Thanks to daylight saving time (Mar. 14), you will likely miss out on some sleep this week; however, there’s never been a better time to start new habits – your body will thank you
At precisely 2 a.m. on Sunday, Mar. 14, a majority of Americans will transport forward in time, losing an hour of their beloved weekends and likely, 60 minutes of sleep. This isn’t science fiction, rather a century-old societal tradition we have come to know as daylight saving time, which occurs twice per year, seasonally each Fall and Spring.
While there’s much debate over whether daylight saving time still has a place in modern societies worldwide, there’s mounting evidence it may be significantly impacting our health. Because sleep is so essential, especially for those suffering from chronic and acute pain, our team of pain management experts is challenging patients to put extra preparation into daylight savings time this year.
In addition to springing forward clocks on Saturday night or Sunday morning, we are encouraging patients to take this time to examine their current sleep patterns and choose better habits – As part of Sleep Awareness Week (Mar. 14-20). Even small measures to improve sleep can dramatically improve overall health, mood and even reduce pain.
Circadian rhythms & the problem with change
Our bodies rely on an internal clock or circadian rhythm to regulate the function of cells and systems. This rhythm has variations from person to person but generally alerts us with a boost of energy in the morning, causes mid-day grogginess, and finally helps us fall asleep in the evenings. Beyond regulating alertness and energy levels, these circadian rhythms also influence hormone release, eating habits, digestion, body temperature and more.
With so many components of healthy body function connected to our circadian rhythm, even slight changes can wreak havoc. The desynchronization of our body clocks, which occurs twice a year due to daylight saving time or when we don’t get enough sleep, has been linked to increased health risks such as depression, obesity, heart attack, cancer, and even car accidents.
What is a good night’s rest? There’s no one-size solution
According to the Center for Disease Control, more than a third of adults in the U.S. don’t get enough sleep. As previously discussed, this negatively impacts our circadian rhythm and throws our bodies out of balance. Further, those who do not regularly get enough sleep can quickly become victims to sleep deprivation, a form of cognitive impairment that affects memory, motor skills and mood regulation. So, we need more rest, but how much?
The amount of sleep adults need varies but generally changes as you age. During infancy through the teen years, our bodies crave sleep, which powers development. As adults, we typically require seven or more hours per night. What is most important is that hours spent sleeping are good quality.
Goal Setting – Quality & quantity
With a target goal of getting approximately seven hours of sleep each night, how can we improve the quality of those hours? This isn’t simple. For those who live with the feeling of waking up tired after a full night of sleep, it can be frustrating or downright demoralizing. If experiencing this, it may be worthwhile to explore several factors:
Finally, consider tracking your sleep through your phone. There is an abundance of phone applications that can monitor habits, sleep quality and even remind you of bedtime hours.
Tips for those in pain
Research has shown a strong indication that sleep is an effective painkiller. However, those suffering from chronic pain are often unable to fall asleep, frequently awaken throughout the night, and generally do not enjoy a high-quality sleep. This compounds fatigue for pain sufferers and can contribute to the development of more severe long-term health conditions.
We’ve examined the importance of sleep, the amount needed each night and how to improve sleep quality; however, this means little unless those in pain can break the cycle of insomnia. For those living with chronic pain and looking to improve their sleep, there are a few things our experts recommend:
If you are experiencing sleep issues because of chronic or acute pain, we encourage you to seek professional medical guidance. Our team of dedicated pain relief specialists can help answer your questions and offer personalized care recommendations to help you rest and play without pain.
A creeping pain beginning in your lumbar or buttock area and running down the backs of your legs could mean problems with your sciatic nerve
With an estimated 40 percent of individuals experiencing lumbar radiculopathy at some point in their lives, it’s likely that you or someone you know has experienced or is experiencing this debilitating issue. Although familiar, many people still don’t fully understand what causes lumbar radiculopathy, how to identify it and the best ways to reduce its impact on our daily lives.
What is lumbar radiculopathy or sciatica and how do I know if I have it?
Lumbar radiculopathy, sometimes referred to as sciatica, is the irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve, which originates from the lower lumbar areas of our backs and branch out to the buttocks and backs of our legs. The sciatic nerve plays a vital role in controlling muscles and sensations in the lower body and is the longest and widest nerve in the human body.
Lumbar radiculopathy commonly occurs in people between the ages of 30 and 50 years. It is most often associated with a shooting or radiating sensation of pain beginning in the lower back and traveling down one leg or both. This is a crucial differentiator between sciatica and other kinds of pack pain, which often do not affect the legs. Often, patients with sciatica will describe the pain as dull, aching or even burning, with some also experiencing tingling and weakness.
Even if you are experiencing these symptoms, a doctor’s assessment is needed to diagnose the condition properly. Your doctor will typically evaluate your medical history and conduct a physical exam and may even request additional tests like x-rays, an MRI or a nerve conduction study to diagnose lumbar radiculopathy effectively.
What treatments are available?
Given proper rest, lumbar radiculopathy symptoms typically dissipate in a few days or weeks without the need for medical intervention. For those with persistent pain, there are several ways to relieve this and promote the healing process. They include:
What are the causes?
In most cases, lumbar radiculopathy is caused by:
lumbar radiculopathy or sciatica and Winter Weather
With Texas recently experiencing a blast of unprecedented winter weather, an increasing number of individuals may now be experiencing lumbar radiculopathy for the first time or dealing with worsening sciatic pain. It is commonly believed that lumbar radiculopathy is compounded by cold and although this may seem like an old wive’s tale, there’s evidence that this may be the case.
Cold weather and everyday activities required while living in cold environments can dramatically impact pain – including pain caused by sciatica. Reasons pain could increase during cold snaps include:
As discussed, rest and typical household pain remedies can effectively manage minor onset lumbar radiculopathy; however, for many medical interventions may be required. If you are experiencing debilitating sciatic pain, our pain management experts are available for patient consultations.
If you’re experiencing ongoing neck pain, it may be time to stop reaching for the aspirin and begin looking for an interventional solution.
Neck pain can run the gamut from the occasional discomfort of being bent over a computer to ongoing agony after a fall. In the middle are causes – some obvious, some mysterious – that must be uncovered before treatment can begin to alleviate or eliminate the pain. Among the most common culprits are:
In searching for the cause your neck pain, it’s important to completely and accurately share your accompanying symptoms with your physician. These can include achiness and stiffness; shooting pains; numbness; shoulder and arm pain; headache; dizziness; nausea; fever; vomiting; difficulty swallowing or breathing; and anything else that is new or aberrant.
Diagnosis also will include a deep dive into your health history and a physical exam. It may also be necessary to do an MRI and/or CT scan, X-rays and blood tests to get to the bottom of the problem.
Depending on the cause, the solution can be found in many courses of action and treatment, from physical therapy to medication to injections to nerve blocks and ablation. While seldom necessary, surgery also is an option when the patient isn’t getting sufficient relief with other treatments.
To get to that end, your primary physician may refer you to a pain management specialist, a clinician or group with experience in neck injuries and experience in treating the pain they produce. Or you may decide to make pain management your starting point – hopefully with us.
The fact is that persistent neck pain could be a signal for a serious underlying cause and early intervention often is key to addressing it. If you’re ready to take that first step into action, call us for a consultation.
We’re here to help.
The statistics on sufferers of chronic pain are staggering – and irrelevant if you’re the one with the pain.
The sad fact, though, is that many of these sufferers don’t have to suffer, yet they do, many because they just flat out don’t know what to do or how to go about it.
To help address this, this blog looks at our specialty – pain management – with emphasis on when to turn to a pain management specialist, hindrances to avoid in making the move and what to do when you get there.
Acknowledge the Impact
The National Institutes of Health defines chronic pain as lasting more than three months with an intensity that:
If any of those factors are impacting your life, it’s time to take charge of your pain management, consulting a specialist in the field. The sooner you make the move the better, and the closer you’ll be to improved quality of life.
Be Aware of Barriers
Perhaps the greatest barrier is the surrender that comes after other doctors have failed to discover a diagnosis that would lead to effective treatment. Others include:
None of these represent action to address your pain in a meaningful way, and the only one who can take action is you.
Consulting an Expert
Pain management doctors – physicians who specialize in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of pain – have advanced training that qualifies them as your best source of treatment if you are experiencing any type of pain due to illness or injury.
Here are a few things to remember when working with such a specialist.
As the field of medicine learns more about the complexities of pain, it has become more important to have physicians with specialized knowledge and skills to address it.
Now, more than ever, help is out there. We’re here if you need it.
Millions of Americans suffer from chronic pain. Many don’t have to. Are you one of them?
The truth is, people can become so used to being in pain that they accept it. They structure their lives around the discomfort or agony, which governs everything they do. They may have even sought some help in the beginning, but when “nothing worked,” they gave up trying. If this sounds all too familiar, take action now to make 2021 the year you took back control.
According to the National Institutes of Health, medical knowledge doubles every 73 days. That means constant introduction of new techniques and deeper insights into ailments and injuries, their causes and treatments. The science of understanding pain has benefited from this rapid advancement, resulting in the development of new therapies and multi-disciplinary approaches to pain management.
For instance, we recently wrote about the VERTIFLEX® implant for lumbar spinal stenosis, a 30-minute procedure with the potential to provide lifetime pain relief in the affected area of the back for many patients. As it was approved by the FDA just five years ago, it may not have been an option when sufferers last sought solutions.
At PSA, we treat both acute and chronic pain. Treatment plans may include minimally invasive procedures, joint injections, regenerative medicine and sometimes medication. Through an extended portfolio of resources, interventional therapies and advanced technologies, our experts at clinics across Central Texas customize targeted pain management solutions for speeding a patient’s return to a functional life.
Another example is Degenerative Disc Disease, which there are a number of treatment options for depending on its severity and naturally occurs with age. Treatments may include physical therapy, targeted interventional procedures, or more advanced spinal therapies. There are also more novel approaches, such as stem cell therapy.
The operative word here is “choice.”
This New Year, let us work with you to make the right choices to address your pain. From your head to your toes, from migraines to plantar fasciitis, our experienced and highly trained physicians and advanced practitioners will look at the condition – and you – to create an individualized roadmap to better days and greater health.
Call today for a free consultation, and from there, we will work together to get to back to life.
During the holidays, our heads often are filled with thoughts of gifts we can give to others to make them happy and improve their lives in ways both small and large. This year, we’re thinking especially of sufferers of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and recommending the perfect gift they can give to themselves.
That gift is a minimally invasive procedure and scheduling it soon can bring a New Year of reduced pain and greater activity.
Spinal stenosis is the result of aging and “wear and tear” on the spine from everyday activities. These changes cause the spinal canal to narrow, which can “pinch” the nerves in the lower back and may cause pain and/or nerve damage. This is called Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.
The symptoms are many and each is an impediment to living one’s best life. They include:
One of our more popular options is VERTIFLEX®, a small implant, available in different sizes to best match the individual’s spinal anatomy. It is made of titanium, a material used for medical implants because it is lightweight with great strength. Titanium is biocompatible and reduces the risk of inflammation or rejection.
Placing the VERTIFLEX® typically takes about 30 minutes. It is implanted through a small incision in the lower back. The procedure can be performed in an outpatient surgical center and involves no tissue or bone damage and minimal blood.
After the procedure, the patient may enjoy a significant reduction in leg pain within the first few days. All post-operative care instructions should be prescribed by the physician. The doctor also will talk about limiting activity levels immediately after the procedure and how to increase activities as the healing process continues.
It’s a proven means of mitigating the pain. It’s also the best thing sufferers can do for themselves or encourage their loved ones to do. Get back to the small things in life that matter!
Life’s little victories. Most of us take them for granted. Hopping out of bed, getting ready for work, driving to the job site, shopping on the way home, cooking, socializing with family and friends and otherwise getting on with duties and joys of our daily lives.
For those suffering with chronic pain, however, any one of those acts could be a major victory for those who simply can’t do many of the activities the rest of us never think twice about.
Every day, patients come to us for multi-disciplinary, interventional treatments with an eye to getting their lives back. Most often, their goals are simple, that is, just to do the ordinary things they once did that are now limited by the magnitude of their pain.
Once they’ve accomplished that, we love hearing their uplifting stories of the impact on pain management on their lives. It’s not the kind of thing you read in the paper: “Man Goes to Grocery!” or “Woman Plays with Her Child!” But these are real stories of heroism, persistence and reclamation. You can find reviews on our website of our opinions of us, but we like it best when they tell them about themselves.
Many who have been blinded and bound by pain for years now are taking joy in, well, pretty much everything and learning more about themselves every day. It is not unusual to hear or read accounts of those whose pain is now under control and how it has helped them recapture what they lost. In that regard, it’s not unusual to hear them report that:
If you, or someone you know, struggles with chronic pain, encourage them to call us for a consultation. We understand and we want to help.
As recently noted by Healthgrades, choosing a pain management doctor is one of the most important and personal decisions a person can make, given the profound effect intense discomfort can have on quality of life. But how do you know you’re making the right choice?
To help guide you, following are a few tips designed to get you to the right healthcare provider and initiate an effective pain management plan.
As you go through the process, however, keep in mind that your ultimate goal is a clinic or practice that uses a multi-disciplinary approach, that is, where a team of clinicians and other health professionals will work together to address all aspects of your pain according to your individualized needs.
Once you’ve made your choice, and the appointment, make a list of what’s most important to you to effectively manage your and the clinician’s time and underscore your decision.
When a patient seeks pain management, they often have exhausted other options, are looking for therapies other than opioids or risky surgery or desire a more holistic approach. Whatever the reason, however, the time taken upfront to find that perfect fit between patient needs and professional services will be well worth it.
Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have or make an appointment to see how we can help.
Studies show that 80 percent of people will experience back pain at some point in their lives. While that number is striking, what is more interesting is how many of us accept that pain is part of growing older and that there's nothing we can do about it.
It's true that there are many causes for back pain, and some of them happen with age. A narrowing of the spinal column known as spinal stenosis is one example. Arthritis, SI joint pain, and degenerative disc disease are all conditions that are more common as we get older, but none of them mean that you have to live your life in pain.
At Pain Specialists of Austin and Central Texas Pain Center, we take a different approach to treating pain. Instead of focusing only on the pain itself, we want to start by figuring out why the pain is happening. Once we have determined the cause, then we can help you find pain relief through many different interventional modalities.
You've probably heard the phrase "it's a symptom of a greater problem." We can say the same about pain. Once we identify the source of what is causing your pain, we sometimes have to attack the problem from many directions. This is what we call a comprehensive approach to pain management.
It starts by having an accurate diagnosis. To get there, your Pain Specialist will get an in-depth history, perform tests, and get accurate imaging of the painful area. Armed with that information, they can then not only give you a diagnosis, but they can also recommend a course of treatment.
We create an individualized plan that is as unique as you are. Your plan might include counseling, physical therapy, minimally-invasive treatments, or a combination of all of the above. Finding the right plan is core to relieving your pain, and your Pain Specialist will work with you to ensure that it’s done the right way.
We know that not every treatment works for every patient. That’s why we employ a broad range of options from time-tested classic interventions like injections, all the way to cutting edge minimally-invasive treatments like Kyphoplasty and spinal cord stimulation.
Maybe you’ve tried treatments in the past without success. Maybe you’ve even gone so far as to have a surgery that didn’t work. When these things happen, it can be easy to lose hope. But as many of our patients will tell you, you can get your life back. Call us today at 855-876-PAIN (7246) or visit PSADocs.com to get started.
Eighty percent of all Americans will experience low back pain in some point in their lives. Back pain can be disabling. It can be the result of injury, as well as illness. At Central Texas Pain Center, we provide treatment that is customized to your individual needs. Whether your pain is sharp, constant -- or if you have weakness, numbness, or tingling in your legs -- we can help.
Changes in your body come with aging, as well as with general wear and tear. These factors can make it very hard on your ligaments to keep your spine in shape. But back pain can impact people of all ages -- it's the third most common reason that people see a physician. We determine your diagnosis based on a thorough examination as well as testing. The sooner we can begin, the sooner you can get relief and get back to your everyday activities.
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