Dealing with Pain is a Pain! After seeing patients with pain for a long time now, something never fails to fascinate me: How long people wait to deal with the problem at hand. What is it that makes people wait so long? One fellow named Don waited 15 years before he came in to deal with the fact that he had intense pain in his feet. He had to retire from truck driving due to the fact that his feet hurt him so badly. Worse yet, they were very numb, so he could not feel the gas and brake pedals very well. He was taking Neurontin and narcotics to help with the pain. He had not had a good night’s sleep in at least 5 years—wow! If that were me, I would be searching the far corners of the earth to find relief; I would be searching my index files and my computer, and calling everyone I could think of to try and get some relief! Yet here was Don, a straightforward, honest, and hardworking guy, who is an upstanding citizen resigning himself to a lifetime of suffering and early retirement. What’s up with that? Well, in Don’s case, he was a country boy from Oakland who just did not venture very far. He drove county trucks locally and liked to stay close to home. He saw a few local doctors and figured that was all there was available. Medicine was what he knew and what he tried, but with no relief. We were able to discover that his problems were due to peripheral neuropathy, and with Anodyne Light Therapy he was able to get rid of his pain and numbness. Others have told me stories of fear: fear of surgery, fear of needles, a bad heart and thus not a candidate for surgery, so what is there to do? So they just give up. Just today I stopped into Sheetz on Greene Street to get some milk; a nice lady who was working the register spotted my TriState Hand Therapy shirt and asked, “Does that thing you have really work for carpal tunnel? Because I’m a real chicken and don’t want surgery.” She was referring to the Dynasplint Carpal Tunnel System, a non-surgical treatment for getting rid of carpal tunnel. I told her that yes, in my 20 years of being a therapist, it is the first thing I’ve found that really works to get rid of carpal tunnel. The point is, she said she was “too chicken for surgery;” she was afraid because she thought that surgery was the only thing that could help her, and she knew there were risks associated. It really does not matter if it’s pain in your feet, hands, neck and shoulders, back, or elbow; you still need to consider the same decisions if you want to take action and deal with your problem. First, you need to take responsibility and get to a place where you realize that this is your problem and no one else is in charge of you except you. Then, take control of the situation. Talk to your doctor or trusted health professional and discover what your options are. It is a discovery process to find out where the problem is really coming from and what you can do. Our motto is “Try Therapy First.” It is not an empty slogan. We know we have developed some great treatments that really work to get rid of the numbness in your feet, pain from carpal tunnel, osteoporosis spinal problems, neck and back pain, shoulder and elbow pain… and the list just goes on and on. Go to our website at www.tristatehand.com and check out the new technology and great programs that we have developed to help you handle your pain and problems. At TriState Hand & Occupational Therapy, you get one-on-one attention and never have to wait for more than 5 minutes in our waiting room. Call (301) 759-4263 and schedule a free consult, or talk to your doctor and get an order to see us about your problem. Don’t live in fear or pain any longer. We have painless treatments that can really help. Call us today! Tips for Dealing With Pain • Make up your mind that this is your problem and no one else will ever be as interested as you • Keep a log book or diary of when it hurts, gets numb, which activities aggravate it, whether it’s worse at a particular time of day, etc. • Get a list of medical treatments that you have already tried, such as: medications, ice, heat, yoga, non-prescription drugs, herbal remedies, etc., and what helps you control your pain • Find a medical practitioner you can trust. Find out what your options are, such as different types of therapy, medicines, injections, or surgery, and decide which is best for you. Don’t be forced into anything, and take responsibility for your decisions • Find out if there is a local support group for your problem |
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