If you have ever experienced chronic pain you know firsthand how difficult it can be to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep and pain appear to have a bidirectional relationship. For instance, many people say that their painful symptoms tend to be alleviated after a better night’s sleep. Therefore, if you are living with chronic pain, prioritizing sleep may significantly help in recovery.
Sciatica refers to the nerve pain resulting from an injury or irritation to your sciatic nerve. Sciatica is not a condition, but rather a symptom of another problem involving the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the longest and widest nerve in the human body. It runs from the lower back, through the buttocks, and down the legs, ending just below the knee. The sciatic nerve controls several muscles in the lower legs and supplies sensation to the skin of the foot and the majority of the lower leg.
Most of us think of migraine as a bad headache. But the truth is it is more than just a bad headache. A migraine is a severe headache that can cause debilitating, throbbing, one-sided head pain that can leave you in bed for days. The headache phase of a migraine usually lasts at least four hours, but it can also last for days. Triggers like loud noises, bright lights, strong odors, and physical activities can worsen this headache, causing symptoms like vision changes, fatigue, irritability, and nausea. People who have suffered from migraine say that it is disruptive and can interfere with your daily routine and affect your ability to meet personal and social obligations.
When you hear the word inflammation, what comes to your mind? Most people probably think inflammation is all about redness and swelling that follows an infection, wound, or injury. But this is only “acute inflammation” – a beneficial response by the immune system that encourages healing, and usually goes off once the injury improves. Chronic inflammation is another form of inflammation that is less obvious. While your immune system becomes activated, the inflammatory response stays on all the time at a low level. This is unlike the acute inflammatory response that is intermittent during an acute injury or infection. In other words, chronic inflammation may begin even when you have no injury. Worst still, it does not end when it should. Several factors could trigger chronic inflammation, from lifestyle factors such as poor sleep, obesity, or exposure to environmental toxins.
The negative side effects of opioids have caused many people to seek out alternatives for pain and other conditions. One safe alternative that has been found to be effective for pain is natural supplements. These products do not come with the risk of side effects, addiction, or drug interaction. Without much ado, here are some natural supplements that are an alternative to opioids:
Opioids have been around for years after pharmaceutical companies pushed them out to doctors as effective painkillers. This term “opioids” includes compounds extracted naturally from the poppy seed as well as synthetic compounds with similar properties that interact with the opioid receptors in the brain. Some popular medications classified as opioids include: • Oxycodone • Hydrocodone (Vicodin) • Codeine • Morphine (Kadian, Avinza) Hydrocodone products are the most commonly prescribed opioids as they are often used to treat pains from injuries and dental work. Codeine is often used to treat milder pain. But generally, opioids are used to treat everything from post-surgical pain to osteoarthritis. However, prolonged use, non-medical use, use without supervision, and misuse, can lead to several health problems and opioid dependence. Research has shown that about 0.5 million deaths all over the world are attributed to drug use. Shockingly, over 70% of these deaths are related to opioids, with over 30% of those deaths caused by overdose. The truth is that what makes opioid medications effective for pain management can also make them dangerous.
You must have heard of the term “opioids” and wonder what it means, why people take them, and how they work. Well, we shall be discussing all of that in this short piece. What are opioids? Opioids are a class of pain-relieving drugs that are naturally found in the opium poppy plant. These drugs work in the brain to produce several effects, including pain relief. Some opioids, such as fentanyl, are synthesized in a laboratory Opioids can either be prescription drugs (referred to as pain killers) or they can be so-called street drugs, such as heroin.
RATHER LISTEN THAN READ RIGHT NOW? CHECK OUT THE PODCAST EPISODE In case you just started taking opioids prescriptions for controlling chronic pain, then you might want to try out…
LISTEN TO THIS WEEKS PODCAST EPISODE HERE Opioids have become more widely known as several countries and cities across North America, Australia, etc. are starting to take legal actions against…
LISTEN TO THIS WEEKS PODCAST EPISODE HERE The word opioid covers several categories. Opioids could consist of medications prescribed for alleviating pain, and they can also be unauthorized or illegal,…
