PILL FREE PAIN CURES

Alternative or Complementary Ways to Control Pain
There are many ways to help manage pain. Medicine is one way, but other methods can be used along with medicine. Sometimes these other approaches may be used without medicine to control pain. Many can be used any place or any time. Some do not cost anything.

Acupuncture. Acupuncture has been proven to help treat pain, both chronic and acute. It appears to stimulate the release of chemicals that the body makes naturally for pain relief.

Art and Music Therapies. Sometimes art and music therapy can help control pain. Using art materials or music, you may:

Learn more about your feelings.
Find it easier to express your feelings.
Feel better about yourself.
Develop healthier ways to cope with problems.
Find distraction from the pain.
Biofeedback. Biofeedback equipment can help you learn to control some body functions such as heart rate and muscle tension. It can help with tension and anxiety.

Chiropractic. Chiropractic may ease pain in the back, neck, or joints. Sometimes it helps relieve the pain of headaches, muscle spasms, and inflamed nerves. Treatments should involve slow, gentle movements of the head, neck, and spine. Adjustments that are too rapid can cause injury.

Orthopedic Devices. Several devices are available that may improve function and relieve pain. Examples of such devices are wraps, pressure stockings, splints, and neck collars.

Distraction. Focusing on something else can be a powerful way to temporarily relieve even the most intense pain. Try focusing on music, hobbies, social activities, TV, or talking to family or friends. This can work well while you are waiting for pain medicines to take effect. Listening to music during painful procedures can be helpful.

Herbs and Supplements. Some herbs and supplements may help reduce pain. Yerba mate tea has been found to decrease pain during chemotherapy. Valerian may reduce pain and promote rest and sleep. Feverfew might help prevent migraine headaches. Zinc and vitamin C may help wounds heal faster. Herbs can interact with other medicines you may be taking. Talk with your provider or pharmacist before you use herbs and supplements to manage your pain.

Hypnosis. Hypnosis puts you in a state of deep relaxation. While you are hypnotized, the hypnotist can suggest different ways to experience the pain. You can also get audio tapes for self-hypnosis to use at home. These may be more helpful after you have experienced hypnosis by a trained therapist. The therapist can suggest ways to use self-hypnosis at home.

Massage Therapy. Massage increases blood circulation and relieves tension. Massages can be given by a trained massage therapist or a caregiver. You can buy devices to add vibration or heat to a massage.

Nutrition. Foods can affect pain. Some foods may make headaches, joint pains, or digestive pains worse. It may help to keep a diary of the food you eat and your pain symptoms. The diary can help you see if some foods affect your pattern of pain.

Relaxation. Relaxation reduces tension in the muscles. This helps keep pain from getting worse. Relaxation can give you more energy and make you less tired. It may reduce anxiety and allow other pain relief methods to work better. You may be able to fall asleep more easily. Examples of relaxation methods are deep breathing and progressive relaxation. Progressive relaxation involves tensing and relaxing different muscle groups. Yoga and meditation are other ways to relax.

Therapeutic Exercise. Range-of-motion exercises can improve function and lessen pain. Another kind of exercise is water therapy (hydrotherapy), using swimming pools, hot tubs, or whirlpools. Physical exercise programs such as qi gong or tai chi can also help control pain. Your healthcare provider or a physical therapist can prescribe an exercise program.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). TENS may relieve pain by sending small electrical impulses to your nerves through electrodes placed on the skin. The electrical impulses block pain.

Visualization. You can try seeing an image of the pain and then changing the image. For example, you might imagine the pain as a red-hot fire. You may then imagine the pain lessening as water puts out the fire. You can get audio tapes to learn this technique. Therapists can also help you learn this skill.

Many unproven remedies come from people who share misinformation and personal experiences with others. Products and devices can be useful for some purposes but worthless for others. Some remedies can be dangerous. Examples are coffee enemas for cancer, motor oil for arthritis, and iron supplements for energy. Always talk with your healthcare provider before taking any kind of supplements, changing your diet, or buying devices that might do more harm than good.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BACK PAIN

A herniated disc usually is caused by wear and tear of the disc (also called disc degeneration). As we age, our vertebral discs lose some of the fluid that helps them maintain flexibility. A herniated disc also may result from injuries to the spine, which may cause tiny tears or cracks in the outer layer (annulus or capsule) of the disc. The jellylike material inside the disc (nucleus) may be forced out through the tears or cracks in the capsule, which causes the disc to bulge, break open (rupture), or break into fragments.




Injury to the disc can occur from:

A sudden heavy strain or increased pressure to the lower back. Sometimes a sudden twisting movement or even a sneeze will force some of the nucleus (the material inside the disc) out through the disc's outer layer (annulus or capsule).
Activities that are done over and over again that may stress the lower back, including poor lifting habits, prolonged exposure to vibration, or sports-related injuries.

The goals of treatment for a herniated disc are to:


Relieve pain, weakness, or numbness in the leg and lower back caused by pressure on a spinal nerve root or the spinal cord. Promote a return to normal work, recreation, and other activities. Prevent reinjury to your back and reduce the risk of disability from back pain. Because inflammation usually fades over time, about 50% of people with a herniated disc in the low back recover within 1 month; after 6 months, most recover.1 Only 10% of people with herniated disc problems that cause noticeable symptoms have enough pain after 6 weeks to consider surgery.2 Often a herniated disc heals on its own as the jellylike material (nucleus) inside the disc is broken down and absorbed by the body, a process called resorption. For this reason, nonsurgical treatment is typically recommended before surgery is considered.

Nonsurgical treatment

Nonsurgical treatment is intended to help you return to your daily activities and usually includes:

Education. Learn how to take care of your back, which may include training in pain and symptom control. Your health professional may recommend physical therapy. A physical therapist can provide treatment with physical or mechanical means—such as through exercise or heat—and teach you exercises to do at home to strengthen the muscles that support your lower back.

Rest. Your health professional may recommend a short period of rest or reduced activity followed by a gradual increase in activity.

Pain relief. Some people can deal with pain without medicine if they know there is a good chance it will go away on its own. However, you can use medicine to control pain and inflammation. Pain medicines include:

Nonprescription and prescription pain relievers, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Muscle relaxants.
Oral or injected corticosteroids.
Opioids.
Drugs known as hypnotics, which are strong sleep aids.
Tricyclic antidepressants.

Exercise. Keep active and use exercises, as recommended by your health professional or physical therapist, to help you return to your usual level of activity. Core stabilization exercises can help you strengthen the muscles of your trunk to protect your back.Core stabilization

SurgerySurgery is eventually considered for about 10% of people who have a herniated disc.1 Surgery can be a good choice for people who have nerve damage that is getting worse, or severe weakness or numbness, or if pain is not improved after 4 to 8 weeks of nonsurgical treatment.4 The most common and effective surgery for herniated disc is discectomy, in which disc material is removed through an incision. Discectomy is done mostly to relieve pain and other symptoms in the leg. It is not done if the herniated disc only causes back pain.

Should I have surgery for a herniated disc?

Many people are able to resume work and daily activities soon after surgery. In some cases, your health professional may recommend a rehabilitation program after surgery, which might include physical therapy and home exercises.

What To Think About
Pain management counseling can help you develop mental skills for coping with and reducing chronic pain.

Teens and young adults rarely develop herniated discs, but when they do, nonsurgical treatment based on rehabilitation and anti-inflammatory medicines usually helps to relieve symptoms

MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS A CHALLENGE FOR TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

His liver, ravaged by hepatitis C, is failing. Without a new one, his doctors tell him, he will be dead in days.

But Tim Garon's been refused a spot on the transplant list, largely because he has used marijuana, even though it was legally approved for medical reasons.

"I'm not angry, I'm not mad, I'm just confused," said Garon, lying in his hospital bed a few minutes after a doctor told him the hospital transplant committee's decision Thursday.

With the scarcity of donated organs, transplant committees like the one at the University of Washington Medical Center use tough standards, including whether the candidate has other serious health problems or is likely to drink or do drugs.

And with cases like Garon's, they also have to consider -- as a dozen states now have medical marijuana laws -- if using dope with a doctor's blessing should be held against a dying patient in need of a transplant.

Most transplant centers struggle with the how to deal with people who have used marijuana, said Dr. Robert Sade, director of the Institute of Human Values in Health Care at the Medical University of South Carolina.

"Marijuana, unlike alcohol, has no direct effect on the liver. It is however a concern ... in that it's a potential indicator of an addictive personality," Sade said.

The Virginia-based United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the nation's transplant system, leaves it to individual hospitals to develop criteria for transplant candidates.

At some, people who use "illicit substances" -- including medical marijuana, even in states that allow it -- are automatically rejected. At others, such as the UCLA Medical Center, patients are given a chance to reapply if they stay clean for six months. Marijuana is illegal under federal law.

Garon believes he got hepatitis by sharing needles with "speed freaks" as a teenager. In recent years, he said, pot has been the only drug he's used. In December, he was arrested for growing marijuana.

Garon, who has been hospitalized or in hospice care for two months straight, said he turned to the university hospital after Seattle's Harborview Medical Center told him he needed six months of abstinence.

The university also denied him, but said it would reconsider if he enrolled in a 60-day drug-treatment program. This week, at the urging of Garon's lawyer, the university's transplant team reconsidered anyway, but it stuck to its decision.

Dr. Brad Roter, the Seattle physician who authorized Garon's pot use for nausea, abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite, said he did not know it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant.

That's typically the case, said Peggy Stewart, a clinical social worker on the liver transplant team at UCLA who has researched the issue. "There needs to be some kind of national eligibility criteria," she said.

The patients "are trusting their physician to do the right thing. The physician prescribes marijuana, they take the marijuana, and they are shocked that this is now the end result," she said.

No one tracks how many patients are denied transplants over medical marijuana use.

Pro-marijuana groups have cited a handful of cases, including at least two patient deaths, in Oregon and California, since the mid-to-late 1990s, when states began adopting medical marijuana laws.

Many doctors agree that using marijuana -- smoking it, especially -- is out of the question post-transplant.

The drugs patients take to help their bodies accept a new organ increase the risk of aspergillosis, a frequently fatal infection caused by a common mold found in marijuana and tobacco.

But there's little information on whether using marijuana is a problem before the transplant, said Dr. Emily Blumberg, an infectious disease specialist who works with transplant patients at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.

Further complicating matters, Blumberg said, is that some insurers require proof of abstinence, such as drug tests, before they'll agree to pay for transplants.

Dr. Jorge Reyes, a liver transplant surgeon at the UW Medical Center, said that while medical marijuana use isn't in itself a sign of substance abuse, it must be evaluated in the context of each patient.

"The concern is that patients who have been using it will not be able to stop," Reyes said.

Dale Gieringer, state coordinator for the California chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, scoffed at that notion.

"Everyone agrees that marijuana is the least habit-forming of all the recreational drugs, including alcohol," Gieringer said. "And unlike a lot of prescription medications, it's nontoxic to the liver."

Reyes and other UW officials declined to discuss Garon's case.

But Reyes said that in addition to medical concerns, transplant committees -- which often include surgeons, social workers, and nutritionists -- must evaluate whether patients have the support and psychiatric health to cope with a complex post-operative regimen for the rest of their lives.

Garon, the lead singer for Nearly Dan, a Steely Dan cover-band, remains charged with manufacturing weed. He insists he was following the state law, which limits patients to a "60-day supply" but doesn't define that amount.

"He's just a fantastic musician, and he's a great guy," said his girlfriend, Leisa Bueno. "I wish there was something we could do legally. ... I'm going to miss him terribly if he passes."

DRINKING WATER WON'T MAKE YOU ANY MORE HEALTHY

The myth that drinking lots of water to flood yourself with good health is just not true, researchers said on Wednesday.

Dr. Stanley Goldfarb and Dr. Dan Negoianu of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia reviewed the scientific literature on the health effects of drinking lots of water.

People in hot, dry climates and athletes have an increased need for water, and people with certain diseases do better with increased fluid intake, they found. But for average healthy people, more water does notlead to better health, they said.

Their scientific review, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, is the latest to undercut the recommendations advanced by some experts to drink eight glasses of 8 ounces of water a day.


"The four major myths" regarding claims of a benefit for extra water drinking: that it leads to more toxin excretion, improves skin tone, makes one less hungry and reduces headache frequency.

"Our bottom line was that there was no real good science or much science at all behind these claims, that they represent probably folklore," Goldfarb said.

As far as facilitating toxin excretion, Goldfarb said that was not verified by any sort of scientific study.

"The kidneys clear toxins. This is what the kidneys do. They do it very effectively. And they do it independently of how much water you take in. When you take in a lot of water, all you do is put out more urine but not more toxins in the urine," Goldfarb said.

No studies showed any benefit to skin tone as a result of increased water intake, they found. They also found evidence lacking that drinking water wards off headaches.

As far as lots of water serving to limit appetite, he said there was no consistent evidence, adding it was "a little unclear exactly whether that was true."

"What no one looked at is whether anyone really loses weight over the long haul if they go under this regimen of drinking lots of water," Goldfarb said. "We just expressed uncertainty in that area."

While it may not help a person to drink lots of water, it may not harm them much either, Goldfarb said.

"If someone enjoys it, I say that's wonderful, keep doing it. They're not doing anything that's going to hurt them."

"A little mild dehydration for the most part is OK, and a little mild water excess for the most part is OK. It's the extremes that one needs to avoid," he said.

GENETICS LINKED TO SMOKING AND WHO WILL GET LUNG CANCER

Are you hooked on cigarettes,? Well you can thank your genetics and your genetics can and will make you more prone to develop lung cancer. This is a finding that could someday lead to screening tests and customized treatments for smokers trying to kick the habit.

The genetic discovery by three separate teams of scientists makes the strongest case so far for the biological underpinnings of nicotine addiction and sheds more light on how genetics and lifestyle habits join forces to cause cancer.

"This is kind of a double whammy gene," said Christopher Amos, a professor of epidemiology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and author of one of the studies. "It also makes you more likely to be dependent on smoking and less likely to quit smoking."

A smoker who inherits these genetic variations from both parents has an 80 percent greater chance of lung cancer than a smoker without the variants, the researchers reported. And that same smoker on average lights up two extra cigarettes a day and has a much harder time quitting than smokers who don't have these genetic differences.

The researchers disagreed on whether the variants directly increased the risk of lung cancer or did so indirectly, by causing more smoking.

The three studies, funded by governments in the U.S. and Europe, are being published Thursday in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics.

The scientists studied the genes of more than 35,000 white people of European descent in Europe, Canada and the United States. Blacks and Asians will be studied soon and may yield different results, scientists said.

They aren't quite sure if what they found is a set of variations in one gene or in three closely connected genes.

The gene variations, which govern nicotine receptors on cells, could eventually help explain some of the mysteries of chain smoking, nicotine addiction and lung cancer. These oddities include why there are 90-year-old smokers who don't get cancer and people who light up an occasional cigarette and don't get hooked.

The new studies are surprising in that they point to areas of the genetic code that are not associated with pleasure and the rewards of addiction.

That may help explain why some people can quit and others fail, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse in Bethesda, Md., which funded one of the studies.

"It opens our eyes," Volkow said Wednesday. "Not everyone takes drugs for the same reason. Not everyone smokes cigarettes for the same reasons."

One clue is in the location of the just-discovered variants, on the long arm of chromosome 15, Volkow said. It is in an area that, when damaged during tests on animals, makes them depressed and anxious. While some people smoke because it helps them focus or gives them a physiological reward, others do it to stave off depression.

That suggests that adding antidepressants to some smokers' treatment could help them kick the habit.

Bierut said a simple, inexpensive test could be developed to screen people for the variants. Kari Stefansson, lead author of the largest of the three studies, agreed. He is chief executive of deCode Genetics of Iceland, which already does prostate cancer genetic tests.

Such testing could carry risks all its own, bioethicist Arthur Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania warned. People who have been found to have a genetic predisposition to addiction and lung cancer could find it harder to get health or life insurance, or their employer might drop their coverage, he said.

"The good news is that getting these risk estimates will help focus anti-smoking campaigns, and some people will want to voluntarily get into anti-addiction programs early, where they will probably work better," Caplan said in an e-mail. But if such testing is done, it should be voluntary, and the results should be kept private, he said.

Smoking-related diseases worldwide kill about one in 10 adults, according to the World Health Organization.

Among the findings:

• Smokers who get the set of variants from only one parent see a risk of lung cancer that is about one-third higher than that of people without the variants. They also smoke about one more cigarette a day on average than other smokers. This group makes up about 45 percent of the population studied.

• Smokers who inherit the variants from both parents have nearly a 1-in-4 chance of developing lung cancer. Their cancer risk is 70 to 80 percent higher than that of smokers without the genetic variants. They smoke on average two extra cigarettes a day. This group accounts for about one in nine people of European descent.

• Smokers who don't have the variants are still more than 10 times more likely to get lung cancer than nonsmokers. Smokers without the variant have about a 14 percent risk of getting lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer for people who have never smoked is less than 1 percent, nicotine receptors that the variants act on also can stimulate tumor growth.

But Stefansson said the increased lung cancer risk was indirect — the variants led to more smoking, which led to more cancer.