These are just a few traditional forms of pain management.
Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy has been one of my go-to treatment for years! Physical therapy does a few things for me that I find essential in managing or even preventing pain:
- Physical therapy educates me how to use my body in a healthier way in my daily life.
- No body puts my body back together like PT does!
- When my body is ready PT focuses on strength based to help prevent further pain including Pilates (and you know I love Pilates)
Before I explain these further I want to provide what Physical therapists do for us. They are the providers of rehabilitation and habilitation, performance enhancement, and prevention and risk-reduction services. From athletes to those rehabilitating from surgery to people who are living with chronic pain we all benefit from Physical Therapy.
What do I mean by educating me in how to use my body healthier? Well, it is easy for all of us to go about our day not using our body appropriately which of course can cause pain. Something as simple as how I sit in my car. When my pelvis became unstable part of it was coming from not sitting even on my tush while driving. Seriously, the way we sit in our car often leaves our hips/pelvis uneven or even lifted. So I even myself out and that simple change keeps my pelvis stable! Next time you are sitting in your car – do a ‘butt check’ and assess if you are sitting level and if you are not even it out! Your pelvis will thank you!
I have a small list of areas in my body that shift or rotate therefore I often need PT to put it back where it belongs. I am proud to say that certain subluxations of my vertebrae I can rotate back myself (which PT taught me how to do and I am grateful as it can be quite painful and the longer it goes the worse it gets). But of course there is plenty that I can’t and that is where they come in. They can stabilize my pelvis, rotate my vertebrae, and get my collarbone back where it belongs. As you can imagine when the body is not in the right place the muscles and other connective tissue gets ‘pissy’ as I like to say. By this I mean it can be down right painful and the pain travels. For instance unstable pelvis is often felt in the lower back. So PT will utilize ultra sound, massage, tens, and other modalities to calm the area down too.
Once the body can tolerate movement Physical Therapy will provide strength training or strength based exercises which often includes Pilates. Trust me when I say I know what it is like to NOT want to exercise, heck to move. I get it. I’ve been there. And you don’t want to hear wants coming next which is we have to keep moving. It has been my experience with PT (and Pilates too) if they truly know your issue and are giving the correct strength based exercises it should not cause additional pain. If it is let them know a-sap. There are so many different exercises and different ways to do them they should be able to modify to lessen the pain.
While certain times call for less hands-on, there are times where we do need hands-on physical therapeutic treatments. You may know where I am going with this. Let’s be honest, we have personally experienced or heard stories going to a physical therapist and they ‘barely’ touched you or the person. I am more of a ‘I need more hands-on’ especially since my body needs to be put back in place. So I am here to tell you don’t settle for a hands-off approach if it’s not working for you! There are many PT clinics that are very much hands-on! I encourage you to do your homework and find a Physical Therapist that is a good fit for you!
Something else to keep in mind for us chronics is there is PT conducted in a therapeutic pools! For obvious reasons not every PT clinic can offer this amazing form of treatment but it may be worth looking into one in your area!
Wisconsin Resources
Waukesha Physical Therapy
http://www.waukeshaptclinics.com/
Hartbrook Shoping Center 600 Hartbook Drive Hartland, WI 53029 262-367-3110
PT Plus
1-877-578-7587
They have multiple locations in the WI area so please go to their website at http://www.ptplus.com/
In addition to PT they have OT on staff.
Occupational Therapy
This section is under construction but information will be added soon.
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Psychotherapy/Counseling
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Prescriptions
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Pain Management Centers
Not all pain management centers are created equal. About 80% of the pain management centers are primarily focused on prescription medications. For some people this is a great treatment option. The remaining 20% of pain management centers are primary focused on using alternative methods in treating pain including:
- epidurals (this is not a good option for those with EDS)
- facet injections
- radiofrequency ablations
- trigger point injections
- Botox injections
- Orthopedic injections
- knee
- shoulder
- hip bursa
- nerve blocks for many different pain etiologies
- inguinal nerve blocks
- occipital nerve blocks
- trigeminal nerve blocks
- intercostal nerve blocks
Often pain management centers are run by anesthesiologist and/or physiologist. In addition, these types of pain management centers may have pain psychologists (which I will provide information on in a separate treatment section) as well as physical medicine physicians to tackle all aspects of pain.
I feel I am fortunate to have a pain center such as this in the Milwaukee area. I have been working with the pain center for a year now and in that time I have utilized many of the different treatment options to determine what is the best fit for me. In addition to working with one of their pain psychologists I have done the following treatments:
- I started with facet injections which uses steroids but unfortunately I am part of the small percentage of the population who had an adverse reaction. For us who have allergic reactions it can impact the adrenal gland (just an FYI).
- I then moved to radiofrequency ablations up and down my spine (these can last until the nerves grow back which can be 8 months+). It has provided some relief.
- I’ve then added trigger point injections (just numbing agent due to the steroid allergy) which I do all over my back, cervical, occipital (to help with migraines). The numbing agent, which only works or 3 hours, the trigger point needle is able to go further into the muscle than acupuncture to interrupt the pain cycle which can provide about 304 weeks relief. The combination of trigger point injection and acupuncture work great together.
- Since the trigger point injections help control my migraines I have now added Botox injections to manage migraines. Botox injections can provide 4 months relief.
Local Resources
Waukesha Hospital Pain Management Center 725 American Ave. Waukesha, WI 53188
http://www.prohealthcare.org/services-pain-management.aspx
Dr. Padmaja Doniparthi (Anesthesiologist) 262-928-2194
Advance Pain Management (They treat EDS)
Dr. Eugene Lipov Oak Brook, IL and Hoffman Estates, IL 847-608-6620
Lymphedema & Chronic Swelling
While I have known Vicki for about a year and half now it wasn’t until my chronic swelling had gotten the best of me. We were at a meeting when I asked her if she could help me with my chronic swelling. I believe I said something like, ‘Hey Vicki have you ever had anyone who when they wear their compression arm sleeves the swelling goes right into the neck and stays there?’ I am pretty sure her response was something along the lines of ‘Oh honey. No, that is not good. We need to get you in as soon as possible.’ I was back two days later to begin my journey of learning about and improving my chronic swelling, specifically the lymphatic system and how it applies to connective tissue disorders and autonomic disorders.
I followed Vicki from PT Plus to AZH and I could not be more thrilled that I did. From the moment I walk in I am greeted with a warm and personal ‘hello’ from Michelle, the front desk manager. The facilities are state of the art from the patient rooms, hyperbaric chambers for wound healing to the surgical suites. AZH is all about patient care. No joke because when you call most clinics offer the first dial to other medical professionals and patients are a distant second or third. At AZH patients come first, literally.
Over the past month I have had the pleasure of meeting many of the nurses and other staff members. Not only are they incredibly passionate about what they do but it does not take long to be on a first name basis with them. But where I was really blown away is at one of my appointments with Vicki, Dr. Jeff Niezgoda, President, Chief Executive Officer and Corporate Medical Director of AZH, joined us to consult on my various vascular issues as my chronic swelling. Dr. Jeff was incredibly attentive and listened to my ridiculously long medical history which I paired down to what was important for him to know about. I was heard. I was validated. I was made to feel important to Dr. Jeff and the time he spent with me. His colleague, Dr. Mittal also joined us to take a look at my chronic swelling and to determine if my treatment plan is the correct one. So imagine this, I had not one, not two, but three specialists ensuring I am on the right path was amazing to me, but that is the level of care one receives at AZH.
I’ll admit, I am grateful I don’t have wounds to cope with, it’s one of the things I don’t have on my list of issues, but if I did I would not even hesitate to come to AZH. I’ve observed the variety of patients coming and going from AZH many being transported by paramedics from different facilities. They are in pain, a lot of pain actually. But they are coming to a state of the art medical facility where they are front and center in getting the much needed wound care.
When it comes to lymphedema and chronic swelling, Victoria (Vicki) is the primary provider at AZH. While Vicki has been a practicing Occupational Therapist for over 20 years, the past 10 years she has dedicated her career to the specialized treatment of chronic swelling disorders. She is certified in lymphedema treatment through the Lymphology Association of North America, specifically in the Vodder Method of Manual Lymph Drainage and Combined Decongestive Therapy. is a kinesiotaping practitioner and instructor for Healthy Steps, a medically-based therapeutic movement program. With her training and extensive experience, she has developed a comprehensive treatment program for lymphedema, chronic venous insufficiency and other chronic swelling disorders.
Vicki’s lymphatic treatment approach can also provide relief to those with connective tissue disorders, dysautonomia, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, Lyme’s Disease and post-surgical lingering edema. Victoria’s treatment method is multi-faceted with manual lymphatic drainage (lymph massage), individualized home exercise program, kinesiotaping applications when warranted, and compression therapy. AZH offers an extensive variety of compression and Vicki works with each client to choose a garment that best fits their needs.
In addition to providing treatment, Victoria educates healthcare professionals on the lymphatic system, chronic swelling issues, differential diagnoses and the combination of treatments she utilizes for optimal results. Yes, that is correct. She will be training other medical professionals to treat lymphedema and chronic swelling. This gets me so excited for two reasons: one, Vicki is ensuring the correct treatment is made available to as many people as she can by training others and two, I get the privilege to work with a leader in lymphedema treatment!
I am a proud owner of custom compression garments that not only help my body with the swelling but also stabilize my joints. Vicki spends the necessary time to ensure the correct garments are being utilized including training on how to put them on correctly as well as proper care for them.
Vicki, Dr. Jeff and the rest of the AZH team set a new standard in patient care. I could not be more grateful to receive the best care from them.