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PART 12: STAYING PAIN-FREE DURING COVID-19: BACK PAIN
Back pain. Most of us get it. I just hope you don’t get it during the viral pandemic. It is harder and harder to get treatment for back pain any time, virus or no. There just aren’t enough docs out there to take care of the huge number of patients who suffer from this pain. When I think of back pain, I divide it into a few groupings, and I’ll try to break it down and keep it simple. There is acute back trauma. I’m not covering that in this series. If you injure your back in a car accident, you’ll be directed to the ER by the EMS experts…
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PART 11: STAYING PAIN-FREE DURING COVID-19 – DON’T LET THE SUN SET ON THESE PAINFUL CONDITIONS
This series presents a great opportunity to talk about stopping pain before it gets ramped up…before the sun sets. There are some conditions which if addressed on the first day you feel pain, a lot of misery might be avoided. They would simply be a forgotten whisper of discomfort, rather than the scourge they become. I’m not talking about trauma. When a bone is protruding from the skin, and blood squirting about, it is necessary to do something on day one. I’m talking about repetitive strain disorders, the result of cumulative, minor insults to our bodies, which we often ignore, thinking the pain will go away on its own. They…
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PART 10: STAYING PAIN-FREE DURING COVID-19 – TELEMEDICINE
Since the outset of Covid-19, many patients have been opting or encouraged to use telemedicine for visits with their physicians, and I saw this as a good option then, but also going forward. I always thought telemedicine would be ideal for rural as well as disabled patients, and frankly, for patients who have no access to medical care…even in other countries. Medicare was not willing to pay for doctors to do telemedicine…until Covid-19. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Many of us are slowly getting the hang of telemedicine, but many (docs as well as patients) still struggle with it, and we should continue to take steps to improve…
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PART 9: STAYING PAIN-FREE DURING COVID-19 – EMERGENCIES
Over the past couple of months, it has been recommended that we stay away from emergency rooms and doctors’ offices, as well as other public places as much as possible. Restaurants and stores are easier to avoid, and other than the devastating financial repercussions of avoiding them, there is no physical downside to it…unless it’s driving you stir crazy! But there is a potential danger in avoiding necessary medical treatment, and we’re starting to see statistics regarding deaths which are attributable to the quarantine, and the fact that we’re reluctant to see our doctors or go to the ER. We continue to have conditions which must be evaluated by a…
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PART 8: STAYING PAIN-FREE DURING COVID-19 – HIPS
Behind knees and shoulders, hips are one of the most troublesome parts of our bodies…particularly us gals. And it goes double during Covid-19, so listen up! I divide hip pain into 3 areas: the buttock, the side of the hip and the groin area. Most commonly, buttock pain is related to the back (sciatica), or strain to the muscles of the buttock. Lateral hip pain, or pain along that bump on the outside of the hip, is usually related to the bursa. The groin is where your hip actually lives, so pain in the groin can be due to arthritis, or other conditions of the hip and surrounding structures. Here’s…
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PART 7: STAYING PAIN-FREE DURING COVID-19 – SHOULDERS
A lot of folks have been waiting on this one. There is a bunch of shoulder pain out there, and with just a few modifications, much of it can be alleviated…but not all! And again, there was R.I.C.E., all of which works pretty well for shoulders too, except that it’s a little hard to elevate your shoulder, since it’s already on top. Go on-line and get one of those strap-on ice packs. They’re particularly useful for the shoulder, because it’s hard to prop an ice pack there and make it stay. I also linked a cheap one, which looks like it would work for other parts of the body too.…
