Fall is Coming

The weather has been getting cooler and the wind has been picking up. That equals greater chances for pain each day. As the seasons change, I can feel it in my muscles and in my bones. The cooler weather tightens up the muscles. This also means that it's easier to pull and strain muscles while doing daily activities. I think it's really important to develop a plan for ways to ease pain when the weather gets worse. This often times involves heat. A hot shower and letting the pressure from the water massage your neck can be a lifesaver. Wearing appropriate clothing for the weather and temperature is important as well is being prepared for weather changes. I almost always have a sweater in the car, just in case I get cold. Cold = increased pain. Which reminds me, I was going to post about making a "Wellness Toolbox" directed towards those who suffer from chronic pain. Look for that information in my next post.

Pain Assessment Tool

This is the scale that I use to rate my pain. I try to do this daily and keep a log of it, but that's tiring also, which is a bad excuse. This morning my neck is at a 7 and my headache is at a 6. After doing some stretches my upper back has gone from a 6 to a 5. If you use the same scale regularly than it is easier to follow pain levels more reliably. If you switch how you rate pain, there isn't much of a point to recording it if they don't correspond to one another.

From yesterday to today, there has been about a 10 degree drop in temperature. Could that be the reason my body is so tight and sore today? Maybe. Could it be because I painted yesterday? Maybe. I also did some cleaning yesterday...so maybe that's what caused it. My best guess is that it was a combination of everything.

Keeping a pain journal is very useful for tracking pain day to day to try to find patterns and reasons for why you're hurting. When you're in pain, the days can blend together and it's easy to forget what you've done and what you haven't done. Keeping note of it and weather conditions can help you better understand your pain triggers. The journal is also an excellent outlet for recording how you're feeling during these difficult times.

Do you keep a pain journal? Has it helped you notice any patterns in behavior and your pain levels?

Sleeping positions

When your body hurts, sleeping can be difficult, to say the least. A way to help take pressure off of your spine is by placing pillows under and between your knees, or under your hips when you're sleeping on your stomach. Sleeping on your stomach is thought to be the worst position for your back because it makes your spine bend and press down. Here are some pictures to illistrate what I'm talking about.


Placing a pillow in these ways help aline your spine in it's natural position, taking pressure off of the spine, and helping to ease pain. Just today, I went to lay down due to neck and back pain and put a blanket between my knees while I laid on my side. I don't like to sleep on my back much unless I absolutely have to b/c of pain. The blanket took pressure off of my spine and hips, making it easier for me to fall asleep.

There are pillows that are manufactured specifically for these purposes, but you can save yourself the money by using a regular pillow or a blanket.

Other treatments to ease pain

I realized today that I had forgotten a few other things that I do to try to ease pain. Another suggestion that doctors and physical therapists give, if you have a neck injury, is to wear a cervical collar for a given period of time to rest your neck from the weight of your head. When your head feels too heavy for your neck to support...it's a dreadful feeling. Wearing a cervical collar can take the pressure off of your neck for a while. I find that if I wear it for too long, though, my neck gets stiff and can sometimes hurt more. For this reason, I sewed my own cervical collar. At the time, I wanted something to wrap around my neck that wouldn't limit my range of motion. I got some fleece that I had in my fabric box (I just began sewing about 2 years ago) and traced the shape from my "Bean Yoga" neck wrap (I'll post a pic later in this post). When I made this it was when I was desperate for some pain relief so needless to say, I didn't have any stuffing that I had bought for this project. I looked around the house and found some cotton spider webbing from last halloween and put that inside. I sewed the wrap closed, added on an elastic strip with velcro on it...and placed the other velcro end on the other side. This allowed me to fasten it so that I wouldn't have to hold the wrap in place and was also loose enough that it wasn't constricting on my neck. I really like this thing. This is the "Bean Yoga" heated neck wrap that I traced for my neck pillow. I got it from my parents for my birthday a few years ago and it works pretty well. You just pop it in the microwave and strap it around your neck. You can order this and other wraps at http://www.beanproducts.com/ .

I also love, love, LOVE my tempurpedic pillow. I got this for Christmas about 5 years ago and I don't go anywhere without it! It took a few nights to get used to and I felt discouraged about using it at first. Once I had broken it in, it felt so good on my neck. Something I found a bit odd, if you leave your pillow in an area that is pretty cold, it begins to harden/freeze. So when I travel in the winter, I make sure to take it inside if I can. I definately recommend trying this or a similar pillow if you have neck or back pain.

This last product is more relaxation involved. I bought a lavender/vanilla pillow mist at Bath and Body works that is said to help you sleep better. The scent is supposed to be relaxing. If anything, it smells nice when you lay your head down to sleep. Anything you can do to help sleep a little better is worth it. It's something I can do as part of my routine to relax and get ready for bed.

Finally, I came across this while searching for the "Bean Yoga" neck wrap picture... I found it at www.want2care.com/elasto_gel_products.html . This wrap can be heated or cooled and I may check into getting it. I just thought some of you may be interested in trying it. If I get it I'll let you know what I think about it.

New to blogging

I just added some advertisement options for my page. I thought it was pretty cool b/c you can customize what topics and ads are on the page through keywords. You can also choose specific websites to get information from...naturally, I added websites that I've gotten some valuable information from. I know ads can be annoying, but hopefully the ones that are on here will apply to chronic pain issues and can lead you to useful information. I'm just trying this out so we'll see how it goes.

Pain levels the last several days have been 6-8, not good. I believe this is due to the cooler and damper weather. My body has been very sensitive to temperture changes, rain, snow, humidity, etc. How does the weather affect your pain? Can you tell that the weather may be changing due to pain you're experiencing in your body?

Coping strategies for "bad days"

When I'm having a bad day, the medications I try are IBuprofen or Vicodin. Vicodin is highly addictive and try to use that as a last resort. These are the other things that I try to feel better:

1. Heat pad
2. Cold pack
3. Massage pad (heated Shiatsu massage)
4. Shower
5. Funny movie
6. Crossword puzzles (this may sound odd, but anything that can occupy your mind can be
helpful). I had taken a couple trauma courses in graduate school and they talked about how
activities like crossword puzzles are therapeutic.
7. Calling supportive family and friends
8. Stretching
9. Breathing exercises
10. Listen to music
11. Nap/lay down
12. Meditation and/or praying
13. Paint or draw (if I can manage to do so...and it occupies my mind enough from the pain)
14. Play with or watch our guinea pigs
15. Journal or write

Those are the main things that I try doing to ease pain on bad days. Do you have chronic pain? What kinds of things do you try to do/use? Do you know someone who suffers from pain? Which of these activities could be helpful for them?


Minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day know you are not alone.
Lindsay

Today is a bad day.

I hurt all day yesterday, even with the vicodin. I didn't get much good sleep last night and today is full of pain as well. I use a pain rating scale from 1-10 (1 not being bothersome and 10 being the "worst pain imaginable". My neck has been at a 7-8, my headache at a 6, and back pain has ranged from a 6-7. I laid down for a couple hours didn't feel any better and didn't sleep. My neck is very tight, cracking, and throbbing in pain. The headache is dull, but constant. The back pain comes and goes. It's been very difficult to think and I've teared up more than once today. And this isn't even a bad BAD day. It makes me wonder just how much I can put up with. This is what makes pain so difficult to gage from day to day and person to person. I've been in pain to some extent every day for over 6 years. My 1 or "not bothersome" may be a 3 to someone else. I often wonder if I was in no pain and then felt what I felt now...how much I would actually be hurting. When you're used to pain, it's hard to say exactly what you're feeling. So, needless to say, I've been more depressed and sad today. I try to distract myself with funny movies or projects (I love art), but it doesn't always help...especially when the pain is constant and overwhelming. The pains getting worse...I need to try something else, but I have no idea what. Usually all I can do is sit or lie down and wait.