Patient Resource | Neuromuscular Spine & Joint Center

Safe Use of Opiate Pain Medicine: Care Instructions

June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

Your Care Instructions

Pain is your body’s way of warning you that something is wrong. Pain feels different for everybody. Only you can describe your pain.

A doctor can suggest or prescribe many types of medicines for pain. These range from nonprescription medicines like acetaminophen (Tylenol) to powerful medicines called opiates.

Opiates work well to relieve pain. But they also can cause problems, especially if they are taken too often or in too large a dose. They can interact with other medicines, or they may make it hard for you to do your job or to think clearly. They can even cause death. For these reasons, doctors are very careful about how they prescribe opiates.

The doctor carefully considered what pain medicine is right for you. You may not have received opiate pain medicine if your doctor was concerned about drug interactions or your safety, or if he or she had other concerns.

It is best to have one doctor or clinic treat your pain. This way you will get the pain medicine that will help you the most, and a doctor will be able to watch for any problems that the medicine might cause.

The doctor has checked you carefully, but problems can develop later. If you notice any problems or new symptoms, get medical treatment right away.

Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor if you are having problems. It’s also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.

How can you care for yourself at home?

Try other ways to reduce pain:
- Relax, and reduce stress. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or meditation can help.
- Keep moving. Gentle, daily exercise can help reduce pain over the long run. Try low- or no-impact exercises such as walking, swimming, and stationary biking. Do stretches to stay flexible.
- Try heat, cold packs, and massage.
- Get enough sleep. Pain can make you tired and drain your energy. Talk with your doctor if you have trouble sleeping because of pain.
- Think positive. Your thoughts can affect your pain level. Do things that you enjoy to distract yourself when you have pain instead of focusing on the pain. See a movie, read a book, listen to music, or spend time with a friend.
If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine, take it as prescribed.
If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine.

When should you call for help?

Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:

You have a new kind of pain.
You have new symptoms, such as a fever or rash, along with the pain.

Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:

You think you might be using too much pain medicine, and you need help to use less or stop.
Your pain gets worse.
You would like a referral to a doctor or clinic that specializes in pain management.

Care instructions adapted under license by Neuromuscular Spine & Joint Center. This care instruction is for use with your licensed healthcare professional. If you have questions about a medical condition or this instruction, always ask your healthcare professional. Kopp Medical LLC, DBA Neurmomuscular Spine & Joint Center disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.

Pain Medicine: Care Instructions

June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

Pain can keep you from doing the things you want to do. Medicine may help you feel better. There are many kinds of pain medicine. One type you can buy over the counter is acetaminophen (Tylenol).

Other medicines help both pain and swelling. These are called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). They include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and naproxen (Aleve). All of these drugs can cause side effects. Take them just as the package label tells you to. The most common side effects are stomach upset, heartburn, and nausea. Taking these drugs with food may help.

If you take NSAIDs often, you could get stomach ulcers or kidney problems. This can also happen if you take them for a long time. NSAIDs rarely cause a bad allergic reaction.

Many pain medicines need to be prescribed by a doctor. Some of these drugs, called opiates, can be addicting. Examples are hydrocodone, morphine, fentanyl, and codeine. They often can be used safely if you are under a doctor’s care.

How can you care for yourself at home?

Be safe with medicines. If you take an over-the-counter pain medicine, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxen (Aleve), read and follow all instructions on the label.
Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 20. It has been linked to Reye syndrome, a serious illness.
Be careful when taking over-the-counter cold or flu medicines and Tylenol at the same time. Many of these medicines contain acetaminophen, which is Tylenol. Read the labels to make sure that you are not taking more than the recommended dose. Too much Tylenol can be harmful.
Do not take two or more pain medicines at the same time unless the doctor told you to.
Do not drink alcohol and take pain medicine at the same time.
If your pain pills make you constipated:
- Talk to your doctor about a laxative.
- Drink plenty of fluids, enough so that your urine is light yellow or clear like water. Drink water, fruit juice, or other drinks that do not contain caffeine or alcohol. If you have kidney, heart, or liver disease and have to limit fluids, talk with your doctor before you increase the amount of fluids you drink.
- Take fiber, such as Citrucel or Metamucil, daily if needed. Read and follow all instructions on the label. If you take pain medicine for more than a few days, talk to your doctor before you take fiber.

When should you call for help?

Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:

Your pain medicine is not easing your pain.
You have stomach pain, an upset stomach, or heartburn that lasts or comes back.
You can’t sleep because of the pain.

Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:

You do not get better as expected.

Learning About Healthy Weight

June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

What is a healthy weight?

A healthy weight is the weight at which you feel good about yourself and have energy for work and play. It’s also one that lowers your risk for health problems.

What can you do to stay at a healthy weight?

It can be hard to stay at a healthy weight, especially when fast food, vending-machine snacks, and processed foods are so easy to find. And with your busy lifestyle, activity may be low on your list of things to do. But staying at a healthy weight may be easier than you think.

Here are some dos and don’ts for staying at a healthy weight:

Do eat healthy foods

The kinds of foods you eat have a big impact on both your weight and your health. Reaching and staying at a healthy weight is not about going on a diet. It’s about making healthier food choices every day and changing your diet for good.

Healthy eating means eating a variety of foods so that you get all the nutrients you need. Your body needs protein, carbohydrate, and fats for energy. They keep your heart beating, your brain active, and your muscles working.

On most days, try to eat from each food group. This means eating a variety of:

Whole grains, such as whole wheat breads and pastas.
Fruits and vegetables.
Dairy products, such as low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.
Lean proteins, such as all types of fish, chicken without the skin, and beans.

Don’t have too much or too little of one thing. All foods, if eaten in moderation, can be part of healthy eating. Even sweets can be okay.

If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt, sugar, or calories, limit how often you eat them. Eat smaller servings, or look for healthy substitutes.

Do watch what you eat

Many people eat more than their bodies need. Part of staying at a healthy weight means learning how much food you really need from day to day and not eating more than that. Even with healthy foods, eating too much can make you gain weight.

Having a well-balanced diet means that you eat enough, but not too much, and that your food gives you the nutrients you need to stay healthy. So listen to your body. Eat when you’re hungry. Stop when you feel satisfied.

It’s a good idea to have healthy snacks ready for when you get hungry. Keep healthy snacks with you at work, in your car, and at home. If you have a healthy snack easily available, you’ll be less likely to pick a candy bar or bag of chips from a vending machine instead.

Some healthy snacks you might want to keep on hand are fruit, low-fat yogurt, string cheese, low-fat microwave popcorn, raisins and other dried fruit, nuts, whole wheat crackers, pretzels, carrots, celery sticks, and broccoli.

Do some physical activity

A big part of reaching and staying at a healthy weight is being active.

When you’re active, you burn calories. This makes it easier to reach and stay at a healthy weight. When you’re active on a regular basis, your body burns more calories, even when you’re at rest. Being active helps you lose fat and build lean muscle.

Try to be active for at least 1 hour every day. This may sound like a lot, but it’s okay to be active in smaller blocks of time that add up to 1 hour a day. Any activity that makes your heart beat faster and keeps it there for a while counts. A brisk walk, run, or swim will get your heart beating faster. So will climbing stairs, shooting baskets, or cycling. Even some household chores like vacuuming and mowing the lawn will get your heart rate up.

Pick activities that you enjoy ones that make your heart beat faster, your muscles stronger, and your muscles and joints more flexible. If you find more than one thing you like doing, do them all. You don’t have to do the same thing every day.

Don’t diet

Diets don’t work.

Diets are temporary. Because you give up so much when you diet, you may be hungry and think about food all the time. And after you stop dieting, you also may overeat to make up for what you missed. Most people who diet end up gaining back the pounds they lost and more.

Remember that healthy bodies come in lots of shapes and sizes. Everyone can get healthier by eating better and being more active.

Learning About Obesity

June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

What is obesity?

Obesity means having so much body fat that your health is in danger. Having too much body fat can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, sleep apnea, and stroke.

Even if you don’t feel bad now, think about these health risks. Do they seem like a good reason to start on a new path toward a healthier weight? Or do you have another personal, powerful reason for wanting to lose weight? Whatever it is, keep it in mind. It can be hard to change eating habits and exercise habits. But with your own reason and plan, you can do it.

How do you know if your weight is in the obesity range?

To know if your weight is in the obesity range, your doctor looks at your body mass index (BMI) and waist size.

Your BMI is a number that is calculated from your weight and your height. To figure your BMI for yourself, get a BMI table from your doctor or use an online tool, such as the Body Mass Index calculator on the National Institutes of Health website.

What causes obesity?

When you take in more calories than you burn off, you gain weight. How you eat, how active you are, and other things affect how your body uses calories and whether you gain weight.

If you have family members who have too much body fat, you may have inherited a tendency to gain weight. And your family also helps form your eating and lifestyle habits, which can lead to obesity.

Also, our busy lives make it harder to plan and cook healthy meals. For many of us, it’s easier to reach for prepared foods, go out to eat, or go to the drive-through. But these foods are often high in saturated fat and calories. Portions are often too large.

What can you do to reach a healthy weight?

Focus on health, not diets. Diets are hard to stay on and don’t work in the long run. It is very hard to stay with a diet that includes lots of big changes in your eating habits.

Instead of a diet, focus on lifestyle changes that will improve your health and achieve the right balance of energy and calories. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. You can do it by eating healthy foods in reasonable amounts and becoming more active, even a little bit every day. Making small changes over time can add up to a lot.

Make a plan for change. Many people have found that naming their reasons for change and staying focused on their plan can make a big difference. Work with your doctor to create a plan that is right for you.

Ask yourself: “What are my personal, most powerful reasons for wanting this change? What will my life look like when I’ve made the change?”
Set your long-term goal. Make it specific, such as “I will lose x pounds.”
Break your long-term goal into smaller, short-term goals. Make these small steps specific and within your reach, things you know you can do. These steps are what keep you going from day to day.

How can you stay on your plan for change?

Be ready. Choose to start during a time when there are few events that might trigger slip-ups, like holidays, social events, and high-stress periods.

Decide on your first few steps. Most people have more success when they make small changes, one step at a time. For example, you might switch a daily candy bar to a piece of fruit, walk 10 minutes more, or add more vegetables to a meal.

Line up your support people. Make sure you’re not going to be alone as you make this change. Connect with people who understand how important it is to you. Ask family members and friends for help in keeping with your plan. And think about who could make it harder for you, and how to handle them.

Try tracking. People who keep track of what they eat, feel, and do are better at losing weight. Try writing down things like:

What and how much you eat.
How you feel before and after each meal.
Details about each meal (like eating out or at home, eating alone, or with friends or family).
What you do to be active.

Look and plan. As you track, look for patterns that you may want to change. Take note of:

When you eat and whether you skip meals.
How often you eat out.
How many fruits and vegetables you eat.
When you eat beyond feeling full.
When and why you eat for reasons other than being hungry.

When you stray from your plan, don’t get upset. Figure out what made you slip up and how you can fix it.

Can you take medicines or have surgery to lose weight?

Before your doctor will prescribe medicines or surgery, he or she will probably want you to be more active and follow your healthy eating plan for a period of time. These habits are key lifelong changes for managing your weight, with or without other medical treatment. And these changes can help you avoid weight-related health problems.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Exercises

June 12, 2017 Leave a Comment

Here are some examples of typical rehabilitation exercises for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Start each exercise slowly. Ease off the exercise if you start to have pain.

Your doctor or your physical or occupational therapist will tell you when you can start these exercises and which ones will work best for you.

How to do the exercises

Note: When you no longer have pain or numbness, you can do exercises to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome from coming back. Do not do any stretch or movement that is uncomfortable or painful.

Warm-up stretches

Rotate your wrist up, down, and from side to side. Repeat 4 times.
Stretch your fingers far apart. Relax them, and then stretch them again. Repeat 4 times.
Stretch your thumb by pulling it back gently, holding it, and then releasing it. Repeat 4 times.

Prayer stretch

Start with your palms together in front of your chest just below your chin.
Slowly lower your hands toward your waistline, keeping your hands close to your stomach and your palms together until you feel a mild to moderate stretch under your forearms.
Hold for at least 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 2 to 4 times.

Wrist flexor stretch

Extend your arm in front of you with your palm up.
Bend your wrist, pointing your hand toward the floor.
With your other hand, gently bend your wrist farther until you feel a mild to moderate stretch in your forearm.
Hold for at least 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 2 to 4 times.

Wrist extensor stretch

Repeat steps 1 through 4 of the stretch above, but begin with your extended hand palm down.