How to get rid of pain
NEARLY half of British adults suffer from chronic pain – that’s nearly 28 million people living with an ache that lasts more than three months.
Most see their GP about back pain, muscular and skeletal pain and headaches.
Dr Dawn Harper, star of TV’s Embarrassing Bodies, encounters patients in pain at literally every surgery.
She says: “We ask people to describe their pain as a burning pain, an aching pain, a sharp pain, because that helps us to differentiate what might be going on.
“Pain threshold is reduced when you’re sleep deprived, when you’re tense or when When you sprain a muscle, your brain knows it hurts and tells you not to use it.
If the pain is due to an injury from a particular exercise, then I advise rest.
But if you’ve injured your leg, for example, you can still do upper body work. And swimming is non-weightbearing.
People will often get muscle pain with something like flu.
But if you’ve got flu you wouldn’t even think about exercising.
It totally wipes you out – so rest, drink plenty and take simple painkillers. you’re down. Everybody’s experience of pain is very different.”
Eating and sleeping well, staying active and maintaining a healthy weight can help to stave off pain. But if you suffer, visiting your GP is a must, says Dr Dawn.
She adds: “They will want to know when it started, did something trigger it, can you describe the pain and whether it moves anywhere. Are there associated symptoms?”
Here Dr Dawn talks us through the most common types of pain and how to tackle
them. Tension headaches and migraines are the common pains. They can be related to posture and sitting in an awkward position. Eye strain can cause headaches – so think about getting them tested. Dehydration will give you a headache, particularly at this time of year, so stay well hydrated. Check the colour of your urine – it should be straw or champagne coloured. But headaches are often stress related. I get patients to write down all the things that stress them out.
It’s about identifying those triggers and working out the best way to deal with them.
We prescribe milder painkillers if we can as the stronger ones that contain opiates are addictive.
Over-the-counter painkillers are very effective, particularly paracetamol and ibuprofen, which also reduces any inflammation. This is a really common problem and I tend to treat it with simple painkillers in the first instance.
There are some prescription antiinflammatories specifically targeted at the uterus. They reduce blood flow which can help because monthly pains are associated with heavier periods.
A hot water bottle placed on the lower abdomen is also quite effective.
And we know that women who exercise tend to have less period pain. is a new overthe-counter medication that combines paracetamol and ibuprofen in a single tablet. £3.99 from Boots. Cream/Gel is a topical analgesic to target relief for rheumatic and muscular pain and inflammation. £4.62 for 40g or £7.36 for 80g from Boots Arthritic pain is common, particularly in knees, and excess weight will put more strain on your joints. Exercise becomes difficult if, for instance, you have a painful knee. But this is where swimming really comes into its own – the water takes all the strain off your joints while keeping them mobile. The most common arthritis we deal with is osteoarthritis, which can ease as people become more mobile throughout the day. We have pain management clinics where a specialist will take a detailed history of your condition and try a range of things. These include medication, vibration machines which distract the pain from the brain, pain relief injections under ultrasound guidance and psychological therapy. If we can’t stop chronic pain, we can teach people how to control it. Drinking three cups of coffee a day could be the secret to a longer life, says a study. Prof Elio Riboli, of Imperial College London, said: ”These findings add to growing evidence drinking coffee may have a protective health effect.” This may be to due to its antioxidants. Bigger men are more likely to die from prostate cancer, Oxford University research has revealed. Fitbits and other health trackers will be banned by Stroud High School, Glos, from September because staff fear they fuel obsession with body image by encouraging pupils to count calories.