Playing (and Living) with Pain

Letting Go and Finding Balance
Regardless of treatment, patients must learn the difference between healing and fixing, says Alfred Clavel, Jr., MD, co-owner of the Minnesota Head and Neck Pain Clinic, which has multiple metro locations, including St. Paul. “Muscles assume a fight-or-flight response against pain and naturally tighten up to brace against it,” Clavel says. “Often, stabilizer muscles are not used and grow weaker. Treatment includes strengthening and conditioning of [those] muscles.”

Practitioners often relax muscles by releasing tightness or spasm through myofascial release or soft tissue work. Acupuncture, acupressure, massage, physical therapy, and chiropractic work can all be effective. Back, neck, tendon, and joint injuries may require more significant treatment, including injecting medicine—such as steroids—into the injured area.

A healthy, balanced body is like a “pie” game piece in Trivial Pursuit, says Richard Printon, a chiropractor at the Hennepin Faculty Associates Alternative Medicine Clinic. “You have to look at it holistically,” he says. “We need each of the slices filled in.”

Slices include taking the time to heal, proper conditioning to avoid injury, and good nutrition. Eating the wrong foods can increase the inflammation that’s causing your pain, Printon says. “Stay away from fast foods, processed foods, excessive alcohol and caffeine, creams, and potato chips,” he says. “A Mediterranean diet is a good model to follow.”

Stress and emotional management are critical slices of the pie that often go untreated. “Long-term, unending stress releases a cascade of physical reactions,” Merz says. Movement therapy such as yoga, Pilates, and Tai Chi can help restore balance and settle the nervous system.

Patients may need psychological assistance and active therapies including relaxation techniques, coping mechanisms, and self-monitoring skills to go on with life—even with pain—says Nancy Carlson, director of pain services at the Courage Center, in Golden Valley. “Often times patients put up roadblocks to their own recovery,” she says. “Because they’re afraid of change.”

Staying in the Game
Change. That’s what I did. In late 2008, I changed my physical therapy to focus on releasing the complex set of muscles surrounding my hips, and I started a workout regimen with a rowing machine, weights, and an elliptical trainer. I’m getting in shape and sleeping better. Whether I run again doesn’t really matter—I’m happy being active and feeling fit. In the end, that’s the name of the game.

Mike Knight is a writer whose workouts include elliptical and rowing machines, weights, biking, hiking—and when no one’s looking, the occasional run.