage your pain. That way, the next time your pain flares up, you have somewhere to go. Plus, we can also help come up with a management plan that can hopefully help keep your pain away. That is our specialty, and we are very good at what we do. Let us help you get your life back.

For more information, contact us here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. Our number is (208) 629-2492. Reach out to us and let us be the answer you find the next time you feel the need to search for a pain clinic near me.

Should You Give Spinal Decompression Therapy a Try?

When you have back pain that simply won’t go away, you may want to consider spinal decompression therapy. It is very effective at relieving pain for most people. It is especially effective if there are issues with the discs, such as them degenerating, or when a pinched nerve is the cause of your pain. However, those are not the only times that spinal decompression therapy is helpful. You can also get relief from things such as pain following a trauma or injury, pain following a surgery, and ailments like arthritis and diabetes.

What Benefits Can You Get from Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Spinal decompression therapy brings with it a lot of pain relieving benefits. First, when you slowly stretch out the spine, you can add up to 20% more space between each of the components within your spine. This means the area between your discs can grow up as much as 20%. This allows for more blood to flow through to those areas and allows for any pinched nerves to get relief. By having more blood flowing to that area, you get increased healing, plus decreased pain. Your body also gets extra oxygen in those spaces, which also boosts healing. When the area was thinner, it was much harder for your body to push blood in there. This could lead to throbbing pain, and a decreased blood flow, which then leaves you hurting more. Open spaces mean that your body is in less pain, and more readily able to heal.

A lot of people also get increased mobility following spinal decompression therapy. When the spine is able to be stretched out slowly, it can allow for things to realign themselves properly. This can make moving around less painful and give you back some of your missing quality of life. The more you can move around, the stronger those muscles are able to remain. This protects your spine and makes it harder for it to get injured all over again after it gets the chance to heal.

Does Spinal Decompression Therapy Work with Scrambler Therapy?

One of the more effective therapies for back pain is Scrambler Therapy. With this treatment, it allows your body to relearn how to process pain signals being sent around properly. When you struggle with chronic pain, your body can get the signals somewhat muddled. By getting Scrambler Therapy, your body learns to recognize when you are actually in pain, and when you feel something else.

By combining Scrambler Therapy with spinal decompression therapy, you can get a lot of relief. Your body learns to read pain signals properly, so you know what parts of your back hurt, and what are feeling another sensation. Then, you can add in spinal decompression therapy to help the areas of your back that do, in fact, hurt. It can be difficult for your back to heal up properly if it believes the entire surface is in pain. However, when your back knows what areas to target, the repair cells go to the right place, and you begin feeling better faster.

The Pain Care Clinic of Idaho Can Help

When relief is what you seek, then you want to come in and see us. Our highly skilled team of professionals can help you with your pain struggles. We can work with you to figure out what causes your pain, and then come up with a treatment plan that encompasses each type of therapy that provides you relief. Something as simple as combining multiple types of therapy could be the key to you getting relief. Don’t go through another day where pain rules your life. Call us today, and let us help guide you down the path to pain relief.

When you want to have a better quality of life, and bypass the daily struggles of back pain, we can help. Reach out to us here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho by calling (208) 629-2492 today. Let us figure out if you would benefit from options such as Scrambler Therapy and spinal decompression therapy.

Touch Can Really Help Relieve Pain When Used as an Upper Back Pain Treatment

There are many different types of touch that can help as upper back pain treatment options. First, you have massage. This helps bring healing and extra oxygen and blood to the area that hurts. It can speed up healing, plus it can decrease how much pain you feel during that process. The more often you get a massage, the more of these benefits you can experience.

Next, you have physical therapy. This is a hands-on approach to teaching the muscle groups in your upper back how to function properly again. This is typically most effective after some type of an upper back injury. You will work with a physical therapist who can help you move your body purposefully. This teaches your body how to move in a way that will not aggravate the pain you already have. Plus, it can help strengthen the sore parts of your body, decreasing your overall pain.

You also have chiropractic manipulation. This is when you see a chiropractor to have the different parts of your upper back put back into their proper places. It is called an alignment. They take the different components of your back, such as your vertebrae and your discs, and put them into their rightful spots. A lot of people struggle with upper back pain due to misaligned parts of their spine. This can bring about quick relief. Plus, it can also become more effective over time if you keep getting alignments to keep everything in place.

Resting Can Both Help and Hinder Upper Back Pain

When you struggle with upper back pain, you may feel like resting. This is a good idea, to some extent. However, if you rest too much, it can actually increase your pain. When you first notice upper back pain, taking it easy is a good option. That way, you will not increase how much pain you have. It can also keep you from adding to the problem, leaving you in more pain. However, if you rest too long, it can actually leave you in more pain. Resting can cause your muscles to atrophy and leave you weaker than when you started. While you should rest, especially if you suffered some type of upper back injury, you must keep it to a short amount time. Resting for 2-4 days is fine, but for weeks on end could have negative results.

Some Therapies Are Effective Upper Back Pain Treatment Options

There are also some therapies that can be very effective upper back pain treatment options. One such therapy that we have found works incredibly well with many types of upper back pain is called the Scrambler Therapy. When you have Scrambler Therapy, it is a way to teach your body how to properly read pain signals, and how to manage them better.

Some types of upper back pain can actually come from problems with the nerves. Your body is trying to understand the signals being sent out by the nerves. However, there is a problem when it comes to deciphering the code. Scrambler Therapy helps your bodydecode the messages properly. That allows your body to realize that it is not actually in pain, but feeling another sensation. This could be something like tingling or a bit of numbness that your body misread.

Learning What Causes Your Back Pain Can Help Narrow Down the Most Effective Upper Back Pain Treatment Options

The best way to figure out which upper back pain treatment options will be best for you is to figure out what caused the pain in the first place. Knowing the cause of your pain helps figure out what things can work, and what things may make it worse. You obviously want to avoid anything that could worsen your back pain. If you randomly try treating it, without knowing the cause, it could make it to where your back pain gets worse instead of better.

When your upper back pain is serious, you need to make sure you get the right treatment to help. Reach out to us here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho and let us help. Call us today, at (208) 629-2492, and let us help you determine which upper back pain treatment options will work best for you.

What Lower Back Pain Treatment Options Are Out There?

When you struggle with lower back pain, it may not seem like there are any effective lower back pain treatments out there. However, there are many to choose from. You can always start off with medications, but those can make it to where you become dependent. There is always the option of surgery, but again, that has some serious side effects that may come with it. Physical therapy is a great option when you have chronic lower back pain. However, it is not always effective. It depends on what caused your pain in the first place. Each option you have is going to have an upside and a downside to it, for the most part.

Manipulation Can Help Treat Lower Back Pain

For most people, manipulation is the most effective lower back pain treatment option. It gives you a lot of relief, when you continue with the therapy. This type of treatment includes things like chiropractic adjustments and massage. Both of these options can bring about a significant amount of relief on their own. However, when you put them together, they can be even more effective. By putting the elements of your spine back into proper alignment, it can reduce both pain and pressure. This can then reduce your chronic pain, and allow you to go back to living the life you know and love.

Exercise is an Effective Lower Back Pain Treatment Option

One of the more effective parts of physical therapy that can give you relief are the exercises taught to you. They teach you how to move your body the right way to not only alleviate your old pain, but also to avoid new pain. The movements allow your body to heal, and adjust itself so that your problematic posture does not hinder your ability to function moving forward.

When your back hurts, your posture suffers. That is just natural for managing the pain. However, when you start to treat the pain, you must also correct the posture. If you neglect to correct that problem, the pain will continue into the future despite the treatment. Getting a lower back pain treatment that also adjusts and improves this problem can improve your pain now and in the future as well.

On top of physical therapy exercises, natural exercise to tone the body and lose weight can also help. When your back hurts, having extra weight can exacerbate the problem. Plus, if you do not have a strong core of muscles, your entire body can struggle with pain. By strengthening your core and building up your muscles, your joints are stronger. Your balance, flexibility, and mobility also improve. This can help reduce, or even eliminate all of your lower back pain.

There Are Alternative Therapies That Also Work as Lower Back Pain Treatment Options

You also have other lower back pain treatment options you may not be aware of. Outside of medication, surgery, manipulation, physical therapy, and exercise, you also have what many people tout as a great way to reduce and alleviate back pain. It is called Scrambler Therapy. It is a safe and effective method for not only treating lower back pain, but also helping your body learn to better understand pain signals.

When your body sends signals around, they are like messages. These messages have to go through the nerves around your body. When a message passes through, it can change slightly if the nerve is not working properly. Think of it like the old telephone game. By the time the message gets delivered, it may not be the same as when it was sent. Scrambler Therapy allows your body to recalibrate itself in a sense. It helps to teach your body what the signals were supposed to say in the first place. This can help your brain understand what parts of your body actually hurt, and what parts of your body need something else to feel better. It can help your body begin to recognize real pain signals, and ones that just show up saying you hurt.

When you decide that you no longer want to struggle with your back pain, you have options. Reach out to us here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho now, by calling (208) 629-2492. Let us know what type of pain you struggle with, and we can help you decide which lower back pain treatment options can help most.

What Exactly Is Electrocutaneous Treatment?

Electrocutaneous treatment is a form of treatment on the skin to help your body properly interpret pain signals. It involves electrical stimulation on different parts of your body. The intention is to stimulate the nerves to send signals that your mind and nervous system can translate. Sometimes, the body registers pain when there isn’t any. This is often called neuropathy. It tells your body that something hurts, when in fact, it may not be pain that your body experiences. Instead, it could be nerve problems that lead to a tingling, burning, itching, or similar feeling.

When the body gets sent these signals, it sometimes processes them as pain. By using electrocutaneous treatment, you can often get it to interpret the signals better. This lets your central nervous system work with your mind and realize that what your body is feeling is in fact, not pain. It can begin to register the feelings of burning, itching, or tingling instead. The stimulation goes near where the pain is felt by the patient. However, the stimulation does not go on the location that hurts directly. Instead, it is put on a healthier part of the body so that the signals are clear.

What Types of Electrocutaneous Treatment is Out There as Options?

Many people refer to this type of treatment as electrocutaneous treatment, but it also goes by many other names. You may find options for treatment under names like temporal stimulation, electrocutaneous stimulation, and vibratory stimulation. They are all basically the same type of therapy. They all use electrical pulses, or vibrations, to stimulate the body cutaneously, or by means of the skin. However, the effect they get differs based on the technology used.

Scrambler Therapy is a Promising Form of Electrocutaneous Treatment

One of the most promising forms of electrocutaneous treatment is called Scrambler Therapy. It is a specific type of therapy that is working well for patients with many types of neuropathy. Researchers originally started using Scrambler Therapy to help peoplestruggling with chemotherapy induced neuropathy. They noticed many people got significant levels of relief from this process. Since that initial research, it now helps with many types of neuropathy, not just that caused by chemo. It also helps neuropathy stemming from things like diabetes and injury.

Scrambler Therapy helps to train the brain. When you have signals traveling through the body along the same paths where pain signals travel, your brain automatically takes the messages and processes them as pain. However, they are not always pain messages. What Scrambler Therapy has the ability to do is retrain the brain to recognize those signals properly. Instead of reading each signal as pain, it begins to decode each message slowly and carefully. The brain begins to recognize signals for tingling, numbness, and other similar signals. This way, your brain begins to remember what actual pain is, and what other sensations are.

Benefits of Getting Electrocutaneous Treatment

When you go through and get electrocutaneous treatment, your body can begin feeling better. Instead of your brain always telling you that you are in pain, you have the opportunity to feel more normal. Pain can cause your life to become much more difficult. By having less pain to battle each day, life becomes easier. When people lose quality of life to pain, depression often follows quickly. By alleviating pain from your day, it allows you to feel more hopeful and happier.

When you take life back, it helps you feel empowered. It helps you to realize that pain does not need to dictate your life. Make the choice of what you want to do with your future instead of letting pain choose. Something as simple as getting electrocutaneous treatment can give you the ability to do things your pain once took away. Reach out and find out what benefits you may get from this therapy, based on your specific conditions.

When it comes time to getting past pain, one of the best options you have is electrocutaneous treatment. Contact us here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho and let us help. You can reach us by calling (208) 629-2492. Let us see if electrocutaneous treatment would be the best way of relieving your pain and giving you back your life.

What Causes Oncologic Pain

Oncologic pain is caused by the cancer itself. Typically a tumor pressing on a nerve, organ, or bone is to blame. The type and severity of pain depends on the type of cancer as well as what stage it is. Other times the pain is caused by cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy. This type of pain can result in numbness or tingling in the hands and feet. Some pains can also be normal aches and pains, like headaches or muscle strains.

Types of Oncologic Pain

There are different types of oncologic pain that range in severity as well as location. A cancer patient may only experience one type or multiple types of pain.

Acute Oncologic Pain

Acute oncologic pain is usually the result of some type of injury. It lasts until the injury goes away which in some cases can be a long time.

Chronic Oncologic Pain

Chronic pain can last a long time, sometimes months or years. It can be mild or it can be severe. It can also limit what a patient can do on a daily basis as well as be debilitating.

Breakthrough Oncologic Pain

This pain may be the most frustrating for patients because it happens despite the fact that the pain is being treated. As the name suggests, it “breaks through” any relief a patient is receiving from medication or other treatments. It can’t be predicted and can range in severity.

Oncologic pain can affect different parts of the body which can also determine how it is treated.

Nerve Pain

Oncologic pain can put pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves. When this happens, a patient may feel numb or get a tingling feeling. Sometimes patients also have trouble moving when they have nerve pain.

Bone Pain

Bone pain is sometimes referred to as somatic pain. Cancer can spread into the bone and damage the bone tissue. This pain can be dull or throbbing.

Soft Tissue Pain

This type of pain is felt from an organ or muscle. It is also referred to as visceral pain. It can be extremely severe causing cramping, aching, or throbbing.

Phantom Pain

This pain is pain felt from a body part that is no longer there. Often times breast cancer patients who undergo a mastectomy get phantom pains. Most times phantom pains go away within a few months, but they can last up to a year.

Treating Oncologic Pain

Treating oncologic pain is about managing the pain effectively for the patient. The type of treatment will depend on the patient and the level of pain. Here are the most typical ways oncologic pain is treated:

Over-the-counter pain relievers: This can be anything from Tylenol to Motrin, or ibuprofen.
Weak opioids: These require a doctor’s prescription. An example of such medication is one that contains codeine.
Strong opioids: These also must be ordered from a doctor and can include morphine, oxycodone, and methadone, among others.
Therapy. Besides medication, there are other forms of treatment and therapies that may be used. The Pain Care Clinic of Idaho can help you determine which ones are best for you needs.

Depending on the pain level, some patients may opt for more intense pain management treatments. These can include:

• Surgery. If nerve pain is the source, a neurosurgeon may cut the nerves to stop the pain. When this is done, the patient will have no feeling and become dumb. This surgery is delicate in nature and should be discussed with a doctor thoroughly so a patient understands all of the risks.
• Nerve Block. This is not as intense as surgery but is still serious in nature. During this procedure, a numbing drug combined with a steroid is injected around the nerve to stop the pain. It’s important to note that a nerve block can cause muscle paralysis.
• Epidural. Pain medicine is injected into the areas around the spine, similar to when a pregnant woman receives an epidural during labor. Some patients end up getting pumps implanted so pain medicine can be distributed around the nerves.

In order to accurately treat oncologic pain, patients should track the pain and its severity levels. Keeping a log of pain triggers and length of pain as well as pain location can help doctors determine which type of treatment is best.

For more information on how to deal with oncologic pain, contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at (208) 629-2492. Let their team of experts help you determine what treatments can help to ease your pain.

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Sources:

https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/physical-side-effects/pain/facts-about-cancer-pain.html

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping/physically/cancer-and-pain-control/causes-and-types

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/in-depth/cancer-pain/art-20045118?pg=2

What is neuropathy?

Neuropathy is a condition that occurs when your nerves become damaged. It’s estimated that neuropathy affects a little over two percent of the general population and about eight percent of those 55 and older. Neuropathy affects the peripheral nervous system that is in charge of things like voluntary muscle movement, involuntary organ activity, and sensory nerves. When these nerves become damaged, it can cause pain as well as difficulty moving.

What causes neuropathy?

Neuropathy can either be acquired by birth or can develop later in life due to another illness or condition. The neurological disorder Charcot-Marie Tooth disease is the most common form of inherited neuropathy. It affects 1 in every 2,500 people in the United States.

For those who develop neuropathy later in life, there are several conditions that may be to blame. These include:

• Diabetes
• Kidney Disorders
• Chemical Imbalances due to liver diseases
• Alcohol Abuse
• Blood diseases and blood vessel damage
• Vitamin deficiencies (specifically E, B1, B6, B12, and Niacin)
• Physical trauma

Other medical conditions like HIV, Shingles, and Lyme Disease can also lead to neuropathy.

Of all of the possible causes, diabetes is the most common. High blood sugar can injure nerves throughout your body. For diabetics, this is usually seen in the legs and feet. In order to avoid developing neuropathy if you’re a diabetic it’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and remain active.

What are the symptoms of neuropathy?

The symptoms of neuropathy will vary depending on which nerves are affected. When the peripheral nerves are affected symptoms can include:

• Numbness
• Inability to feel pain or temperature changes
• Muscle weakness
• Loss of balance
• Increased sensitivity to touch
• Loss of balance, coordination, and reflexes

If a patient is experiencing neuropathy within the automated nervous system other problems may arise such as:

• Bladder control issues
• Difficulty swallowing
• Increased heart rate when you’re resting
• Stomach issues (nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, bloating)

When neuropathy affects the nerves in the lower body (thighs, legs, buttocks) patients may experience sudden or severe pains in those areas as well as weak muscles and weight loss.

If only a specific nerve is involved, symptoms can include:

• Difficulty focusing
• Partial paralysis on one side of the face
• Pain in the chest, abdomen, thigh

Is there a cure for neuropathy?

Some forms of neuropathy can be cured; each case is different. But for the most part it’s about pain management and therapy. Receiving care from the Pain Care Clinic of Idahocan help if you are experiencing some of the many symptoms of neuropathy. Professionals can help pinpoint a specific therapy that will help you deal with your neuropathy issues. Other treatments can include pain medications and cream. In many cases symptoms will lessen but may not completely go away. It’s best to talk to your doctor to determine the best line of treatment for your specific case.

How can I stay active with neuropathy?

One of the best ways to treat neuropathy is to try to remain active. While you may think it is virtually impossible to keep moving through the pain, there are exercises you can do that will help.

Seated exercises with weights

Sit in a sturdy chair or on a balance ball. Choose a pair of hand-held weights that is challenging but manageable. From here you can do arm raises, bicep curls, or any other movement you’d like with the weights while staying seated.

Find the right cardio active

An appropriate cardio active can be anything from walking to swimming depending on what you feel comfortable doing. Some people enjoy water activities because of the soothing benefits of water therapy. A stationary bike indoors is also a popular activity for some with neuropathy.

Flexibility exercises

Ask your doctor about simple stretches you can do at home to keep your joints flexible. A yoga class may also be a possibility if that interests you.

Balance exercises

Maintaining balance can be difficult for those with neuropathy. Doing balance exercises regularly can improve balance and stability.

Non-weight bearing exercises are usually most recommended for those with neuropathy. Always consult with your doctor before beginning any form of exercise. Also be sure to have the proper footwear. Not doing so can lead to foot problems for those with neuropathy.

Why should I stay active with neuropathy?

It is extremely important to stay active with neuropathy to improve muscle strength. Exercising regularly can help with heart issues and increase blood flow. Keeping active can also help maintain appropriate glucose levels. Since most neuropathy cases are attributed to diabetes, keeping an eye on glucose levels is crucial. Anything that can be done to keep them at an appropriate level can help with neuropathy and other diabetic issues.

For more information on how to deal with neuropathy, contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at (208) 629-2492. Let their team of experts help you determine what treatments can help to ease your pain.

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Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetic-neuropathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20371580

https://www.everydayhealth.com/neuropathy/guide/

https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/everyday-fitness/how-can-i-stay-active-with-neuropathy/

https://www.foundationforpn.org/living-well/lifestyle/exercise-and-physical-therapy/#aerobic

https://neuropathysupportnetwork.org/faq-about-neuropathy/

First, You Must Understand What Pain Triggers Are

Pain triggers are simply events in your life that trigger your body to experience pain. Some of the pain is miserable because you feel it, while other pain is miserable because your body registers that it is there. It isn’t that you don’t feel the pain, because you do. It is more that the pain is a problem with the nerves in these particular cases. Your body needs to relearn what the signals are coming from that area, and understand how to decode them properly. This is called neuropathic pain. There are many things that can trigger this type of pain.

Drinking Too Much Alcohol Can Trigger Pain

When you drink alcohol, it can directly affect your nerves. The more you drink, the more damage gets done. The nerve damage that comes from drinking excessive amounts of alcohol is typically permanent. The best way to avoid any type of pain triggers that stem from alcohol, is to avoid drinking any type of alcohol in the first place. Even drinking now and again can damage your nerves. However, the occasional drink would be far less likely to hurt you than consistent drinking would.

Diabetes That is Not Managed Properly is a Common Pain Trigger

When diabetes is not managed the way it should be, it can cause extensive damage. This can include leading to neuropathic pain. You may notice that you struggle with occasional numbness, or you may even struggle with tingling and burning sensations. The best way to avoid this type of pain is to make sure to consistently manage your diabetes. Check your blood sugar regularly, and make sure to keep your insulin levels within the right ranges. This can keep your pain minimized, and keep your diabetes from causing additional damage to your body.

Compressed Nerves Are Common Pain Triggers

One of the more common pain triggers that people do not always recognize includes compressed nerves. This can cause not only chronic pain, but it can also cause tingling and impair movement. The affected nerves can leave you struggling with pain, or they can even make it to where you feel burning each time the nerve tries to send out a signal. The best way to avoid pain triggers that stem from compressed nerves is to get checked as soon as you notice any type of nerve pain. Your medical health care provider will likely suggest getting a chiropractic adjustment. That can help realign the nerves properly so they are no longer compressed together. That can stop your pain, and help improve your ability to move.

Immune Problems Can Trigger Pain

Disorders of the immune system, including things like HIV and even things like food allergies, can trigger widespread pain in the body. The body responds to the signals coming from different parts of the body by triggering an immune response. Your body believes there is a problem, so it sets up its defenses to keep you safe. Even if you do not have a legitimate problem that deserves an immune response, your body believes you are under attack. Your body then sends out the cells to attack the invader, which may result in you hurting. The pain can range from soreness to much more severe, chronic pain. The best way to avoid this type of pain is to figure out what things cause your immune system to respond. If you suffer from food allergies, make sure to steer clear of the foods that cause the response.

Chemotherapy Often Triggers Pain

Chemotherapy does a lot to harm your immune system, but it does so for a good purpose. What the goal is, is to kill off your current immune system, and retrain it to fight off the cancer cells. However, there is no way, at this time, to trigger only specific cells, so it hurts them all. This often leaves you facing a lot of pain, and can be difficult to treat by means of painkillers. The best way to avoid these pain triggers is to talk to your doctors. They often have alternatives that can treat some of the pain, such as the Scrambler Therapy.

Getting Help to Manage Your Pain Triggers

When your pain triggers take over your life, you need to get help. There are many options out there to provide you with relief. Pain does not need to tell you what parts of your life you get to live and what parts of your life you should miss out on. Take your life back, and stop letting pain dictate your life.

When you need help keeping your chronic pain under control, give us a call here at Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. You can reach our caring staff by calling (208) 629-2492 anytime. Let us help you avoid your pain triggers and get your quality of life back!

A Lot of Myths About Scrambler Therapy Revolve Around What It Is

One of the most common myths about Scrambler Therapy is that it is simply a new version of TENS therapy. This is not the case. They are different types of therapy altogether. Each of these therapies work with the signals of the brain to some degree, but that is where the similarities end. First, TENS therapy sends electrical impulses to the area in the hopes of relaxing and healing it. Scrambler Therapy, on the other hand, works near the pain. The hope is not to relax it, but instead, to help the brain learn that there is no actual pain coming from that area. With Scrambler Therapy, the goal is to train the brain on the right signals, not to minimize or relax away pain.

Another of the more common myths about Scrambler Therapy is that it is still experimental. Many people believe that this therapy is new and that it has not yet had thorough testing. This is totally false. Scrambler Therapy is a safe, effective, and widely used therapy, in many places around the world. It has full authorization through all necessary channels to be a therapy used outside of the realm of experimental therapy. Plus, so far, research has shown that it is also a very effective way of managing pain signals coming from many parts of the body.

Some people also believe that Scrambler Therapy reads the pain you are in, and sends new signals back to the peripheral nerves. This is untrue. The unit itself is meant to stimulate parts of the body that relay pain signals up to the brain. This is to help teach the brain to recognize other signals, not just pain signals. That helps the nerves and brain connect and send the right signals, instead of the wrong ones.

Some Myths About Scrambler Therapy Has to Do with Medications

Another set of myths about Scrambler Therapy have to do with medications. Some believe that you must take prescription drugs while having Scrambler therapy, while others believe that drugs cannot be taken along with Scrambler Therapy. Both of these are incorrect. You do not need to take medication for pain while having Scrambler Therapy. However, if you do need to take pills, such as anticonvulsants, this is alright, so long as your medical care provider follows the preset protocols.

Another of the common myths about Scrambler Therapy is that it came about to replace pain medications. Again, this is false. Scrambler Therapy started as a way to help a specific niche of patients who had pain that otherwise could not be helped. This pain is either neuropathic or oncologic. Both of these sets of patients are often left to struggle with their pain on their own. For differing reasons, most medications and other forms of pain management do not work well, if at all. Helping this small population of patients was the original goal, and these patients have shown great promise in the benefits that Scrambler Therapy offers.

Other Myths About Scrambler Therapy

One of the myths about Scrambler Therapy is downright dangerous to believe. It is that this therapy is known to regrow nerves. This is dangerous because people may put a lot of false hope into this therapy that simply is not possible. Scrambler Therapy can do a ton to help many different types of pain. However, it is not a regenerative therapy. It is meant to help people feel better, which it does. It is also meant to help people get their quality of life back. Thankfully, it is showing a lot of promise here as well. If what you want is relief from pain, then this is a great solution for you to consider. However, if you expect regrowth of damaged nerves, then this is not going to give you that outcome.

If you want to find out more about Scrambler Therapy, contact us here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. We have experienced and trained professionals on staff who can help you see the benefits that come with the therapy. You can call us at (208) 629-2492 today. Let us help you sort out the truth from the myths about Scrambler Therapy.

Why Get Scrambler Therapy for Peripheral Neuropathy?

When you struggle with peripheral neuropathy, the pain can easily overwhelm you. It can make it to where you struggle to keep up with daily activities. Even getting out of bed can become a problem. By opting to get scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy, you can take your life back. What scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy does is teach your brain to recognize signals from that part of the body that do not include only pain. This helps your brain recognize other sensations, and stops it from feeling pain where there is none.

Scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy entails you getting two electrodes placed near where you have pain. The electrodes used are the same ones used for ECGs. They are placed in an area that is by your pain, but never on the area that is in pain directly. Then, the scrambler machine is turned on, sending vibrations and gentle electric pulses through the area. Your brain then begins to process the new sensations and signals being sent because those new signals come along the same channels as the pain signals normally travel. As the new signals come through, they get processed and recognized by the brain. This teaches the brain to look for other signals and ignore the pain signals coming from that area.

Who Should Consider Scrambler Therapy for Peripheral Neuropathy?

Anyone with any type of peripheral neuropathy could benefit from scrambler therapy. There are a lot of ailments that could bring about peripheral neuropathy pain. It is common for people who have undergone chemotherapy, people who struggle with diabetes, and even those who wound up with pain following an accident or injury. It is showing results that are difficult to duplicate with other forms of treatment. While it may not be the first type of therapy your doctor may try for you, it could very well be the last type of treatment you need.

Benefits People Are Seeing Following Scrambler Therapy for Peripheral Neuropathy

There are quite a few people who have undergone scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy. It is showing a lot of improvement in pain. In most of the studies, people are seeing relief in up to ten sessions of scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy. Following the sessions, the pain is staying away for weeks and months at a time. Some people have not yet had any return of pain nearly a year after the sessions ended.

More than 80% of the people who completed these studies would recommend it to others going through pain. It brought about so much relief, people were more than willing to consider going through it again should their pain return, too. More than 90% of people who received scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy in their backs. Over 50% of people felt less tingling and numbness that lasted at least three months long. The people who went through to get scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy from a trained professional felt better relief that lasted longer than those who did not go to a trained professional.

We Can Help You Get Scrambler Therapy for Peripheral Neuropathy

When you struggle with daily pain, life can get incredibly difficult. By opting for scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy, you opt to get your life back. Many people have seen and felt the benefits of getting scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy for themselves. They know that their pain relief is real, and staying that way.

Pain should not dictate what things you can do during the course of a day. It should be your choice. Getting relief for your pain is now your choice. There are professionals out there with the experience and training to provide relief for your pain. Find out more about what benefits you could see from scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy. You may be looking at the best opportunity to get relief that you have ever found. Reach out today to find out more.

Your pain does not need to control your life. Reach out to us here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. Call us at (208) 629-2492 to schedule an evaluation. Then we can see if scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy is the right treatment to help your pain.

What Does the Scrambler Therapy Entail?

When a patient gets the Scrambler Therapy, he or she is getting an electrocutaneous treatment that helps the body learn to understand pain signals better. With many ailments, the body receives signals of pain that simply are not there. Other times, the body will have pain, but the receptors become so sensitive, the pain is excruciating even when it would otherwise be manageable. What the Scrambler Therapy does, is teach the body how to appropriately interpret pain signals.

For the therapy, a set of electrodes are put near where you hurt. They are never set on top of the area that is in pain. Then, the electronic signals vibrate the nerves in the areas by the pain. This helps the body recognize that there is no pain, and helps the brain relearn how to interpret the signals sent from that area of the body. Dr. Loprinzi, a Regis Professor at the Mayo Clinic, has done extensive research on the Scrambler Therapy, and found that this type of treatment provides significant and widespread relief in many patients.

What Types of Conditions Can the Scrambler Therapy Help With?

The Scrambler Therapy is a great option to help with many types of pain. First, it helps with the type of pain that often accompanies terminal cancer. When the cancer becomes advanced, it is often resistant to drugs. This makes the pain overwhelming in many instances. A lot of people in this situation have experienced significant relief from having this therapy done. They go from feeling defeated to feeling as though they can enjoy what time they have left.

You can also get relief for chronic pain from illnesses such as diabetes and arthritis. This pain wears you down day by day because you never get a break from it. By getting the Scrambler Therapy done, the results have shown that you get a greater quality of life afterwards. It can give you the ability to get up and get active when your ailment would otherwise have stopped that progress. People who struggle with neck pain, back pain, phantom pains, and even failed surgeries get relief from this type of therapy.

Who Can Most Benefit from the Scrambler Therapy?

According to the findings of Dr. Loprinzi, among others who have researched and studied this type of therapy, nearly anyone can find relief from pain with it. A lot depends on what type of pain you struggle with. There are different options out there for different types of pain. If you have exhausted all other options, you may want to find out more about this type of therapy.

During the research done at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Loprinzi found that at least 8 out of 10 people found significant relief from this therapy. Plus, when they were questioned about their pain weeks, and even months, after the therapy. Very few people were not totally amazed at the results they found with the therapy. Out of the entire study, only one person said they would not recommend having it done to a friend or family member.

Where Can You Find Out More About the Scrambler Therapy?

Right now, there are not many places in the United States that have the full ability to provide the Scrambler Therapy to their patients, but that number is growing. However, if you live near the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho, you are in luck. We do have the experience to perform the therapy, as well as all of the necessary equipment. Our trained professionals know how to use the machines properly, and how to bring relief to your life. You do not have to keep living a life of pain. Instead, you have the option of living a life of quality. Bring back the days where you were able to do what you wanted instead of your pain dictating what you could and could not do.

When you are ready to stop living a life full of pain, contact us here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. You can contact us at (208) 629-2492. Let us help teach you about the benefits of the Scrambler Therapy and see if it could bring relief to your life.

What Does Scrambler Therapy Do?

Many people say that Scrambler Therapy is much like TENS therapy. There are leads placed on the body, which send signals to the brain. However, the therapies are much different. TENS therapy uses electrodes to send signals to the brain to relieve pain through touch. The gentle pulses of electricity mimic personal touch, which helps to suppress pain. Scrambler Therapy is very different. It uses leads placed near the pain on the body, never directly on the pain, to send different signals. Instead of telling the brain that the pain should begin to subside from touch, it tells the brain there is no pain. It helps train the brain to realize those parts of the body are not in actual pain. That way, the brain stops sending pain sensations down the nervous system to those nerves, and you get relief.

Who Were the People Dr. Smith Wanted to Test Scrambler Therapy On?

Dr. Smith worked with many different patients when trying out Scrambler Therapy. However, his goal was to see if he could provide relief to those struggling with pain following bouts of chemotherapy. He helped many patients get started with this therapy, and also had other doctors check out his results. Not only were the results positive that people were experiencing relief, but also they were able to mimic the results. They were not one-sided, and other people could duplicate the study and get similar results.

Most of the people who underwent Scrambler Therapy noted that their pain went down significantly after ten sessions with this therapy. When interviewed weekly following their ten days of Scrambler Therapy, their pain was still gone 10 weeks later. This showed incredible promise, not only for the doctors who could offer relief, but also for the patients who needed the help.

How Long Does One Need to Get Scrambler Therapy to See Results?

The number of sessions you need to feel relief is different for every patient. However, the typical number of sessions ranged from 2 to 10. Most people did not notice much of a change after the first session. By the time their second one came, they noticed a bit of relief for a few hours. As each subsequent session came about, they found greater levels of relief. Once a patient got to where they left the session with nearly no pain, and were able to stay that way overnight, the sessions were stopped.

Dr. Smith had his research staff keep up with the patients weekly following their final session. There was only one person who said that they would not recommend Scrambler Therapy to others. Over 80% of the rest of the people studied were happy with their results. The pain did not come back after the sessions stopped. Plus, for most, this meant long-term relief. The different types of pain that went with the tests for Scrambler Therapy included arm and leg pain, back pain, and pain, numbness, and tingling in the hands or feet.

Should You Consider Getting Scrambler Therapy?

Scrambler Therapy is not going to be for everyone. However, more than 80% of people who used it, would recommend it to others. Most of the people who try it get results and relief from chronic pain. If your life is not what it used to be because of pain, what have you got to lose? There are no consistent side effects by using Scrambler Therapy. Some people get minor bruising beneath the leads, but that is really all that researchers found. People are seeing relief in a matter of days, and it is lasting for months on end. Consider what you would do to get relief from pain in the next few days that would last months. Reach out to us today. We can help give you your life back.

If you want to see what options you have for your chronic pain, visit us at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. You can contact us by calling (208) 629-2492. Let us help you decide which method of treatment would be best for you, and talk to you about the benefits we have seen with those opting to try Scrambler Therapy.

What Is Peripheral Neuropathy?

Being diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy is often unnerving. It is having your doctor tell you that you have damage in your peripheral nerves, and it has lead to pain. The extremities of your body typically struggle the most with this type of diagnosis. It affects your hands and feet first in nearly all cases. However, it can also affect other areas around your body. You may not only have pain, but also numbness. This can make going through the motions of a typical day difficult or even impossible.  There are times where peripheral neuropathy is so intense, it can make it to where you struggle to move. This is definitely not the quality of life you want or should have to live with.

How Does Peripheral Neuropathy Present?

Most of the time, peripheral neuropathy presents itself in the form of numbness and pain. Tingling, stabbing, and burning are the three most used adjectives to describe the pain of peripheral neuropathy. The longer this condition goes untreated, the more pain people often struggle with. The sooner you can come in and see someone about your pain, the sooner you can regain your quality of life. There are a few different treatment options to help control the pain of peripheral neuropathy. However, not all of them work for every case. You may need to go through and try a few different forms of treatment before you find the right one.

The damage that leads to peripheral neuropathy results in nerves that no longer function properly. The type of presentation you have will depend on which of your nerves struggle with the problem. Some nerves will lead to numbness and a loss of complete control over the affected area. Other nerves will leave you feeling as though the area is on fire or being pierced with a hot object. Occasionally, you may also experience freezing sensations as opposed to burning sensations. In the more severe cases, your nerves may begin malfunctioning altogether. This can lead to problems controlling your heartbeat, blood pressure, bladder, and your digestion.

Where Does Peripheral Neuropathy Come From?

In most cases, peripheral neuropathy comes from some type of damage to your body. The most common reason people develop peripheral neuropathy is diabetes. However, that is only one of the many causes. You could develop it following an injury or an infection that damaged your body. Metabolic issues can also lead to peripheral neuropathy. Some people develop this condition because they inherited it from a parent through genetics. Yet others end up struggling with peripheral neuropathy because they were exposed to something toxic.

How Can You Treat Peripheral Neuropathy?

When you have a formal diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, it is time to find out what options you have for treatment. The type of treatment that will help you best depends on the problem you have in the first place. The more nerves struggling from the damage, the heavier the treatment required. There are many pain medications that can relieve peripheral neuropathy pain. However, not everyone will respond to the same type of narcotic treatment. Some people will notice very little relief from pain medications, but will notice relief from other types of prescription drugs, such as muscle relaxers.

There are also technological treatments for peripheral neuropathy. One of the newer, yet more effective treatment options is called the Scrambler Therapy ®. It provides relief to 9 out of 10 people who get it done. How the Scrambler Therapy ® works is by stimulating near the area of pain through vibration. Your medical professional will put electrodes near your area of pain, and provide your body with a gentle vibration to help realign the nerves to send the proper messages to the brain. Instead of having your body read the messages as painful messages, this therapy provides your body with messages that the area is not in pain. This often provides a significant amount of pain relief.

If you are tired of living with constant pain, come in and meet with one of the experienced professionals here at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. You can reach us at (208) 629-2492. Let us help you manage your peripheral neuropathy and start living a good quality of life again.

Massage Therapy

If it’s your muscles that are directly affected most of the tie, especially when you’re dealing with chronic pain. If that’s the case, regular massage therapy could be the perfect option. Not only will you reduce muscle inflammation, but you can also feel a complete relief to pain and the symptoms of whatever you have going on with regular massage therapy.

Alleviating the stress and tension on your muscles can also allow small bouts of healing when under the right circumstances. If you’ve been enduring pain for a long time, you probably don’t even remember what relief feels like. During and after massage therapy, you’ll be in a sense of euphoria, all without having to take a single bit of medication.

TENS Therapy

This refers to a small device that emits electrical pulses that can dig into your muscles, and alleviate pain. It’s becoming an increasingly popular method for those wishing to alleviate pain through non-pharmaceutical means, and is completely safe to use. While some areas in the United States don’t look at TENS therapy to be a valid route, patients who have undergone it would beg to differ.

Applying Heat

You don’t have to apply patches to your body. Those contain medications that get absorbed by your skin, and don’t actually alleviate pain the way that they should. Skip the menthol scent and the discomfort that those patches give you. Your skin also gets all oily, and often feels wet because your pores are being suffocated by medical applications. Use a heating pad or a heated blanket across an area that’s in consistent pain, and feel it all melt away.

Applying Cold

Working in a similar fashion to applying heat, you can apply icepacks or cold towels to any area that is causing you pain. This will reduce swelling. When you reduce swelling, you’re reducing the inflamed skin that’s pressing on your nerves. Most times, applying cold to the site can offer more relief than applying heat. The popular method of this is when you see Icy Hot patches in stores, and their motto tells you that you should numb the pain, and then melt it away. You can apply this same knowledge if you wish by applying a heating pack to your skin and then a cold pack, all without taking a pharmaceutical approach.

Physical Therapy

If you’re endured an injury and the effects are lasting for years (which can sometimes be referred to as phantom pain), then you’ve been putting up with it long enough. Physical therapy can be a long road, but the best road to recovery when you’ve suffered extensive damage to your body. The biggest thing to remember with physical therapy is that you can never skip a day. There’s no off-day. Whatever your physical therapist says, they’re saying for a reason. Follow their instructions, and the pain will reduce over time, allowing you to feel a full sense of relief.

Chiropractic Adjustments

While many have their skepticism on chiropractic adjustments, the results don’t lie. When you have chronic pain, especially in your back, you’re more susceptible to injuring yourself further. If you baby your back (and it’s in pain, who wouldn’t?) you’re slowly allowing those muscles to atrophy, and making it more likely that they’ll suffer pain and injury in the future.

A chiropractic adjustment is the solution to many people’s pain, especially when they feel it in their lower back. Undergoing the careful hands of a chiropractor has helped millions of Americans, and it can help you. The biggest thing that patients say after receiving an adjustment is, “Wow, I didn’t expect the relief to be immediate.” How are you going to get that with medications? Exactly—you’re not.

Your Next Chiropractic Adjustment

With all the negatives to leading medications, you don’t want to take a pharmaceutical path so your pain, and you shouldn’t have to. Call the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at (208) 629-2492 to get more information on how a chiropractic adjustment or other non-pharmaceutical approach to pain reduction could benefit you immediately.

Oncologic Pain: Tumors

 When you’re suffering from cancer, your tumors could be pressing on your bones. More than that, they could be pressing directly onto your nerves. That’s going to make for sever discomfort, and it’s also going to persist through all hours of the day.

Your oncologic pain could be due to a tumor growing in a specific direction. When it presses down on your bones, you get the same feeling of growing pains from when you were a child or teenager. It can feel like muscle aches instead of sharp pain. Oncologic pain can start out very mild, and increase over a short amount of time. Your body doesn’t adjust to the different types of pain.

You can also experience oncologic pain in various areas of your body. For example, those tumors can be growing and pressing on specific nerves that mimic different types of pain. You could end up being diagnosed with chronic pain.

What Type of Oncologic Pain Do You Have?

There are virtually endless types of pain that you can endure. The most common is chronic pain, where tumors press down on your nerves, and make everything go haywire. If you’re experiencing acute levels of pain, it could be your body telling you that something isn’t right. It’s not always clear.

Even though tumors and cancer grow inside of our body, the rest of your body can still see it as a foreign object or entity. This means that a bunch of signals are going off, usually in the form of oncologic pain, and they are all trying to tell you that something isn’t right. While it can be frustrating, it’s also a sign to look further into your own health. If you are already suffering from oncologic pain and you know it, getting another evaluation to determine if there are more underlying issues could be in your best interest.

Pain Severity Depends on the Site

If you’re experiencing an increasing level of oncologic pain, it could be due to a number of reasons. More often than not, it’s tumor growth. Your different levels of pain could come in at different stages, especially if you have more than one tumor at a time.

Oncologic pain doesn’t have a scale, but when you go to your general doctors office and see the “1 to 10” pain chart, you always feel like it’s hovering around the top end of the scale. It’s not dramatic to say that—oncologic pain is something that’s very difficult to put into words.

Your bones may be experiencing extreme tension and pressure due to various tumor growth patterns. Every diagnosis of oncologic pain is unique to the patient. There’s no way to determine if nerve pressure or bone pressure is more painful—it’s also about the patients’ pain tolerance threshold.

Tissue Damage 

It’s not just your bones and major nerves—you could be experiencing pain due to damage done to soft tissue. For instance, if you are experiencing pain in your lower back, it could actually be due to the fact that you have incurred soft tissue damage to a vital organ, such as your kidney.

Phantom Pain

The term sounds insensitive to those suffering from oncologic pain, but in reality, it’s just used to describe pain in an area that has been removed. If you suffered from breast cancer, and you’ve since had that breast removed, you may still feel pain in that area. It’s still classified as oncologic pain, and may continue to hurt for some time. It’s also more common than you may think. If you had something removed, such as a limb, you’re among a vast majority of those suffering from phantom pain. It’s constantly affecting those who have had organs or appendages removed as a direct result of cancer.

Managing Your Oncologic Pain the Right Way

It’s not an easy thing to deal with. Contact us, the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho, at (208) 629-2492, to find out what we can do to help you manage your oncologic pain. It’s not an easy road to go down, and you shouldn’t have to go it alone. We can help.

How Does Neuropathy Affect Your Body?

You have a lot of nerves in your body. They can be put into two main parts: Central nervous system, and your peripheral nervous system. It operates much like your vision. There is the part that you focus on, like voluntary movement. Then, there is your peripheral vision, where you see little details off to the side, where you aren’t focusing on them. It works the same way with your nerves.

Neuropathy is the result of your nerves becoming damaged or encountering problems. If they become disrupted, you can end up with sensitive nerves. There are a lot of different nerve types in your body, and they can all be affected by this painful condition.

What Causes Neuropathy?

A lot of the time, neuropathy can be inherited. If you have a family history of the condition, it’s very possible that you could someday be diagnosed with it. A lot of neuropathy is a result of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. It is also a result of diabetes; it’s a widespread problem that tacks onto a lot of other problems we face every single day.

Muscle atrophy, whether due to an accident or otherwise, can bring on neuropathy. A lot of annual cases  are caused by car accidents and other injuries.

If you aren’t keeping up with your vitamin intake, whether through food or capsules, you run a higher risk of neuropathy. Alcohol abuse takes a vital role, as well. Hormonal diseases, chemical imbalances, and side effects from various types of cancer. In short, neuropathy has a lot of avenues to reach you, which is why it is so debilitating.

How Debilitating Is Neuropathy?

Neuropathy can come in different pain severity. It is classified by the Social Security Administration as a disability. It can inflame your joints and cause extreme pain, making it difficult to work in most jobs. Even tasks where you can sit down for most of it are still taxing on your strength and ability to continue under adverse conditions.

Peripheral neuropathy is among the most painful. It affects those with diabetes the most, and is difficult to express if you aren’t suffering from it. Any sort of chronic pain is going to tire out your body, making every single task in your daily life that much harder.

Neuropathy Is Mentally Draining

Neuropathy isn’t just hard on your body; it’s hard on your mind. It restricts you from doing things that you used to love, partaking in activities that you used to enjoy, and more. It affects every single part of your life, no matter which way you spin it. It has been linked to depression and anxiety. When you feel as though you can’t perform the way you did in the past, such as work or keeping up with your children, it takes its toll on you.

Neuropathy is going to win some days, and that’s okay. It’s best to focus on the positive aspects of the day. Mental health and awareness for those suffering with it should always be a priority. Coping with large amounts of pain is a lot to deal with for anybody.

Neuropathy Requires Life Adjustments

If you ignore a problem, it will not go away. Neuropathy commands that adjustments be made, but it doesn’t have to control your life. When someone suffers from pain, it sneaks its way into their mind and tells them that they’ve been defeated, but that’s never the case. It’s not simple, but there are coping mechanisms to carrying on with pain, and adjusting accordingly. Minimizing the length of activities, the duration of exercise, and how long you spend sanding versus sitting are just a few examples. It requires adjustments, but it never has to mean defeat.

The Experts on Neuropathy Pain Management

In short, neuropathy changes the course of your entire life. Living with it is a daily struggle. If you are suffering with this affliction, the experts at the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho can help.

Call (208) 629-2492 for more information on what you can do to combat neuropathy, including alternative means to medicine.

Is it a Disability?

In the Blue Book, which says what disabilities are, made by the United States, chronic pain is not considered to be one of them. There is much debate on this. Depending on the severity of the pain, doctors are more likely to diagnose you with another type of illness. Even if it can be called chronic pain, doctors know that it’s hard to get help, no matter how much pain it causes their patient. Despite 100 million Americans dealing with chronic pain, there’s no hope that it will be seen as a disability anytime soon.

Who Does it Affect?

Most of the time, it affects people as they get older. Things like arthritis and joint pain can be considered chronic pain. As working conditions continue to worsen across America, we are seeing chronic pain affect younger people more often. You don’t have to be over the age of 60 to suffer from chronic pain. Though children and teenagers are not screened for it as often as they should be, anyone can feel it at any age. It’s most common link is age, but it is not exclusive.

Pain affects you in numerous ways, and can get worse as time goes on. If you think you may be hurting from chronic pain, it’s best to seek a doctor. In most cases, pain management options are available. If you aren’t certain what type of pain you are feeling, that is another reason to consult a doctor. Once you figure out what type of pain is affecting you, it’s easier to find a solution.

How Bad Can the Pain Get?

In some cases, chronic pain can get pretty bad. For a lot of people, the pain can make them miss school or work. It can be located anywhere in your body. Headaches, growing pains, and other types of pain can be considered chronic. When your chronic pain get bad enough, you should see a doctor. Pain management is one of the only lines of defense that we have at our disposal.

Chronic pain can make you miss work, but that affects you in a lot of ways. Your income and grades can slip. It can prove to be a hassle to deal with. Whether it’s headaches or muscle aches, you can’t focus on anything else. After a while, it’s so irritating that you feel like you’re going crazy. It makes it hard to sleep, and when you do sleep, it’s light.

How To Fix Chronic Pain

There are a lot of different ways to help. While nothing is proven, natural remedies are able to help. Various diets are often thought to be the cause. Cutting out GMOs and other harmful chemicals in your diet can help. If you are not in top physical form, using anti inflammatory pills can help you. Take them to ease your pain and relax your muscles, and begin a new workout. When your body is in top form, it can be easier to fight the pain.

Even though the pain is a numb type of pain, it is still harmful to your everyday life. Pain can be distracting, and finding other cures can be hard. A lot of it is related to stress and anxiety. If you are feeling chronic pain on a daily basis, you may be fueling it with stress. In most cases, when you are able to relax, your body relaxes. This can one of the best thing to handle pain.

Call us at (208) 629-2492 to find out more about chronic pain, and what you can do to fight it.

Sensitized patients are typically more sensitive to things that are “supposed” to hurt, as well as to ordinary pressure and “touch.” Their pain also has a tendency to echo, fading away more slowly than it does in others.

Because pain is a “warning system,” central sensitization is a disease of over-reaction to threats to the organism: a hyperactive warning system. Far too many patients end up experiencing even more pain in their quest to alleviate it.

A recent study that was presented at the annual meeting of the American Urogynecologic Society showed that nerves in an organ that is under real distress might “leak” information to a nearby organ.

Because of this, the brain is unable to determine and/or process where the message (and the pain) is originating. This is important to note, as patients are often told that there is nothing structurally wrong with the organ from which the pain seems to come. The study focused on patients who experienced chronic pelvic pain.

The study supports the view that inflammation in one of the pelvic organs may lead to symptoms in other organs through “cross-sensitization.” This is a process in which a prior exposure to a stimulus increases a subsequent response to this, as well as another, different stimulus. It plays a significant role in how patients experience chronic pain. Reversing the ongoing spiraling distress cycle is difficult.

However, a seasoned pain management professional can harness their understanding of this process in order to determine how and why patients are experiencing pain. This enables them to select an appropriate therapy to treat both the root cause of the pain and the symptom of cross-sensitized pain elsewhere.

Whether you are experiencing central sensitization or cross-sensitization, or your pain derives from the true location of physical distress, it is a good idea to be kind to your central nervous system by taking steps to make your life less stressful. Reducing upsetting stimuli will give your central nervous system a bit of a break and might help diminish the perceived severity of pain. At a fundamental level, pain is tied to your brain’s assessment of safety. Cultivating peacefulness and “life balance” sets a solid foundation for the rest of the recovery process.

Pain Care Clinic of Idaho offers a wide range of therapies for effective treatment of chronic pain, including Scrambler Therapy, InterX Therapy, and medical acupuncture, along with lifestyle counseling to help improve your quality of life.  Call us for a consultation: 208-629-2492.

Researchers have found that people react differently to, and experience varying levels of, persistent pain due to risk factors that are sometimes not related to the cause of pain itself. Knowing what these factors are and identifying who is at risk help doctors and pain management specialists uncover underlying causes of pain and develop better treatment plans for those experiencing it. Here are three of the most common risk factors in individuals that may cause them to experience more persistent pain.

Sleep Problems

Those who experience insomnia, inability to sleep through the night, sleep apnea, or other disruptive symptoms are more likely to experience persistent pain after an injury or illness. They are also less able to deal with the pain and seek out more medical intervention. This could be connected to their lack of restorative deep sleep, which can improve both pain symptoms and coping mechanisms.

Illness Attitude

Illness attitude can be characterized by “health anxiety” or “illness behavior.” Health anxiety is experienced by patients when they chronically worry about whether they will get sick in the future. Illness behavior occurs when patients repeatedly go to doctors or hospitals for perceived illnesses or other physical complaints. Health anxiety and illness behavior both negatively impacted an individual’s ability to deal with chronic pain. Patients who were identified as having an illness attitude experienced more persistent pain than their counterparts.

Anxiety and Depression

Those who experience chronic depression or generalized anxiety disorder are also more likely to experience persistent pain due to an illness or injury. Pain and depression tend to work together to cause a downward spiral in patients. Those who are depressed experience more pain and the more pain they experience, the more depressed they get. Anxiety can come from anticipating pain and those who are prone to anxiety disorders tend to also have fewer coping skills than those who are not.

Identifying risk factors associated with the development of persistent pain is important for pain management specialists so they can identify underlying causes and develop treatments that address both the physical pain and the factors that could be contributing to the pain in certain individuals.

If you are experiencing chronic pain and would like more information, please visit our website or contact one of our pain specialists today.

Individuals who are high in interoception are more aware of their bodies then those who are low. They may be able to predict when they are about to get sick, what types of stimuli produce pleasant or painful results, and how their body will react to different environmental factors. Knowing if you are high or low in interoception can also be helpful in determining how you will experience and manage pain. Those who are very aware of their bodies may be able to ward off, withstand, and even control their pain better than those who are low in interoception. Why? Here are a few reasons.

The Ability to be Proactive

Individuals who can identify which stimuli cause them the most pain or who are aware enough of their own bodies to be able to determine when they are getting sick can take proactive avoidance measures. This could include avoiding situations or stimuli that they know will cause them harm or loading up on vitamin C and rest when they feel a cold coming on. Athletes who are hyper aware of their bodies know when they need to hydrate, when they can push themselves further, and when it’s time to rest.

Higher Interpretive Abilities

The sensation of pain must pass through certain channels before an individual experiences the sensation. Pain produces a number of aversive stimuli that need to be interpreted by the brain before they are recognized as painful. Those with higher interoception are more aware of these messages and can therefore spend less time processing them. This frees up their mental capacity to deal with the pain more effectively or take measures to soothe it.

More Capacity to Deal with Chronic Pain

Because those with high interoceptive levels can effectively interpret pain and what it means, they tend to process and deal with pain better then their low interoceptive counterparts. Those who commonly deal with chronic pain, such as athletes, know what is normal and what is not and therefore do not become as anxious or stressed when they experience pain.

Do you know if you have high or low interoception? It could make a big difference when it comes to dealing with injuries or illnesses that cause chronic pain. If you have questions about how your interoception levels affect your pain tolerance and what you can do about it, please visit our websiteand schedule a time to talk to one of our pain experts.

Sources:

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The pain cycle can be classified into four stages:

1. Acquisition: The threats associated with pain results in fear that triggers adaptive learning. The experience may lead to conditioned responses such as safety-seeking or avoidance.

2. Generalization: Persistence of pain-related fear may facilitate the development of chronic pain. This can lead to generalizing of protective responses to adverse situations of grief.

3. Avoidance: This reaction serves to protect the individual from harmful stimuli. However, once acquired, avoidance behavior may be notoriously persistent, hence maintaining the pain-related fear. The action promotes negative effect by altering positive activities, which fuels the maintenance of pain.

4. Extinction of pain: Prioritizing optimism over pain-associated adverse effects will ultimately break the pain cycle. Optimism may result in omission of avoidance behavior, making the individual learn inhibitory responses.

Prolonged pain has adverse effects. Most of these effects are triggered by fear of pain, which can be a key factor in development and maintenance of disability and chronic pain. These effects include anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Anxiety Disorder

Chronic pain sufferers have higher chances of having anxiety disorders. These pains usually bring about depression to the patient as they may lack sleep or even face stigma. It is important for clinicians to assess patients for psychological factors.
Chronic pain accompanied by anxiety disorder can be difficult to treat. Such patients have a lower pain tolerance and may be more sensitive to the side effects of medications than patients without anxiety. Treatment can be through drugs, cognitive-behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques and complementary treatment such as yoga.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Most patients who have post-traumatic stress disorder have a prevalence of digestive, circulatory, musculoskeletal, and nervous system diseases. There is also a noticeable co-occurrence of chronic pain in PTSD patients. The pain experienced by these patients is worse than their counterparts. This scenario is fueled by their exposure to psychological stress.

Both chronic pain and PTSD sufferers are stigmatized by the general community. The community perceives them as victims of their own actions. This mostly results from the existential and esoteric nature of both kinds of patients. Models that offer integrated treatments for both PSTD and chronic pain are available in healthcare facilities.

Pain management requires an efficient and innovative service provider. The specialist should be trained and experienced in diagnosing and treating any form of chronic pain. Do you need specialized treatment? Contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho for a pain-free life.

Suffering does not end with the physical sensation of trauma we experience. Studies have shown that pain is a complex process that actually has an effect on “perception, attention, mood, motivation, learning and memory.” The neurons in our brains are altered when we experience discomfort. This alteration can lead to or reinforce the effects of suffering. Another study revealed that actual lesions develop in our neural pathways and can contribute to agony arising directly from our nervous system. Normally, our nerves alert us to trauma so we can avoid danger. But when they experience chronic suffering, they can become hypersensitive.

There are certain psychological conditions which risk causing more physical misery. Feelings of depression, hopelessness, or anxiety are a common response when experiencing hurtful sensations. This is why the American Psychological Association also endorses psychotherapy in addition to other treatments when dealing with chronic pain. They have found that psychological therapy actually reduces negative nerve sensations. This demonstrates that painful sensations, the alterations they cause in our nervous systems, and our psychological responses to them create a vicious feedback loop.

Feeling stressed out also has a direct physical effect because the muscles in our body can cramp, increasing our discomfort. Biofeedback therapy can help teach patients how to relax their minds and bodies to control the stress responses which lead to worsening problems. This is an example of why physical suffering should be treated not only with surgery or drugs, but also with therapies meant to address our psychological and neurological responses to it. Drugs only disguise negative sensations and fail to attack the root causes of chronic misery.

Whereas psychological therapy can help moderate our experience of physical suffering, neuropathic treatment is therapy involved in fixing the actual malfunctioning nerve receptors. Scrambler Therapy is a type of therapy designed to retrain receptors to learn to recognize again what a non-pain signal is. Rather than the signals they were accustomed to receiving, the malfunctioning receptors will now become accustomed to receiving normal signals.

Changing nerve receptors is possible due to the property known as “plasticity.” This term refers to the ability of our brains and nervous systems to alter, change, or grow. In other words, the same property which allows nerve receptors to change because of trauma and harmful psychological conditions, will also allow them to return to a normal state. Scrambler Therapy is one way to achieve relief at the neuropathic level. Neuropathic therapy and psychological therapy are a one-two punch for chronic suffering.

One is said to be suffering from chronic pain when the physical pain lasts longer than what the process or injury normally allows. When you have chronic pain, moving becomes close to impossible. This leads to over-dependence on pain medication, which eventually can lead to addiction to pills, making the patient’s state even worse.

During a traumatic event such as a robbery, accident, natural calamity and other events, your nervous system goes into survival mode. Sometimes, the system will have a hard time reverting back to the normal mode. When this happens, stress hormones such as cortisol will be released on a regular basis. This triggers an increase in blood pressure and blood sugar levels. The immune system’s ability to heal is greatly reduced and with time, the following physical symptoms start to manifest.

1. Tension headaches

Tension headaches are the most common direct result of emotional stress. Research has shown that women are more prone to develop tension headaches than men and that between 30 percent and 80 percent of adults have suffered from these headaches at some point in their lives. The headaches normally result from tense muscles at the back of the head and neck. They create a lot of pain and pressure around the forehead, back of the head and neck region.

2. Chest pain

Most people associate chest pain with heart disease and other issues related to cardiac health. However, a significant number of people go to the hospital complaining of stress-related chest pains. Men are more likely to suffer from stress-related chest pains when dealing with work stress. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to suffer from chest pains when dealing with anxiety and depression.

3. Aches and pain all over the body

When you have a stressful and hectic lifestyle, it takes a toll on your muscles. The pain normally affects the neck, shoulders and the lower back. Tense muscles seem to have an unclear effect on brain chemicals. When the body is stressed, it is unable to regulate inflammation, hence the aches and pains in different body parts.

Other issues that result from emotional stress taking its toll on the body include reproductive health issues, damage to the teeth and jaws, hypertension, heart problems and chronic sickness.

The most effective way to relieve chronic aches and pains is by treating the cause of the stress. There are professional clinics where they deal with all types of pain from chronic pain, post-surgery pain and pain caused by previous accidents among others.

A consultation at Pain Care Clinic of Idaho starts with you making a call to consult on the available options. These include Inter-X- therapy, Scrambler therapy, Medical acupuncture and other solutions. Seeking treatment is the first step towards a stress-free and happy life.

One modern use of acupuncture is to alleviate stroke symptoms. But can this traditional treatment method really help in the challenging task of stroke rehabilitation? Here’s what various studies conducted around the world have found.

Acupuncture in Integrative Medicine

Integrative medicine is the concept of using a variety of medical treatments to manage health and treat health problems. These methods may include both traditional medicine and alternative healing procedures.

A practioner writing for Huffington Post reported that acupuncture, particularly a protocol called Xing Nao Kai Qiao, is commonly used to treat symptoms of strokes. In fact, it has been used ever since the 1970s to manage many health problems. It has been applied to treat a variety of stroke symptoms, including aphasia, dyslalia, central facial palsy, shoulder pain, and even incontinence.

Ways It Can Help

What is the science behind this stroke recovery method? Understanding it requires taking a look at the nature of a stroke and why it affects the body.

Strokes are caused by a clog in brain arteries that decreases blood flow to the area and causes brain cells to die. Although an article on the Science-Based Medicine website concludes that no reliable studies have shown positive effects of acupuncture in the treatment of stroke, it acknowledges that some studies have found a positive effect in managing neurological impairment and dysphagia. However, is also states that it unlikely to be a successful treatment to prevent death or disability caused by strokes.

What About Its Tradition?

While the double-blind studies discussed in the Science-Based Medicine article may be inconclusive, there is a centuries-long history of this ancient treatment for stroke victims. This tradition states that acupuncture helps alleviate many of the symptoms of a stroke and can contribute to a restoration of functionality to a person’s life.

As reported by Medical Acupuncture, there have been studies in China, Japan, and Scandinavia indicating that this method appears to help with stroke rehabilitation.

Many American studies ignore or discard the findings found by these groups, pointing to a lack of scientific grounding in the studies or results that were carefully picked to show success that wasn’t sustainable.

Final Thoughts

The use of acupuncture for stroke recovery is likely to remain controversial for some time. While there are thousands of people who claim that it has benefited their lives, scientific skepticism casts a shadow over its effectiveness.

It can be confidently stated that acupuncture is a safe treatment method, so it is probably okay to try it in combination with traditional medicine to promote healing of stroke and other conditions.

Pain Care Clinic of Idaho offers medical acupuncture within a range of drug-free treatments and therapies. Find us in the Boise area.

Possible Fibromyalgia Causes

Fibromyalgia lowers a patient’s pain threshold, so that what is not painful for healthy people causes a fibromyalgia patient pain. Although doctors don’t know what causes it, some probable causes and influences include:

Genetics: People who have family members with the condition are more likely to contract the disease.

Infections: There are some illness and infections that might precipitate the disease.

Stress: People subject to long-term stress seem to be susceptible to the malady.

Physical or mental trauma: The disorder also strikes people who have undergone trauma and those who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Depression: Depressed patients seem to be at higher risk of the disease.

Symptoms

Pain is a major symptom of the disease, especially the tender or trigger points that are found in pairs at the neck, upper chest, elbows, knees, back and hips. These are points that cause pain even when they’re gently touched, and the pain can be debilitating. But trigger points aren’t the only symptoms. Patients also suffer painful muscles, overall stiffness in their joints, aching bones, and tingling and numbness in their extremities. Other symptoms include incessant fatigue even after a night of sleep, sleeping problems such as insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Other bodily symptoms might include constipation with irritable bowel syndrome and headache. The patient may be especially sensitive to light and sound.

The condition impairs memory and cognitive functioning and can lead to a condition called “fibro fog.” The patient can walk into a room and forget what they’ve come for. They may have problems speaking, concentrating, or remembering things that should be easy for them to recall. The majority of sufferers are women.

Diagnosing Fibromyalgia

Diagnosing fibromyalgia is largely a process of elimination, as the symptoms are nonspecific. This means they might be the symptoms of many other diseases. Only after other diseases are ruled out is a diagnosis of fibromyalgia reached.

Healthcare professionals recognize 19 trigger points in patients with fibromyalgia. Until recently, a diagnosis of the disease required the patient to have at least seven of these paired trigger points. Now, the doctor asks the patient if they’ve had widespread pain that seems to have no underlying cause for at least three months.

To rule out autoimmune diseases such as lupus, the doctor gives the patient a blood test called FM/a. This discloses markers released by the immune systems of people with the disorder. The doctor also gives the patient a physical exam and evaluates the patient’s other symptoms before making a diagnosis.

Treatment

Some non-medical treatments for the condition include alternative therapies such as acupuncture to reduce pain and promote relaxation. Lifestyle changes may also be effective, including practicing yoga; avoiding alcohol, caffeine and heavy foods that can interfere with sleep; taking a warm bath before going to bed; and sleeping in a cool room.

For care of fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions in the Boise area, contact Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. We offer medical acupuncture, Scrambler Therapy®, InterX Therapyand other modern and traditional treatments and lifestyle guidance for chronic and acute pain.

Medication is a common treatment for depression, but it can have serious side effects, including addiction and loss of energy and mental acuity. The high cost of many medications is, of course, another serious downside.

Luckily, not all solutions are pharmaceutical ones, and some effective alternate treatments are low-cost and natural. Regular cardiovascular exercise, meditation, dietary changes, acupuncture, and journaling can all help alleviate depression. While no one treatment is effective for everyone, natural treatments lack the negative side effects of medication, so there is little risk in trying a natural treatment before trying medication. It may be all you need.

Jogging for Joy

The physical benefits of cardiovascular exercise are better known than the mental health benefits. This situation is changing as more and more research on the mental health benefits of exercise is published.

Exercise can be as effective as medication for people with mild to moderate depression. Not only can it reduce or eliminate depression; it can also help prevent relapse. People who exercise regularly are less likely to become depressed again, possibly because they feel empowered to regulate their mental health.

Meditation and Inner Peace

Thanks to the brain’s ability to change itself at any age, meditation can alter the structure of key brain regions. These brain changes can lead to reduced depression and anxiety.

There are many different forms of meditation, but mindfulness meditation is the best researched, and an increasing number of medical professionals are being educated about its benefits. If mindfulness meditation alone is not successful in treating depression, it can be combined with aerobic exercise for greater effectiveness.

You Are What You Eat

Sometimes all you need to do to change your mood is to change your diet. What you eat has a big impact on how you feel. People who eat low-quality diets tend to have more problems with depression than those who eat mostly healthy foods.

Cut down on your junk food intake. Read the labels on the packaged food you buy and monitor your sugar consumption. Eat whole grains, veggies, and brain-healthy foods like salmon. It shouldn’t be a surprise that when your body feels better, you feel better.

The Acupuncture Approach

While skeptics decry its use, recent research suggests acupuncture is an effective drug-free treatment for depression. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, physical and mental health problems are the result of blocked chi (roughly translated as “life force”) in the human body. No one is really sure how acupuncture works, but tradition holds that it alters the flow of chi.

Journaling for Relief

Journaling has not been as well researched as the other treatments mentioned in this article, but it costs virtually nothing and is easy to do. Simply write down your thoughts about your life situation and your emotions. Try to be non-judgmental. Some journalers feel that writing by hand, with a pen and paper, is more conducive than a computer to thoughtful reflection (at least you won’t be tempted to check your emails or Facebook), but use whatever medium you find works for you.

The better educated you are on the subject of natural treatments for depression, the more empowered you will be to address it. Whatever your situation in life, you may already have the ability to treat your own depression.

Self-treatment is not always effective, however, and the care of a professional may be necessary to treat your condition. Pain Care Clinic of Idaho offers acupuncture, yoga, meditation and other treatments to help people in the Boise area cope with depression, as well as treatments to address chronic pain directly. Call 208-629-2492 for an appointment.

We believe pumping your body full of pharmaceuticals is the wrong way to go about managing your pain. Chemicals can harm the body, and they can mute your mind, body, soul connection. Plus, there are numerous benefits to narcotic-free chronic pain relief.

It Puts You in Tune With Your Body

When you take a pharmaceutical, odds are that the drug will numb your body in some fashion. This might be a relief in the short term, but it sets you up for damage in the long term. If you numb your ankle pain, for instance, you may do damage to your ankle without even feeling it. This will cause you to reach for more pills.

On the other hand, take medical acupuncture as an example. This holistic approach to pain management will put you in tune with your body. You’ll understand pressure points in your body much more thoroughly, and your body will still be alive to tell you that you’re doing further damage to yourself if it occurs. It’s a much more sustainable approach to pain management.

It Puts You in Touch with Those Around You

When you are under the numbing effects of pharmaceuticals, you might miss what’s going on around you. You might miss the fact that having a loved one near you literally heals your pain. Or you might miss the fact that touching your favorite pet can also heal pain.

With a narcotic-free approach to pain management, your senses are left intact to enjoy the world around you. Because, as we’ve mentioned above, the positive influences in the world around you can literally heal you and help to manage your pain.

Lend A Helping Hand

Studies have also shown that volunteering for a good cause reduces stress in the body. When stress is reduced, harmful hormones are also reduced in the bloodstream. But in order to lend a helping hand, you’ll need to get some chronic pain relief, especially for chronic neuropathic pain if you have it.

But pain medication can make it difficult to volunteer, especially if the volunteering requires any sort of physical labor. It’s hard to build a house for Habitat for Humanity when you are feeling spacey.

Something for Everyone

But pain management in Boise, Idaho, doesn’t have to be New Age and all medical acupuncture. There is something called the Scrambler unit that can gently massage your muscles in order to relieve pain. This advanced medical device uses electronic leads to gently change the electronic signal that your nerves are giving to your brain. Each signal is tailored to the unique individual and the new signal being retrained in your body is a signal of “non pain.” Essentially, it re-trains your muscles to tell your brain that everything is okay.

Because conventional medicine does not always have effective responses, Complementary and Alternative Medicine is an important option for many who suffer from chronic pain.

Benefits of Yoga for Chronic Pain

Yoga is an effective treatment for chronic pain because it works both the mind and the body. As a low-impact exercise, it provides gentle stretching that can ease stiffness and pain. As a meditation procedure, it helps to keep the mind alert and calm, and reduce the perception of pain.

Studies have shown that yoga is “effective in the treatment of chronic pain, including osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. In the studies reviewed, patients saw significant reductions in joint pain, muscle stiffness, and overall physical discomfort while greatly improving their flexibility, range of motion, and muscle strength.”

Five Exercises

Keep in mind that for beginning practitioners, it’s always best to get experienced guidance when trying yoga. Proper form is important, and watching videos can only take you so far. If you have a serious condition such as disc diseases, you should also check with your doctor before trying yoga. If you can’t do the poses by yourself, pillows or foam supports may make it easier.

Cobra pose. This is a simple exercise that can help greatly with lower back pain. Lie facedown on the floor with your legs stretched straight back and toes pointed backward. Place your forearms on the floor and push upward, lifting your chest but keeping your thighs and groin on the floor. Don’t forget to breathe! Lift as far as you can without pain, hold the pose for a few seconds, and slowly lower again.

Dolphin pose. This is an easier variation of the well-known downward dog pose that does not stress the arms as much. It still provides a strong full-body stretch that loosens and strengthens the legs and core. Start on your hands and knees, with knees directly under your hips and forearms flat on the floor. Press your toes to the floor and lift your buttocks toward the ceiling. Straighten your legs if you can, but keeping them bent is okay. Keep your upper body straight as well — don’t flex your back or push your head into the floor. Hold for a few second and then lower again.

Butterfly pose. This stretch helps painful hips and backs. Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you. Press the soles of your feet together and keep them together as you move your knees apart, lowering them as far to the floor as you can (but don’t force it!). Hold as long as comfortable, and then raise your knees again.

Mountain pose with shoulder stretch. For shoulder/neck pain. Stand straight upright and reach your right hand back to the back of your neck, and your left hand around your back. Move the hands together slowly and clasp them, keeping your spine straight. (If you can’t clasp your hands, hold a strap or rope between them.) Then slowly lift your right elbow as far as you can and hold a few seconds. Release and repeat on the other side.

Supine torso twist. Another pose useful for back pain. Lie flat on your back with your arms out in a T and your feet on the floor, knees up. Slowly lower your knees toward the left side. Go as far as you can without lifting your shoulders from the floor. Hold for a few seconds, then return to center and repeat the exercise toward the right side.

To learn more about how to manage and relieve chronic pain, contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at 208-629-2492 or visit paincareclinicofidaho.com.

Pain from sciatica can range from mild to severe, and it may feel like it’s radiating over a large area or be sharp and localized. Transitioning from sitting to standing and vice versa can trigger sharp sciatic pain, as can any sudden lower-back movement. Those suffering from sciatica can experience leg numbness, “pins and needles,” burning sensations, foot numbness, limping, and muscle weakness.

Common causes of sciatica are a herniated disk pressing on the nerve, trauma to the lower back, pregnancy, joint dysfunction, degenerative disc disease, and spondylolisthesis.

Herniated disc: This is one of the most common causes of sciatica. A herniated or bulging disc can cause disc material to push against a nearby nerve root, compressing the nerve tissue and causing sciatica. In addition to this pressure, a herniated disc also contains hyaluronic acid, which can cause nerve inflammation, compounding the pain from the compression.

Degenerative disc disease: Though the name is frightening, this is the most common cause of lower back and neck pain and is simply a byproduct of aging. One of the symptoms of degenerative disc disease is inflammation that can irritate the sciatic nerve. Another symptom is muscle spasms attributed to the body attempting to stabilize the spine to prevent additional damage, which can impinge on the sciatic nerve in the process.

Pregnancy: Weight gain and elevated fluid retention associated with pregnancy can compress the sciatic nerve where it passes through the pelvis. An expanding uterus can also compress the sciatic nerve at the base of your spine. In the third trimester, when the baby begins shifting into the birth position, its head can end up pressing against the nerve.

Spondylolisthesis: This condition is most prevalent in older individuals, characterized by the bones, joints and ligaments in the spine gradually weakening and losing their ability to keep the spinal column properly aligned. As these spinal components shift, they can encroach on the sciatic nerve, putting pressure on the nerve and causing pain when standing or walking.

Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

The sacroiliac joint connects the spine with the pelvis. Sciatic pain arising from sacroiliac joint dysfunction is not true sciatica, as it does not involve compression of the nerve root, but stems from joint inflammation that can irritate the nearby sciatic nerve. The symptoms, however, can be similar.

There are three million cases of sciatica in the United States each year. Sciatica is usually self-diagnosable and may not require lab tests or medical imaging. Some cases of sciatica can benefit from self-care treatments such as applying an ice pack to the affected area, regular physical exercise, and stretching. More serious cases may require physical therapy, massage, acupuncture or chiropractic treatment. In addition to these physical treatments, some severe forms of sciatica may require an epidural steroid injection to alleviate the pain, pain medication, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants or analgesics like Tylenol.

Sciatica pain can last weeks or months, depending on the root cause and treatment used. There is no quick fix, but the right treatment and management can relieve the pain and allow the resumption of normal activities. For diagnosis and treatment recommendations, contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho to schedule an appointment. Call (208) 629-2492.

Improved Digestion

A 16th century Chinese doctor, Yu Jia Yan once wrote, “If the stomach is strong, life will be healthy. If the stomach is weak, life will be unhealthy.” Good digestion is the key to a long, healthy life. Acupuncture works to calm inflammation while also waking up body parts that are working less efficiently, making it a perfect treatment for digestive concerns. Stomach cramps, constipation, or irritable bowel syndrome are some stomach concerns that may improve with the treatment of underlying digestive issues.

Less Chronic Pain

Acupuncture is most well-known as a natural form of pain relief. It can treat neck tension, low back pain, headaches, and chronic pain. These treatments increase mobility overall, but can also be used after an injury or accident to get you back on your feet faster. Acupuncture specifically encourages cortisol flow to painful spots, helping to mobilize joints and allowing some movement while relaxing and releasing muscles.

Acupuncturists will look at not only the site of your pain, but also surrounding areas that might be feeding the pain – such as tight feet or shoulders throwing off the hips or spine.

Fight Allergies

An allergic reaction occurs when our immune system responds to some allergen, such as pollen or pet dander. Acupuncture can calm that immune reaction and also help relieve symptoms like a runny nose and puffy eyes. Treating seasonal allergies early on in the seasons when you suffer most is an effective way to improve your quality of life during what would normally be a miserable time of year.

A 2008 study in Germany found those with allergic rhinitis (runny nose) who received 15 acupuncture treatments had better symptom control than those who did not receive treatment.

Increase Mental Health

Consistent and good acupuncture treatment by a trained professional will leave you deeply relaxed. That’s what makes it a natural choice for those looking to calm or cope with stress and concerns like insomnia or even addiction, anxiety, and depression.

According to traditional Chinese medical theory, mental illness occurs when there is an imbalance within the body. Acupuncture and oriental medicines were found to have the ability to detect energetic changes that occur in the body and relive symptoms, thereby restoring equilibrium.

Improve Sleep

Struggling to sleep at night is frustrating for many Americans. Additionally, insomnia has been linked to a number of other health problems, like heart disease and weight gain. Acupuncture’s ability to leave you more relaxed and less anxious may also encourage you to fall asleep more easily. If your insomnia is caused by chronic pain that keeps you awake or wakes you up throughout the night, acupuncture can be an effective treatment that ultimately allows you to find better quality sleep.

Acupuncture has also been shown to help manage sleep apnea, with targeted treatments strengthening the tongue. This treatment helps prevent the tongue from dropping back during the night and blocking your airway.

Regular acupuncture can identify imbalances and guide patients to move towards more optimal health. By stimulating the natural healing process of the body, acupuncture can safely, gently, and effectively manage many health issues in patients of all ages. Visit Pain Care Clinic of Idaho for more information about acupuncture or call for a confidential, no-obligation evaluation: 208-629-2492.

Diode rings and diode chain therapies are noninvasive methods to reduce pain, inflammation and swelling, and accelerate healing. Diode rings and chains work with the ion flow of the body to produce a healing micro-current to reduce pain and promote healing. By strategically placing a diode ring or a series of diodes (which can be wrapped, say around a limb), treatment can direct the body’s own energetic current toward healing.

Diode Rings

A diode is an electrical component that conducts electricity in just one direction. According to ancient Chinese medicine, energy flows through the human body on pathways called meridians. The heart of acupuncture is to promote healing by restoring proper energy flow along those meridians. Diodes are used to manipulate and direct the flow of energy, just as they direct the flow of electricity.

“The use of the diode is like a “gate” that allows electrical energy (that exist in the body) to move in one direction and in a particular level. The use of these tools helps to move the stagnated energy (cause of the pain) from one area to another and balance the stagnated energy of the injured site,” according to the Integrated Medicine Institute.

Diode rings, diodes mounted on a copper ring are particularly effective at relieving inflammation, pulling out the energies causing inflammation as well as bruises, and bone and ligament issues.

Diode Chains

Diode chains can be rings that have been soldered together or individual diodes soldered on a chain, interspersed to optimize energy flow in the area of the body surrounded by the chain. Chains are specifically used on joints (where they can surround or wrap the joint), such as wrists, ankles, and knees where the target, inflamed area is too large for one or two rings.

Many people notice that wearing diodes helps reduce stress, fatigue, eyestrain, and other effects associated with prolonged stressors like sitting for periods, working on a computer, or typing. People also report reduced jet leg and reduced fatigue when traveling. Diode treatment has been found to assist in a number of health issues, such as promoting proper organ function and metabolic processes, reducing inflammation, and improving mobility.

At Pain Care Clinic of Idaho, our practitioners offer a range of drug-free treatments and therapies that will help you get quick and lasting relief from acute and chronic pain. We focus on providing real solutions and results. Discover how we can help with your condition and improve you quality of life with alternative medicinal therapies. Visit Pain Care Clinic of Idaho or call for a confidential, no-obligation consultation: 208-629-2492.

By overwhelming the nerves that transmit chronic pain information with what appears to be normal, non-pain electrical information, Scrambler Therapy can retrain the brain to believe there is no pain in the treatment area. This process of retraining is due to a phenomenon called brain plasticity or neuroplasticity. (The original meaning of “plastic” is moldable or changeable.) As medical researchers continue to learn how brain plasticity works, treatments that exploit it are becoming more common and more effective.

In a clinical trial at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Scrambler Therapy was used to treat patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. CIPN is a set of symptoms associated with damage to peripheral nerves (like those found in our arms and legs or used for bladder and bowel control) caused by chemotherapy or other drugs used to treat cancer. After ten days of treatment, patients in this clinical trial reported a 50% reduction in pain during treatment days. These patients self-reported weekly for ten weeks following treatment and these reports reflected an overall benefit from Scrambler Therapy.

Scrambler Therapy is being used to treat other types of neuropathic pain like chronic back or leg pain caused by sciatica, post-surgery nerve lesion neuropathy, lower back pain and more. Chronic pain can be frustrating due to its difficulty to treat with prescription drugs, invasive surgery or other standard treatments that might have negative side effects and may not resolve the problem in any case. Scrambler Therapy is non-invasive and it has no side effects.

Located in Boise, Pain Care Clinic of Idaho recommends six to ten Scrambler Therapy treatments over the course of two weeks. Patients can expect pain relief to last three to six months or longer based on the severity of the injury or condition. Our physicians are able to evaluate your pain and recommend an appropriate treatment path that may also include medication, activity, and diet instructions to ensure that you receive the maximum benefit from the therapy.

Ideal candidates for Scrambler Therapy include those who have been dealing with unbearable chronic or neuropathic pain and have exhausted all other options or wish to avoid invasive surgery or strong drugs. If you’re ready to learn more about Scrambler Therapy, call Pain Care Clinic of Idaho for an appointment: 208-629-2492.

What is Peripheral Neuropathy?

Peripheral neuropathy is the pain, tingling, numbness or burning sensation that strikes areas of the body served by the peripheral nerves. These nerves receive signals from the central nervous system to hands, feet and internal organs. When this type of neuropathy happens as a result of chemotherapy, it is called chemotherapy associated neuropathy.

A patient can experience chemotherapy associated neuropathy at any point during the course of their treatment. Often, the symptoms worsen as the treatment goes on. The symptoms usually start in the patient’s toes and travel upwards.

Besides the chemotherapy side effects discussed above, the patient also experiences a loss of sensation that might make it hard for them to pick up items, button their clothes or do other tasks. They may not feel heat or cold properly. They have problems with their balance and may have episodes of lightning pain or what feels like electric shocks in their body. Other symptoms are:

• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Trouble urinating
• Pain in the jaw
• Trouble swallowing
• Poor reflexes
• Deafness or diminished hearing
• Unstable blood pressure
• Dizziness
• Muscle weakness
• Loss of position sense. This means the person have trouble telling where their hands or feet are in space.

Chemotherapy drugs that are implicated in neuropathy are:

• Paclitaxel
• Docetaxel
• Thalidomide
• Platinum-based drugs such as cisplatin
• Vincristine
• Eribulin
• Carboplatin

A patient who is suffering the effects of chemotherapy associated neuropathy should contact their doctor immediately. The doctor might be able to change the chemotherapy drug, adjust the dosage or suggest medications that can ease the patient’s pain and discomfort. Interestingly, the best drugs to treat the symptoms of neuropathy caused by chemotherapy are antidepressants and anticonvulsants.

Dietary supplements such as calcium, magnesium, glutathione and vitamin E might bring some relief. Some patients find relief in eating a diet rich in the B complex vitamins.

A person who is suffering from neuropathy should make their home safe for them to move about. They can install handrails and grab bars, make sure that hallways and rooms are well lit, adjust the temperature of their water heater to guard against scalding and make sure to always use potholders when handling pots and pans.

Scrambler Therapy

A technique called scrambler therapy has proven beneficial for some neuropathy patients. This therapy sends non-pain electrical impulses along the patient’s pain pathways. In one study, one group of patients reported a significant reduction in their pain after less than two weeks of scrambler therapy. There were even a few patients who had no pain at all from their therapy. None suffered side effects.

To learn more about treatment for chemotherapy associated neuropathy, contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at 208-629-2492 or visit paincareclinicofidaho.com.

5 Common Ailments During Pregnancy

There are 5 common problems that most women experience sometime during their pregnancy:

• Morning sickness
• Headaches
• Sciatica
• Depression
• Insomnia

Many of these symptoms are the result of increased hormones in your body, particularly HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), the “pregnancy hormone.” Some pregnancy pain is a result of the normal stress and strain on your back and muscles as your weight and your center of gravity changes as your baby gets larger and heavier. Other symptoms are an unpleasant side effect as your body works to provide the proper environment for your unborn baby. Constant pregnancy pain and discomfort can be debilitating, especially if you are not comfortable taking over-the-counter medications that could also affect your unborn child.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Ancient Eastern medicine is based on qi (pronounced “chee”), energy that travels smoothly through subdivisions in the body called meridians. A disruption in this flow results in pain, discomfort, and disease. Inserting tiny needles releases these energy blocks and re-establishes normal qi flow, allowing the body to naturally heal itself.

Western practice also stimulates certain areas of the nervous system by inserting hair-thin needles just under the skin surface. This stimulates the nervous system to release hormones, endorphins, and other chemicals into the blood stream, spinal cord, and brain.

How Acupuncture Can Help

When these tiny needles are inserted into the skin, they stimulate deep-seated nerves to release different chemicals, including endorphins. Endorphins block pain signals in the brain. For example, targeting points on the wrist can help to reduce the nausea and vomiting associated with morning sickness.

A study released by the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology on pregnant women in their late 2nd and 3rd trimester seems to support that acupuncture can help with many of the problems associated with pregnancy. About 80 percent of the group treated with needles placed in the proper position reported a clinically significant reduction in pain. Compare this result with 56 percent of the women treated with random needles and only 36 percent of the women who were not treated at all.

Summary

Acupuncture for pregnancy has been shown to be a safe, gentle, and effective way to treat the normal discomfort and pain that comes with pregnancy with little risk. Find a professional who is trained and experienced in practicing acupuncture for pregnancy, and you could experience relief from normal pregnancy discomfort without fear of side effects that could harm your unborn baby.

To learn more about how acupuncture can help you, contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at 208-629-2492 or visit paincareclinicofidaho.com.

How Allergies Affect Your Body

Some people are hypersensitive to specific airborne particles such as grass pollen, ragweed, and other weed pollens that are prevalent during spring and fall. Sneezing, runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes are your body’s way of trying to get rid of these irritants. While many people try to treat their symptoms with both over-the-counter and prescription medicines, allergy shots, and even surgery in extreme cases, these treatment methods can come with unpleasant side effects. Studies have shown acupuncture to be a safe and effective treatment method that can significantly reduce or even eliminate dependence on other forms of treatment.

How Acupuncture Affects Your Body

This type of medicine has been practiced for a few thousand years in Eastern cultures. The Eastern thinking revolves around qi (pronounced “chee”), or energy flow. Normal qi travels smoothly throughout the body through subdivisions. When this energy flow is disrupted, the body reacts with disease and pain. Placing needles in the proper position corrects this disruption by releasing the energy blocks and re-establishing normal qi flow. This reboots the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Practiced in the U.S. since the 1970s, Western medicine has shown that these needles stimulate the nervous system to release hormones and endorphins. These chemicals are released into the blood stream, spinal cord, and brain, stimulating the body’s natural ability to heal. This results in physical and emotional well-being.

A Safe and Effective Treatment

A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal showed promising results. In three different groups, the group that was treated with needles placed in the proper position showed more improvement than either the group with randomly placed needles or the group treated with just antihistamines. Most people treated by a proper acupuncturist as either the primary or a complementary treatment method showed a quick response and  were able to reduce their need for medication to treat seasonal allergies.

The needles used are hair-thin, FDA-approved, sterile, disposable, and made of solid steel. These tiny needles are inserted just under the skin at specific points. Adverse effects are rare, with fewer side effects reported than many of conventional drugs. Once the treatment has stimulated an adequate response, most people can be weaned off treatments.

Summary

If you are one of the millions of people who suffer from seasonal allergies, consider looking for an acupuncturist with experience and a good success rate with treating allergies. This practice has been growing in popularity. You might be able to find relief without the annoying side effects of conventional medicine.

To learn more about how acupuncture can help you, contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at 208-629-2492 or visit paincareclinicofidaho.com.

This increasingly recognized therapy is commonly known as meditation. Practiced for millennia and widely studied in modern times, this sophisticated discipline has been shown to provide a wide range of benefits to adherents, including enhanced pain management. This article will introduce readers to the subject of managing chronic pain with basic meditation. It will also deliver a basic step-by-step startup guide to help pain sufferers reap the remarkable fruits of enhanced mental control.

Just What is Mindful Reflection?

Meditation is the general name for a number of mental or physical skills and practices that can alter mental states. By using the techniques that are described below, individuals can become more in tune with their inner material and spiritual states and can gain greater control over their bodily functions.

Basic Techniques

Here are some tried and tested yogic techniques that are known to promote relaxation, harmony, and pain relief. Set aside about 15 or 20 minutes for these pain relief techniques. While certain exercises can be performed just about anywhere, the following methods are best performed in a quiet and clean setting.

• Assume a relaxed position in a supportive seat, with the soles of the feet touching the ground.
• Passive awareness exercise. Allow your attention to be drawn to the details of your body, mind, and environment. Make observations without judgements.
• Deep breathing. Proper breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, releasing many therapeutic substances along the way. Practitioners should breath in and out slowly and rhythmically, making sure to allow the abdomen to move freely.
• Use a mantra. This can be any word or phrase that is significant to you. Speech can be synchronized with breathing for greater effect.
• Thought acceptance. Take note of the thoughts that pass through your mind without trying to address them. Observe as each one slowly floats away.
• Body scan. Focus your attention on different areas of your body in sequence.
• Final stretch. Take a moment to loosen up the major muscle groups to promote further relaxation.

Benefits of Mindfulness for Pain Management

Basic meditation has helped many people manage their constant pain, improving the quality of their lives in the process. Some other benefits include:

• Pain relief without the need for drugs. While opiate pain relief products have their place, they also have many well-documented and potentially dangerous side-effects. According to many studies, including one conducted at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, meditation can provide rapid pain relief that can supplement or replace drug therapies.
• Effective. Another related study at the same institution tested mindfulness against placebos. The results showed that practitioners of mental awareness and acceptance enjoyed greater pain reduction on average than the placebo recipients.
• Can provide lasting relief. One of the main dangers of opioid drugs are their tendency to lose effectiveness over time. Mindful reflection suffers no such constraints, and can be key to managing chronic pain over the long term.

To learn more about how to manage and relieve chronic pain, contact the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho at 208-629-2492 or visit paincareclinicofidaho.com.

The machine used to complete this form of therapy looks similar to the electrocardiogram machine. Leads are placed near the patient’s areas of chronic pain. An electrical signal from the normal tissue communicates a “non-pain” signal to the brain via the central nervous system that is specific to each individual. This signal is a synthetic signal of “non-pain” that the brain now recognizes as “normal self” because it travels the same pathways on the central nervous system that previously carried the “pain” message.

The treatment requires six to 10 visits to the clinic over about two weeks to retrain the brain’s perception of the signal. The pain relief can last three to six months, and if it returns, patients can receive booster treatments.

The first study regarding this type of therapy was published back in 2003. Led by Giuseppe Marineo, a group of researchers found that this form of therapy was effective in reducing pain for individuals who experienced severe levels of drug-resistant pain resulting from terminal cancer. The device used to complete the therapy attained clearance by the FDA for use in the United States. The device can be used for individuals experiencing pain from the following conditions:

• Diabetes
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Arthritis
• Neck Pain
• Back Pain
• Phantom Limb Pain
• Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
• Cancer
• Chemotherapy

More About Us

The Pain Care Clinic of Idaho specializes in providing clients cutting edge, customized treatment services that alleviate pain and restore life. The clinic is multi-disciplinary and is pleased to utilize scrambler therapies. Dr. Boese earned his certification to offer Scrambler therapies in Rome from Professor Marineo. As a community of pain management professionals committed to operating in excellence, you can count on us to provide you with the dynamic, detailed services you need and deserve.

Medical Approach Used

Every pain management clinic has its own unique approach. There are some that place more emphasis on remedies such as acupuncture, while others focus on using narcotics and other forms of medication. There has also been a growing number of licensed MDs who are opting to use a combination of different remedies. In this regard, you should consider the long-term and short-term consequences associated with an approach that will be undertaken by the practitioner. This will help you chose one that guarantees your physical and emotional comfort.

Services Offered

Due to advances in the pain management industry, there are licensed doctors whose specialty lies in a particular remedy or pain area. This is important because it can help you choose a practitioner best suited to handle your condition. Medical practitioners who offer treatment for all types of pain may not have the expertise to handle one particular pain area. A good pain management clinic should offer services that are tailored to address the specific needs of patients. Before settling on a particular facility, ascertain that the services it offers can help you overcome your condition.

Clinic Culture

This is one of the most important factors you must keep in mind when seeking treatment for chronic pain. Clinic culture basically refers to the manner in which medical practitioners working at the facilities handle patients. Seek advice from acquaintances who have undergone pain treatment in the past. Their experiences can help you pinpoint health facilities that have a strong clinic culture. Clinics that keep patients apprised about the interventions that will be used and those that seek the opinion of patients should be given priority. The reputation of a clinic is equally important.

When looking for a pain clinic, your family doctor should be the first person to consult. He or she can refer you to a clinic that addresses your particular condition. Local hospitals and medical centers have affiliations with pain treatment centers.

Once treatment begins, ensure that the practitioner seeks your consent before interventions such as acupuncture are carried out. Talk to the practitioner so that a treatment plan that suits your needs is devised. Generally, it is recommended that you choose pain management clinics that guarantee follow-up services once treatment has been completed.

If you have questions about how the Pain Care Clinic of Idaho works with patients, please call our office, 208-629-2492, or visit our website for more information.

Medical Acupuncture vs. Regular Acupuncture

Regular acupuncture, or traditional acupuncture, is solely based on ancient Chinese medicine. Medical acupuncture is based on known scientific facts. Some may think that both are based on facts, but regular acupuncture contains a few things that modern acupuncturists will not include. For example, concepts of Yin-Yang, Qi, and the Six Evils are used when dealing with a patient in regular acupuncture practice.

Yin-Yang is the idea that there is a balance between good and evil or between two opposing forces. Qi is the all-encompassing belief that there is everlasting energy and that everything is a manifestation of this energy. A regular acupuncturist will attempt to balance Qi as part of the procedure. Yin-Yang could be out of whack, according to traditional acupuncturists, and it could be due to one of the Six Evils. These are just the types of invaders that a person could have that are making that person sick.

Traditional acupuncturists believe that the ailment could be connected to other issues, and they will try to bring harmony and balance to the whole body. This concept makes sense to some who practice traditional acupuncture because they believe in Yin-Yang. This teaches that one thing must affect another. In essence, the body cannot be cured until other affected areas are taken care of.

Linking Organs to Reflex Points

Medical acupuncture is a different ballgame. A trained and specialized medical acupuncturist will deal with things like chronic neuropathic pain through proven methods. For one, a medical acupuncturist will base the puncture points on known input and output terminals within the body. This system was developed after scientists discovered that data is transferred between organs and certain reflex points. A trained medical acupuncturist just needs to locate the reflex point associated with the ailment to provide chronic pain relief.

This might not be too convincing for some. The idea that points on the body can affect certain organs may seem far-fetched. Organs are connected to these locations through the neuro-endocrine system. The acupuncturist will attempt to stimulate a particular location to help bring relief to the areas that are being affected by a particular sickness.

It should be noted that acupuncture, be it traditional or medical acupuncture, is a minimally invasive treatment for issues like chronic neuropathic pain. This means that you can go in for a treatment, and you will not have to worry about taking off work to recuperate or something like that. It is ultimately up to you, but hopefully this has shed some light on the differences between these two types of acupuncture.

Fortunately for sufferers, there are drug-free treatments for chronic pain. One of the most exciting of these is InterX therapy. InterX therapy is a neurostimulation pain management technology approved by the FDA.

Non-Invasive

Unlike some other forms of neurostimulation pain management therapy, InterX therapy does not involve surgery. InterX devices are handheld and battery-powered, and they are applied externally. With only a few exceptions (individuals with cardiac pacemakers, for example) the therapy is safe for patients of all ages.

A Revolutionary Treatment Modality

InterX therapy appears to have multiple mechanisms of action. It is believed to cause the release of endogenous opioids, and it may affect other neuropeptides as well.

There are different types of endogenous opioids in the body, but they all modify pain signals. In a nutshell, endogenous opioids are your body’s natural painkillers. They are similar in structure to prescribed opioid drugs but have none of the negative side effects of their pharmaceutical counterparts.

Unlike other stimulation treatments, InterX therapy does not merely mask pain. Sustained relief from pain is often seen after therapy. This may be partially because of inflammation reduction. While the precise scientific details are not yet clear, inflammation reduction is believed to play an important role in effective drug-free pain treatment.

InterX Therapy in Practice

InterX Therapy is often done in three stages. First, the patient’s body is scanned to find areas of low impedance (related to electrical resistance). These areas are believed to be the best points for stimulation.

After scanning, stimulation is applied to the selected areas. The stimulation is dynamic, not static. The type of stimulation the tissue receives changes as the electrophysiology of the tissue changes.

Near the end of a session, the patient is sometimes moved through different positions or stretches while stimulation is applied. The stretches are thought to enhance the positive adaptation of the nervous system.

Results

Some patients experience a significant reduction in pain after just one treatment. However, in many cases, six or more treatments are necessary for real relief.

One of the big advantages of InterX therapy is that there are no significant adverse effects. Patients who require additional treatments to obtain relief do not need to worry about the risk of addiction or other unwanted side effects.

Narcotic painkillers are not the best approach for treating chronic pain over the long term. Chronic pain patients who don’t have a pacemaker should ask their physician about InterX therapy as a pain management modality.

For InterX therapy and other pain management treatments in Boise, contact Pain Care Clinic of Idaho. Call 208-629-2492 for an appointment.