Topical Therapies for Chronic Pain Management-Bobs Natural Products

Pain Management is an industry leader in the management of chronic work-related musculo-skeletal pain. We have been providing pain management-Bobs Natural Products

 

pain management is complicated and is becoming more difficult, especially as pain medications are being more strictly controlled. An increasingly popular pain management strategy is the use of noncontrolled topical pain management agents, including diclofenac and lidocaine. These agents are not appropriate for managing all types of pain, but they are a good option for select states of chronic pain. It is important for pharmacists to be aware of the available options in order to contribute to the care of patients with chronic pain.

 

The Impact Of Chronic Pain

Chronic pain can have an enormous impact on people. It may interfere with a person’s sleep patterns, their sexual activity, their ability to work and conduct daily activities, and it can cause emotional distress and lead to serious mental health problems, including depression.

The goals of pain treatment are to enhance functioning and reduce suffering and distress, while minimising the risk of adverse effects. While it is rare to eliminate chronic pain completely, it should be possible to control pain to a tolerable level and allow people to function at an acceptable level.

While acute pain can usually be attributed to an identifiable disease or damage process, finding an identifiable process for chronic pain can be very difficult. Sometimes the cause of the pain cannot be determined. This does not make the pain any less real to the patient.

 

How to assess pain

Assessment of pain is essential to successful pain management in Bobs Natural Products. A pain assessment guides the selection of treatments, and provides a baseline against which to measure a patient’s progress during treatment.

Physical examination is only one aspect of pain assessment. Self-reports are the most reliable indicators of pain severity or intensity. Many patients have great difficulty in describing pain sensations.

A variety of pain measurement tools are available for doctors to use. They include numeric scales, visual analog scales, and verbal rating scales. The numeric and visual scales typically appear as a horizontal line rated from ‘no pain’ at the left end to ‘worst possible pain’ at the right end. The patient marks the line according to the pain they feel. In verbal rating scales, descriptors are used to rate the patient’s pain, e.g. no pain, mild pain, moderate pain, severe pain, worst possible pain. The tool used should be appropriate to the patient’s cognitive development, language, culture and preference. For example, faces scales (comprising a series of cartoon faces ranging from a happy face to a very sad/tearful face) are most appropriate for children who may have difficulty translating their pain into a numerical value or a verbal descriptor.

What can I do to manage my pain?

Pain may limit some of the things you do, but it doesn’t have to control your life. Your mind plays an important role in how you feel pain. Thinking of pain as a signal to take positive action rather than being scared or worried about it can be helpful. Also you can learn ways to manage your pain. What works for one person may not work for another, so you may have to try different techniques until you find what works best for you. There may not be a cure for your pain but you can learn to manage it.

Here are some things you can try:

• Take medicines wisely
  Many different types of medicines can help control the pain. Your doctor or pharmacist can help you understand which medicines are right for you and how best to use them. Also visit the NPS Medicinewise website for further information (see link below).

• Exercise
  Research has shown that regular appropriate physical activity can help reduce pain. It also keeps your joints moving, strengthens muscles to support your joints, reduces stress and improves sleep. A health professional (e.g. a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist) or your doctor can help you work out a program suitable for you.

• GP Management Plan
  A GP Management Plan can help people with chronic pain. If you want to take charge of your pain management, find a supportive GP who can coordinate your care with a Medicare-funded care plan, which will allow you access to a rebate for treatment from an allied health professional, such as a physiotherapist or psychologist (see below). There may also be an opportunity to be referred to a pain clinic. Note that while Medicare provides a rebate for the preparation of a Chronic Disease Management Plan and a Team Care Arrangement, there may be a gap you are required to pay.

 

What is diabetes?

For our bodies to work, we need to convert glucose (sugar) from food into energy. People with diabetes can’t convert sugar to energy efficiently. This leads to high levels of sugar in the blood, called hyperglycaemia.

Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, controls our blood sugar levels. Diabetes occurs when your pancreas cannot produce enough insulin or your body becomes resistant to insulin.

There are different types of diabetes.

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Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease where the body's immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. People with  diabetes cannot produce insulin and require lifelong insulin replacement to survive. The disease can occur at any age, although it mostly occurs in children and young adults.

Type 2 diabetes is associated with hereditary factors and lifestyle risk factors. These include poor diet, not getting enough physical activity, and being overweight or obese. People with type 2 diabetes may be able to manage their condition through lifestyle changes. However, they may also need diabetes medications or insulin replacement to control blood sugar levels.