The Captains Lady

Chronic Pain & Headache

Pain is often misunderstood. It can be hard to remedy pain when we aren't familiar with how pain works. For most of us, pain is pain. We know how it feels. We just want to be rid of it.

To get rid of stubborn pain, we first need to be aware of where it is coming from. This isn't as simple as you might think. Pain in your head may not be coming from inside your head, at all, even though it feels that way. Pain in your gut may actually be uncomfortable emotions, and pain radiating down your leg may be caused by a pinched nerve in your lower back.

Although the information below primarily provides information regarding head, neck, and shoulder pain, it also applies to pain occurring in any and every part of your body.

Symptoms of Chronic Pain

An aching, stabbing, sticking, pulling, shooting, burning, throbbing, aching, or stinging sensation that lasts for more than a day or two (or keeps returning) and is not relieved, or at least not for very long, by ordinary methods, such as pain relievers, ice, heat, or rest.

Other symptoms of chronic pain may include blurry vision (usually in one eye), lightheadedness, dizziness and equilibrium problems, nausea, tension, cluster, or migraine headache, sleep disturbances, lack of confidence and poor self-worth, which can lead to depression.

Common Causes of Chronic Pain

Fibromyalgia, ME, FS, Arthritis (or arthritic type disorders), Toxins including salicylates and oxylates found in foods and products), Emotional Stress (repressed, suppressed or ongoing negative emotions) leading to Hypoxia (low oxygen, specifically in muscles) Anxiety, Depression, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Systemic Illness, Skeletal/Muscular Abnormalities or Injuries, Spinal Cord (myelopathy) or Nerve Root Compression (stenosis), Poor Posture, Smoking, Low Pressure Pain Threshold, Poor Self-Accessed Health (meaning you feel you have poor health even though you may not, which causes stress), being over-weight (including Normal Weight Obesity), Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (previously known as RSD: Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy), high levels of Substance P, Migraine/Tension Headache, Sciatica, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Diabetes (diabetic neuropathy), TMJ (temporomandibular disorder), Pelvic Pain, Cancer pain, Facial/Sinus pain and Chronic Dehydration. 

All of these can cause physiological changes in nerve, muscle and joint tissue that cause Tension Mysositis Syndrome and/or Myofascial Pain Syndrome. If you have recurring pain, please, don't miss reading up on TMS and MPS!

Understanding Chronic Pain

Pain is the body’s way of telling us there is something wrong. It is a plea for us to sit up and take notice. There is something out of kilter that needs to be dealt with, either emotionally or physically. If we did not have pain, we would not know what to avoid and we would constantly be hurting ourselves.

Most of us have experienced the stiff pain of a pulled muscle, the sting of a scorched fingertip, or the throb of an occasional headache, and survived. It is all-together a different matter to live with chronic pain, which can be disabling.

When afflicted with seemingly endless pain, fear often becomes a component. Not knowing how to control pain, or knowing when it will end, can raise ones level of fear and apprehension, which, in turn, can cause a tremendous amount of stress, which generates more pain. In fact, fear may also be what caused the pain in the first place. For most of us pain is scary, to say the least.

In order to understand how pain operates in the body, you must be willing to delve into your feelings that are causing it or making it worse. Most of us try to avoid pain at all costs, but in actuality, it is fear we must face.

Pain can be completely emotionally oriented. Even when pain is from a physical cause it is easy to experience a wide range of negative emotions, such as fear, anger, hopelessness because of it, which in turn can create more pain.

Pain can create a situation of isolation for the person experiencing it, either out of depression or of not being able to get around easily. Isolation further leads to negative emotions and, often, low self-esteem, which increases pain levels once more.

In relationships, pain can hinder communication, putting a strain on normal communication, as well sexual intimacy, due to fear of discomfort. If a partner is not compassionate or understanding, this leads to more stress. It is not always easy to voice pain concerns and fears to a partner.

Furthermore, chronic pain causes stress hormones to be produced at higher levels in the body. This creates a disturbance that actually weakens your immune system and furthers the chances of experiencing even more pain. Normally, the brain diverts symptoms of pain so that we can get on with our lives. When the pain 'shut off' mechanism is faulty symptoms of pain are more pronounced. Subsequently, the cycle of stress, and subsequent pain, can become a vicious cycle.

How Does Pain Work In the Body?

Describing the pain cycle could get extremely technical, involving words like axons, dendrites, synapses, neurotransmitters, A-Delta neurons and C sensory neurons, but I think it is enough just to understand the simple basics of how pain is transmitted in the body.

Let's say you get your finger burned. The pain impulse (the electrical signal from the nerves involved) rushes right through the nerve's cell body and heads for the spinal cord. Why the spinal cord? The spinal cord is the highway that electrical impulses use to communicate to and from the brain about what hurts, where and how much.

Messages about your pain experience will jump from cell to cell to and up your spine relaying information to your brain. Your brain receives its message and relays the information to your thalamus, a part of the brain which has regions assigned to different sensory systems. A message is sent from one or more of these regions back to your finger about your burn, whether it stings just a little or a whole lot!

Whenever you experience any kind of pain, this relay race is taking place. Emotions can lead to dysfunction of the immune system, which is why when we are sad we often catch a cold. Emotions affect the hypothalumus, a part of the brain closely associated with the amygdala, which is responsible for the fight or flight response. It can instantaneously direct blood to and from areas of the body at will, causing back pain, cold hands, nerve dysfunction and tension headaches.

How Is the Cause of Chronic Pain Diagnosed?

Fractures, infections, cancer, severe disk damage, arthritis, stenosis, dehydration, tumors and herniation are diagnosed through imaging with MRI, X-Ray, CT Scans and lab tests, as well as through verbal description and gauging pain levels. Doctors can then determine whether your pain is chronic or acute.

Who is More Likely to Suffer From Chronic Pain?

Those who have accumulated a high degree of tension caused from life events that lead to negative emotions, such a rage, anger, sadness, anxiety.

Those who have a poor stress response to stresses and strains of every day life.

Those who were abused or suffered terrible experiences in childhood.

Those whose personality traits demand to much from themselves, such as highly sensitive, perfectionistic, self-sacrificing or people pleasing personalities (avoiding conflict plays a role here). These pressures are self-imposed.

Any of these can cause a sea of negative emotions, especially of fear and rage. Fear of being overwhelmed, the brain then creates a distraction by reducing blood flow to certain body parts, which causes pain. This is usually the cause of pain in individuals that have been told they have no anatomical reason for their pain. Lack of oxygen and increased toxins result in muscle pain and tension, even spasm.

Those who are physically unfit from living a sedentary lifestyle. When muscles are out of shape they cannot support the frame of the body. This causes stress and pain.

Pain that has no diagnosed physical cause is termed 'psychogenic' and it can, indeed, make one feel like one are crazy, even though one is not.

Pain Triggers

Being over 'fat'.

Being a couch potato.

Eating an unbalanced diet.

Not sleeping regular hours, or not enough.

Stress and/or sweeping stress 'under the rug'.

Leaning over a key board for hours.

Staying up too late at night.

Migraine Headaches

Hypoglycemia, Stress, Tension, High Blood Pressure, Food Allergies, Misalignment of the Spine, as well as regular use of Tylonol and other NSAIDS (pain-relieving drugs). Myofascial pian, deferred pain from another part of the body (neck, shoulders or back), can be experienced as headache pain, even a migraine. 

Avoid These Pain Causing Trigger Foods

Lactose in Milk, eggs, Peanuts, Gluten (found in Wheat), Walnuts and Cashews, Fish, Shellfish, Soybeans, Chocolate, Aged Cheese (Blue Cheese, Cheddar, etc.), Red Wine, High Fructose Corn Syrup (in almost all prepared foods), Hot Dogs, Bologna, Pepperoni, Salami, Summer Sausage, Chicken Livers, Tea, Cola & Coffee (more than two cups of any), Figs, Raisins, Papaya, Dried beans, Avocados, Red Plums, Herring, anything pickled or marinated, Sourdough breads or crackers, and more than a half cup per day of citrus fruit or sour cream, and more than half a banana per day. 

Remove each of these foods for a period of two weeks. You can go cold turkey or try removing them one at a time. Then, begin adding them back into your diet one at a time and watch for symptoms. You may not experience the symptom for a day or two. It can take up to 48-72 hours for a sensitive reaction. For example, when allergic to chocolate, many people say they get a headache the next day. A rapid heart rate can be the symptom of a food reaction. Check your heart rate within 10 minutes of eating a suspect food.

Neck/Shoulder Aches

A neckache is felt at the base of the neck, behind the eye sockets and in the shoulder muscles. It may be caused by poor posture, long periods of sitting, chronic stress (especially emotional) and past trauma. Physical therapy, dealing with emotions through journaling (see Tension Myositis Syndrome above), Trigger Point Therapy (see Myofascial Pain Syndrome above) counseling and acupuncture can help.

True headache pain is in the temple or forehead. It may be caused by changes in hormones, diet or dehydration. It may also be caused by tight muscles in the neck, back and/or shoulders. 

The pain in your head or neck may also be coming from your back or shoulders. To test this theory, feel along the ridge of your shoulder muscle from your neck to your shoulder. Are there any tight, painful spots? How about along side your spine about mid-back? Yes? There's your neckache.

When the neck, back or shoulders are the cause of the pain in your head it is actually referred pain, which means pain signals are being sent somewhere else. It's a kind of a distraction. Getting more sleep, reducing mental stress (through meditation or hypnosis) and using Trigger Point Therapy will usually help eliminate your pain.

Supplement Remedies for Headaches

The herb, Feverfew, is supposed to work well for Migraines. So is the vitamin Riboflavin (400 mg per day). Ask your doctor first.

Avoid trigger foods (see under Supplements for Migraine, below). 

Have your blood pressure checked. HBP causes instant headaches in some folks. Drug stores usually have a blood pressure monitor you can freely use.

Take Magnesium (500-1000 mg per day). Eat more chick peas (garbanzo beans). They contain high amounts of magnesium, which relaxes tight, painful muscles and Tryptophan, the amino acid that soothes anxiety. They also contain Mlybdenum, a mineral that helps cleanse the body of headache causing sulfites (see below).

Eat less sulfite containing foods. Sulfites are food preservatives.

Drink enough pure water every day. Don't become dehydrated. Not enough water in the body can cause pain and stiffness in joints and cause headache and body pain.

Does Your Work Cause You Pain?

Continuous neck and arm movement for more than an hour each day causes pain, especially when working with arms extended above the shoulders. This causes stress, frequent headaches and fatigue.

Sitting 95% of the time at work causes muscle stiffness. If you are sitting 75% of the time at work, this is OK, but if you go from a mobile job position to a sitting one, this can also cause problems.

Having your neck extended more than not will cause abnormal wear and tear to the cervical (neck) spine.

Employees who have lower ability to use skills and abilities, receive less co-worker support, have low job security and little job satisfaction experience more pain.

As a female, if you feel your work-load is too extreme, you will experience musculo-skeletal pain in your neck. men are better at handling this type of stress, ladies. You will also experience pain if your work-load goes up and you have no social support on the job.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome 

CRPS is another syndrome that doctors have a hard time treating. They don't know what causes it. This syndrome begins with significant damage to a hand or a foot. It sometimes begins with the wearing of a cast and may be called 'cast disease'. In 5% of patients, the pain continues long after the injury has healed.

CRPS is characterized by pain that radiates from the site of the injury, such as the foot, to the leg and hip. In the case of an injured hand, the pain can radiate to the arm or the entire trunk of the body.

Skin color changes to blue or red, the skin feels hotter to the touch at first and then colder as the syndrome progresses and becomes chronic.

The immune system shifts into overdrive as indicated by markers in the blood.

Dramatic improvements are possible, but it is thought, in general, that if the condition is not gone within 18 months that it will become a lifetime condition.

It was recently reported that the brains of those with CRPS show changes in the white matter of the brain, specifically the fibers that deliver messages between neurons. Their brains also showed an atrophy of the neurons in the gray matter of the brain as well, which is consistent with those who suffer from chronic pain. The study's investigator is Vania Apkarian, a professor of physiology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Medical treatments involve physical therapy, sympathetic nerve blockers, electrical impulses, biofeedback and spinal cord stimulation.

Holistic suggestions include massage, water therapy, supplementation with Bromelain (an enzyme that reduces pain and inflammation), B Vitamins (especially B6 and B12), Omega 3 Fish Oils, a whole food multi-vitamin, mineral supplement, and extra Magnesium.

For pain and sensations associated with the legs, visit the TCL Restless Leg Syndrome web page.

Supplements for Chronic Pain (and pain in general)

For Arthritis and Fibromyalgia pain doctors are now suggesting:

SAM-e (400-500 mg per day), Curcumin (500 mg 3-4 times per day) and fish oil (1000-3000 mg per day) or...

Fish oil (1000-8000 mg per day), Vitamin D (1000-5000 mg per day) and Magnesium (500-1000 mg per day) or...

Curcumin (1000 mg per day) and Fish oil (1000-8000 mg per day).

Always ask your doctor before beginning new supplements, especially if you are taking medication. Some supplements, even though natural, can interfere with medications or cause side efforts. 

Anti-Oxidants! When it comes to sore muscles, oxygen is key. In fact, low oxygen is the cause of muscle soreness. Keep cells healthy with anti-oxidants, such as Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q-10, Grape Seed Extract, etc.

See your doctor if you have...

...increasing or unremitting pain. Pain that disturbs your sleep on a regular basis. Sudden dizziness, brown outs (nearly passing out) or fainting, especially upon standing up or gazing upwards, fever, unexplained weight-loss associated in the same time frame as your pain experience, signs of inflammation, such as redness, warmth to the touch or infection, shooting pain in the neck or numbness. There are many tests your doctor can run (MRI, CT, X-Rays, lab tests, etc.) to rule out a mechanical problem.

May Love & Energy Be Yours!