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Ideas For Helping With Acute Pain
If the doctor has directed you here I will assume you have had the neck pain for under three months or you believe that you seen a natural improvement in your conditions over a three month period.
The good news is in either case the chances are that your body will heal itself and no procedures like those outlined elsewhere in this site will prove necessary.
The bad news however is that there is very little you can actually do to increase the rate of recovery, but there are a number of ideas you can try to help deal with the pain until your body recovers. The right treatment is simply the one that works the best for you.
DRUGS
There are numerous drugs available for help in the treatment of pain, from over the counter medicines, to stronger tablets available on prescription through to intravenous narcotics. Commonly known names such as aspirin and paracetamol, anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDs (Non-steroid anti-inflammatories), some antidepressants which are often used in the treatment of longer term pain may be some things you try. Only you and your doctor can decide what you require. You can learn more about any drugs you may be taking by visiting sites such as rxlist.com. Here you can learn all sorts of things about drugs - possible side-effects, common brand names, even their exact chemical composition. [see that site]
HOT AND COLD
Many people find heat and cold treatments useful in the alleviation of pain symptoms. Most pharmacies stock a range of products: gel packs that can be either placed in the freezer or microwave; poultices filled with wheat or a similar substance that can be heated in the microwave or oven; heat rubs; therapeutic heat pads that are heated through mains or battery power.
TENS MACHINES
The site linked here details the potential benefits of TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) in the relief of pain from whiplash (or other injuries). The basic idea of a TENS machine is that a power pack sends a small current to electrodes attached to the painful area. This current works to stimulate the body's natural pain relievers, endorphins, and also stimulate fibres within the nervous system to disrupt the pain messages being sent to the brain. [See that site]
PAIN MANAGEMENT
Doctors specialising in pain management are perhaps the ones best placed to help you deal with the physical and emotional symptoms of pain and ascertain which treatments may be of most help to you. Understanding pain can, in itself, help you deal with it.
Pain.com
has a number of useful pages:
to go to their glossary page for explanations of numerous terms, procedures
and treatments used in pain medicine {click
here]
to go to their page listing pain clinics worldwide [click
here]
to go to a page where you can send a query to a pain management specialist and
read answers to numerous previously asked questions [click
here]
To see a video from partnersagainstpain.com
of several patients discussing their efforts in combating pain. [click
here] Its about 11 minutes long and can be watched on-line using Realplayer.
Click here if you haven't got Realplayer.
To see the home page of the Mensana clinic that specializes in the treatment
of chronic pain. [Click here]
JCD Wells goes through the procedures that are widely used in chronic pain management.
This is a potentially useful read to help understand what you might expect from
a pain management clinic or doctor. [Click
here]
CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT
It would probably be fair to say that the efficacy of chiropractic treatment divides both the medical community and people who have tried it as a treatment. Chiropractors are trained to manipulate the muscles and bones of the body and it is claimed as a successful treatment for combating pain coming from these areas.
American chiropractic firm advocating chiropractic treatment in dealing with
headaches from neck pain.
[Click
here]
Page of the Freiberg Spine Institute. Very useful page explaining numerous medical
terms in areas such as: anatomy; tests, conditions, procedures. Further institute
pages on chiropractic treatment and general back ailments. [Click
here]
GENERAL SITES ABOUT WHIPLASH
My other site detailing a number of links where you can find out detailed information on all aspects of whiplash injury. [Click here]
Whiplash101.com - incredibly detailed site with over 6000 pages of information about whiplash. [Click here]
To go to a friendly forum where you can talk to others in a similar situation. A site for whiplash sufferers run by whiplash sufferers. [Click here]
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