I arrived for my first of 3 days at the American Academy of Pain Management’s conference, signed in, and was given some paperwork. The very first thing that happened was that I received a papercut. We’ve all had a papercut before. We know that it is not dangerous unless we allow it to become infected. We know that it will heal well. We know that the cut is tiny. But we also know how much they hurt. And, we know that there is that moment when you are aware of the cut, don’t feel it yet, but know that it will start to sting in just another moment.

Pain is a quirky thing. Tiny damage, or even no damage, can cause big pain. Big damage can cause little or no pain. Pain in one area may be from an entirely different area of the body. The actual sensation and intensity of pain is usually forgotten over time. And one person’s 10 out of 10 for pain might be another’s 3 out of 10.

Even though pain is the most common reason for healthcare visits and 9 in 10 Americans regularly suffer from some sort of pain, only 1 in 4 individuals with treatable pain actually receive appropriate therapy!

Pain is quirky because it is really felt in the brain, not in the affected body part. Pain is a signal sent to the brain where it is interpreted into something that we feel. And, because the brain is complex our interpretation can vary widely with emotions, thoughts, past patterns, fatigue, adrenaline, fear, and more. In fact, fear of pain can be more disabling than the pain itself.

I knew this before attending this conference, but upon my return I was reminded with a personal lesson. On Thanksgiving Monday I spent the day with my husband and our dogs. I walked, ran, crouched, chased, and was chased. I mentioned to my husband that my knee felt really tight and restricted, but it did not limit my activities. It wasn’t until that evening that I finally happened to look at my knee. It was hugely swollen. “No wonder I couldn’t bend it properly,” I thought. And then a funny thing happened. I started to limp. I hadn’t limped 2 seconds before noticing the swelling. I told myself that I didn’t need to limp. I told myself that I was fine now because I was fine with it just a moment ago. And yet I still felt the need to limp as then I also started to feel a slight ache. Pain was not a bad thing as obviously there was some sort of injury, but this was a perfect reminder of how the mind affects the body.

Solutions

Don’t underestimate the power of your mind when it comes to pain. Listen to your pain, but try not to let it control you. Try things like meditation, breathing exercises, and laughter. Find out what exercises or activities you can do as exercise releases endorphins, your feel-good hormones. Finally, choose holistic therapies that consider the whole you: body, mind, spirit.

After the standard RICE (rest, icing, compression, and elevation), Traumeel tablets, topical arnica, and herbal anti-inflammatories—I don’t mess around!—I also added acupuncture, good sleep, and deep breathing exercises to address all aspects of my wellness. Now I’m able to jump for joy!

The conference was about pain, but one of the things negatively affected by pain is sleep, so this particular seminar was well attended. At least 60 million Americans are affected by insomnia with 2/3rd of chronic pain patients having sleep issues.

Why is sleep so important? Short sleepers (6 or less hours of sleep per night) are at a higher risk for:
-    viral infections
-    obesity
-    diabetes
-    depression
-    cardiovascular disease
-    chronic inflammation
-    and pain

In addition, REM sleep and dreaming are crucial for memory, learning, and emotional healing.

Solutions

To Avoid:

-    Caffeine has a half-life of 6-8 hours. That means that you will likely still have caffeine in your blood at bedtime if you have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning.  It may not be enough to keep you up at night, but the more you have and the later you consume it, the more likely it will disrupt your sleep.
-    Avoid eating large meals or smoking before bedtime.
-    Excessive alcohol, most antidepressants, and beta-blockers disrupt sleep and REM patterns
-    Sleeping pills also suppress REM sleep and have been found to only decrease the amount of time to fall asleep by about 15 minutes and to increase total sleeping time by only about 20 minutes. The reason why we feel as if we’ve slept better is that sleeping pills damage memory, so we simply forget that we didn’t sleep well.

To Do:

-    Keep your bedroom cool and dark. Our body temperature follows nature with the lowest temperature happening just before dawn. Disruption in body temperature is related to melatonin levels with the lowest body temperature being found with REM sleep. When we run too warm at night it causes problems with sleep.
-    Simulate dusk by dimming your lights about 2-3 hours before bedtime.
-    About 75% of people watch tv before bedtime. The light of the tv, combined with over stimulating dramas, reality television, news, and more prevent us from being able to wind down for sleep.
-    Try to reduce your “sleep noise”, i.e. worries, anxiety, etc., before bedtime with cognitive behavioural therapy, meditation, visualization, progressive relaxation. Bring to bed a different mind than you bring to the day.
-    End your “war” against insomnia. Surrendering can actually help you sleep better. Forgive nighttime wakefulness as some kinds of waking at night may actually be normal.
-    Many of us go to bed with thoughts of what we’ll be doing the next day, so we’re going to sleep with our intentions focused on waking up.
-    Establish regular sleep routines
-    Exercise early in the day and avoid exercising before bedtime as it may make you more alert.
-    Reserve the bedroom for sleep and sexual activity only; avoid watching tv, doing work, using a computer, or other stimulating activities in the bedroom.
-    If you cannot sleep and lie awake in bed for more than 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something else until you feel tired. Lying awake tends to increase sleep and worries about sleeping.

Acupuncture Increases Nocturnal Melatonin Secretion and Reduces Insomnia and Anxiety: A Preliminary Report

Effects of acupuncture therapy on insomnia