Hello and welcome to Health for a Lifetime. 00:00:51.07\00:00:54.21 I'm Don Mackintosh, your host, and today we're joined with 00:00:54.24\00:00:57.79 Dr. Phillip Mills from Wichita, Kansas. 00:00:57.82\00:00:59.88 Welcome, Dr. Mills. 00:00:59.91\00:01:01.40 Today we're going to be talking about a very important subject, 00:01:01.43\00:01:06.09 a subject that effects millions of lives and that's pain, 00:01:06.12\00:01:09.42 chronic pain. 00:01:09.45\00:01:10.83 Why should we talk to someone like you about pain? 00:01:10.86\00:01:13.70 Because pain, as you said, effects virtually everyone. 00:01:13.73\00:01:17.81 But it's interesting, Don, while everyone knows what pain is 00:01:17.84\00:01:23.57 we don't have a good definition for pain. 00:01:23.60\00:01:26.61 Scientists that study pain argue over what pain exactly is and 00:01:26.64\00:01:32.25 how to describe it. 00:01:32.28\00:01:34.05 I believe one of your specialties is this, 00:01:34.08\00:01:39.12 treating people with pain. 00:01:39.15\00:01:41.51 A "painologist," I don't know what you call that. 00:01:41.54\00:01:44.75 Well, it's a pain specialist. 00:01:44.78\00:01:46.46 There is such a problem with pain and 00:01:46.49\00:01:49.26 people with chronic pain have to be treated differently 00:01:49.29\00:01:53.10 than other kinds of medical problems. 00:01:53.13\00:01:57.76 And so some of us have specialized in the area of 00:01:57.79\00:02:00.92 pain treatment. 00:02:00.95\00:02:02.14 Is there anything good about pain? 00:02:02.17\00:02:03.84 Well, if you look at some very interesting patients that were 00:02:03.87\00:02:09.42 born without any pain fibers you discover some interesting 00:02:09.45\00:02:13.89 facts. 00:02:13.92\00:02:15.33 There was a fellow that was just a few years old and his appendix 00:02:15.36\00:02:24.17 needed to be taken out. 00:02:24.20\00:02:25.37 It was difficult for them to find that he actually had an 00:02:25.40\00:02:28.48 appendix problem because he didn't hurt. 00:02:28.51\00:02:30.56 But after some studies they discovered he needed to have 00:02:30.59\00:02:34.08 his appendix out and they did it without any anesthesia. 00:02:34.11\00:02:39.12 He was able to go through all of the treatment of the surgery, 00:02:39.15\00:02:46.14 without any pain medications, without any anesthesia. 00:02:46.17\00:02:50.24 You would think that was good but as the doctors looked at 00:02:50.27\00:02:55.91 this poor boy that had no pain fibers they saw he had joints 00:02:55.94\00:03:00.51 that were deformed and they also say that he had scars 00:03:00.54\00:03:03.59 all over his body. 00:03:03.62\00:03:05.39 They thought this boy has been abused at home. 00:03:05.42\00:03:11.61 They didn't realize yet that he had no pain fiber. 00:03:11.64\00:03:16.32 So they asked and investigated into the home situation 00:03:16.35\00:03:20.70 and discovered that he hadn't been abused but that he had no 00:03:20.73\00:03:25.03 pain fibers. 00:03:25.06\00:03:27.20 So when he injured his joints, if he burned his hand, there 00:03:27.23\00:03:31.76 there was no pain, no protection, 00:03:31.79\00:03:34.35 no change in behavior, and consequently he was deformed 00:03:34.38\00:03:38.63 and scarred. 00:03:38.66\00:03:40.52 These people without pain fibers their life is short and they 00:03:40.55\00:03:44.59 end up quite scarred, quite deformed, and we should realize 00:03:44.62\00:03:50.84 that pain is actually one of the great gifts of God 00:03:50.87\00:03:54.87 for our protection. 00:03:54.90\00:03:56.48 I know some people are probably saying, "Well, you know that 00:03:56.51\00:03:59.58 may be true but for me this situation that I'm in I don't 00:03:59.61\00:04:03.57 think it's much of a blessing. " 00:04:03.60\00:04:04.87 Let me ask you this question. 00:04:04.90\00:04:06.43 Suppose that you're a physician and I was a patient and came 00:04:06.46\00:04:09.36 into your office and you watch. 00:04:09.39\00:04:11.95 I have a hammer in my right hand and I have this hammer 00:04:11.98\00:04:17.40 smashing the thumb on the left hand. 00:04:17.43\00:04:20.60 I might send you to the guys in the white coats! 00:04:20.63\00:04:23.88 I say to you, "Doctor, my thumb hurts, please do something for 00:04:23.91\00:04:28.51 my thumb. " 00:04:28.54\00:04:29.51 Would you say, "Here, take these pain pills"? 00:04:29.52\00:04:32.51 or would you say, "Stop doing what's causing the pain to your 00:04:32.54\00:04:37.59 thumb"? 00:04:37.62\00:04:38.65 Like I said, I might send you to a different kind of doctor, 00:04:38.68\00:04:40.45 but, yes, I see your point. 00:04:40.48\00:04:43.53 The point is that pain was telling me I shouldn't keep 00:04:43.56\00:04:48.44 doing what I was doing. 00:04:48.47\00:04:50.72 In the majority of cases we should look at pain as a 00:04:50.75\00:04:55.58 protective mechanism, not as an enemy. 00:04:55.61\00:04:58.06 I've always been amazed that if people hurt themselves 00:04:58.09\00:05:02.80 will take God's name in vain. 00:05:02.83\00:05:04.58 When they hurt themselves they should thank God that they have 00:05:04.61\00:05:07.36 those pain centers so they can protect their bodies. 00:05:07.39\00:05:10.36 In fact, if you look at the disease of leprosy, 00:05:10.39\00:05:17.08 what leprosy does is it destroys your pain fibers. 00:05:17.11\00:05:21.61 Some people think that leprosy eats away the fingers and the 00:05:21.64\00:05:26.22 toes, it doesn't. 00:05:26.25\00:05:27.24 It makes it so that you don't feel. 00:05:27.27\00:05:30.10 So if an animal, let's say a rat, comes up and eats on your 00:05:30.13\00:05:34.19 finger, it doesn't awaken you at night. 00:05:34.22\00:05:36.77 If they gnaw on your nose you don't awaken at night. 00:05:36.80\00:05:39.86 So gradually you may loose your toes, fingers, and extremities 00:05:39.89\00:05:45.38 because if it's infected you feel no pain. 00:05:45.41\00:05:49.55 Pain is important. 00:05:49.58\00:05:51.91 One of the problems with sin is it deadens our pain. 00:05:51.94\00:05:56.09 And so we'll sin but it doesn't hurt. 00:05:56.12\00:05:59.99 And so we keep on sinning. 00:06:00.02\00:06:02.11 I'm told by my friends who are specialists in alcohol related 00:06:02.14\00:06:06.87 issues that the people who are apt to be alcoholics are not 00:06:06.90\00:06:11.45 the ones that get hang-overs, although sometimes it involves 00:06:11.48\00:06:14.96 them, but the ones that tolerate the alcohol fairly well, 00:06:14.99\00:06:18.92 they don't get sick, the ones that the first time they drank 00:06:18.95\00:06:21.76 alcohol they got a lot of effect from it, they got a lot 00:06:21.79\00:06:24.98 of sickness, they tend not to drink. 00:06:25.01\00:06:29.80 So pain, again, first of all should be looked at as a 00:06:29.83\00:06:33.26 good thing because it is protective. 00:06:33.29\00:06:36.19 So pain is protective but that is acute pain or 00:06:36.22\00:06:41.94 short-term pain. 00:06:41.97\00:06:43.07 Is that the way to use the word 'acute'? 00:06:43.10\00:06:45.98 Yes, the word 'acute' simply means of short duration. 00:06:46.01\00:06:50.72 So you would consider maybe up to 6 weeks, certainly 3 weeks, 00:06:50.75\00:06:56.16 possibly 6 weeks, to be acute. 00:06:56.19\00:06:59.28 After 6 weeks, about 3 months, you call that sub-acute. 00:06:59.31\00:07:04.06 And then after 3 months you begin to refer to it as 00:07:04.09\00:07:08.01 chronic pain. 00:07:08.04\00:07:09.47 Now chronic pain is different than acute pain. 00:07:09.50\00:07:12.92 Acute pain has a clear cause and it's reasonable in certain 00:07:12.95\00:07:19.40 cases to give medication treatment for the acute pain 00:07:19.43\00:07:24.95 to control it because it's going to go away. 00:07:24.98\00:07:26.85 But chronic pain either is signaling that there is 00:07:26.88\00:07:31.80 something still irritating the body or it is giving signals 00:07:31.83\00:07:45.29 to the brain that you have this danger 00:07:45.32\00:07:50.81 when in fact there is no danger there. 00:07:50.84\00:07:56.26 It is telling you that you need to change your behavior 00:07:56.29\00:07:59.13 when in fact there is nothing you can change. 00:07:59.17\00:08:01.33 And that becomes a problem. 00:08:01.37\00:08:02.71 You would say it's over-protective or confused? 00:08:02.74\00:08:07.86 Yes, both. 00:08:07.90\00:08:08.87 Where the signals to the brain are such that you're getting 00:08:08.88\00:08:14.82 this pain and yet there is no real cause of alarm that pain 00:08:14.85\00:08:20.84 actually is signaling. 00:08:20.87\00:08:22.92 So less than 6 weeks is acute pain. 00:08:22.95\00:08:25.96 From 6 weeks to 3 months is a sub-acute pain. 00:08:25.99\00:08:30.51 And from 3 months and onward is a chronic pain. 00:08:30.54\00:08:34.73 Then the pain itself in a chronic situation, over a 00:08:34.76\00:08:39.96 couple years, the chronic pain itself begins to cause 00:08:40.00\00:08:44.14 changes to the personality, begins to cause changes 00:08:44.17\00:08:48.28 to the person. 00:08:48.31\00:08:49.87 That chronic pain is where the real problems lie in management. 00:08:49.90\00:08:56.81 We want to talk about how to live with some of these pain 00:08:56.85\00:09:00.81 situations because I assume that some of them you just can't 00:09:00.84\00:09:04.77 get rid of them. 00:09:04.80\00:09:05.77 Yes. 00:09:05.78\00:09:06.75 Chronic pain I like to think of this way: 00:09:06.76\00:09:09.76 It's not something you die from but it is something you may 00:09:09.79\00:09:14.24 die with. 00:09:14.28\00:09:15.67 So how do you deal with this chronic pain situation. 00:09:15.70\00:09:21.00 Are there acute pains or short term pains that can turn into 00:09:21.04\00:09:24.81 long turn pains? 00:09:24.84\00:09:25.94 Yes. 00:09:25.98\00:09:26.95 Let me give you a disease for example that is a real problem 00:09:26.96\00:09:33.14 in the area of pain. 00:09:33.17\00:09:35.77 It is an acute, severe pain. 00:09:35.81\00:09:38.48 There is a long name for one of the kinds of pain, 00:09:38.51\00:09:42.32 that would be tic douloureux. 00:09:42.36\00:09:43.75 This is a tremendous pain on the face that can come as 00:09:43.79\00:09:48.66 sudden, sharp, electrical, agonizing sensations 00:09:48.69\00:09:55.87 across the face. 00:09:55.91\00:09:56.88 How do you get that? 00:09:56.89\00:09:57.86 There is a certain nerve that begins to malfunction and send 00:09:57.87\00:10:03.41 those signals to the brain. 00:10:03.45\00:10:05.11 Even a little breath of air across may set this off. 00:10:05.14\00:10:12.22 So a person becomes quite frightened to even get outside. 00:10:12.26\00:10:16.86 It can change their life. 00:10:16.89\00:10:20.72 They will seek for some solution maybe even surgery that 00:10:20.76\00:10:24.93 would cause their face to be disfigured. 00:10:24.96\00:10:28.72 They would rather have that if they could get rid 00:10:28.75\00:10:30.82 of this pain. 00:10:30.86\00:10:31.83 That is how severe it is. 00:10:31.84\00:10:32.98 Other types of severe pain include such problems as 00:10:33.01\00:10:36.53 reflex sympathetic dystrophy. 00:10:36.57\00:10:38.44 It's a long name for a problem that was originally seen in wars 00:10:38.47\00:10:44.32 where you would have a bullet wound that would injure 00:10:44.35\00:10:47.69 two nerves. 00:10:47.73\00:10:48.74 In the healing process these nerves would short circuit. 00:10:48.77\00:10:53.39 They would be wired up in healing wrong and you would 00:10:53.42\00:10:58.01 have this severe pain that would be 00:10:58.04\00:11:01.26 constant and unrelenting. 00:11:01.30\00:11:04.03 And you would say, "Oh the solution would be to cut off 00:11:04.07\00:11:07.31 the hand," but the fact of the matter is even after they 00:11:07.34\00:11:10.96 cut it off the pain would persist right where it was 00:11:11.00\00:11:14.58 just as if the hand was there. 00:11:14.62\00:11:16.87 It has been a real problem in management. 00:11:16.91\00:11:22.73 I want to come back to what kind of things happen to people 00:11:22.77\00:11:26.19 when they're suffering from chronic pain for a long time 00:11:26.22\00:11:29.58 but just a question that is not related to chronic pain but it's 00:11:29.61\00:11:34.22 more acute pain or one of those short-term pains, but what about 00:11:34.25\00:11:38.83 a head ache, what should you do about a head ache? 00:11:38.86\00:11:40.39 Head aches can be a chronic pain. 00:11:40.43\00:11:43.41 That can be a major problem. 00:11:43.44\00:11:46.26 The first thing, obviously, is you have to have a clear, 00:11:46.30\00:11:48.85 work-up to find out if there's some treatable problem, if there 00:11:48.89\00:11:53.46 is some underlying issues such as a tumor or some other 00:11:53.49\00:11:59.30 vasculitis. 00:11:59.34\00:12:01.36 The doctors will work it all up fully and they know just 00:12:01.39\00:12:05.48 exactly to do for that. 00:12:05.51\00:12:06.90 But in many cases all of those studies are normal but severe 00:12:06.93\00:12:12.53 head ache pain persists. 00:12:12.56\00:12:15.45 Before a person should try powerful and potentially 00:12:15.49\00:12:19.77 risky drugs there are some things that take care of in many 00:12:19.80\00:12:25.08 cases people's head aches. 00:12:25.11\00:12:26.75 Some simple things they can do. 00:12:26.79\00:12:29.99 For example: 00:12:30.02\00:12:31.87 If they can stop all caffeine products that can cause 00:12:31.90\00:12:37.53 head aches, theobromine in chocolate, some of the chemicals 00:12:37.56\00:12:45.10 that are in cheese and wine, and then if you have tobacco, 00:12:45.13\00:12:51.60 exercise, and meat have even been found to be a problem with 00:12:51.64\00:12:58.08 head aches. 00:12:58.11\00:12:59.08 I also have patients stop dairy products and it is surprising 00:12:59.09\00:13:03.78 in a certain percentage of patients with making these 00:13:03.81\00:13:07.15 simple changes the head aches will go away. 00:13:07.18\00:13:11.19 In other cases they will not. 00:13:11.23\00:13:12.95 But it is certainly harmless and worth a try for at least 00:13:12.98\00:13:15.92 6 weeks. 00:13:15.95\00:13:17.04 So if you have a head ache and it hasn't gone away 00:13:17.08\00:13:19.99 try going off some of these things. 00:13:20.02\00:13:22.12 You mentioned in that list 'exercise. ' 00:13:22.15\00:13:24.21 Did you mean to say that? 00:13:24.25\00:13:25.27 Yes, if a person can increase their exercise, but sometimes 00:13:25.31\00:13:28.38 that's hard to do with a head ache. 00:13:28.41\00:13:30.06 Sometimes increasing the exercise can be of benefit 00:13:30.09\00:13:34.82 if it's a simple exercise such as walking. 00:13:34.86\00:13:37.50 So there really are some simple things that we can do 00:13:37.53\00:13:40.95 to maybe address the problem of head aches. 00:13:40.99\00:13:43.84 We've been talking with Dr. Phillip Mills from 00:13:43.88\00:13:46.69 Wichita, Kansas about pain. 00:13:46.73\00:13:48.66 He's a specialist in pain management. 00:13:48.70\00:13:51.83 When we come back we're going to be talking about chronic pain, 00:13:51.86\00:13:54.51 what we can do to live with it. 00:13:54.54\00:13:56.92 We hope that you will join us. 00:13:56.96\00:13:59.30 Have you found yourself wishing that you could 00:14:11.99\00:14:13.81 shed a few pounds? 00:14:13.85\00:14:14.87 Have you been on a diet for most of your life, 00:14:14.91\00:14:17.47 but not found anything that will really keep the weight off? 00:14:17.51\00:14:20.70 If you've answered yes to any of these questions, then we 00:14:20.73\00:14:23.89 have a solution for you that works. 00:14:23.92\00:14:26.45 Dr. Hans Diehl and Dr. Aileen Ludington 00:14:26.48\00:14:28.82 have written a marvelous booklet called 00:14:28.85\00:14:31.11 Reversing Obesity Naturally, and we'd like to send it to you 00:14:31.15\00:14:34.63 free of charge. 00:14:34.66\00:14:35.86 Here's a medically sound approach successfully used 00:14:35.89\00:14:38.85 by thousands who are able to eat more 00:14:38.89\00:14:40.97 and loose weight permanently 00:14:41.01\00:14:42.72 without feeling guilty or hungry through lifestyle medicine. 00:14:42.75\00:14:46.26 Dr. Diehl and Dr. Ludington have been featured on 3ABN 00:14:46.29\00:14:49.96 and in this booklet they present a sensible approach to eating, 00:14:50.00\00:14:53.67 nutrition, and lifestyle changes that can help you prevent 00:14:53.71\00:14:56.80 heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. 00:14:56.83\00:14:59.23 Call or write today for your free copy: 00:14:59.27\00:15:01.63 Welcome back. 00:15:23.43\00:15:24.80 We've been talking with Dr. Phillip Mills 00:15:24.84\00:15:27.12 from Wichita, Kansas 00:15:27.16\00:15:28.51 Dr. Mills is a pain specialist. 00:15:28.55\00:15:30.45 We've been talking about different types of pain, 00:15:30.49\00:15:33.52 Dr. Mills, acute pain, correct me if I'm wrong, 00:15:33.55\00:15:36.85 it's from 0 to 6 weeks, sub-acute being from 00:15:36.89\00:15:40.12 6 weeks to 3 months, and then chronic pain that lasts anything 00:15:40.15\00:15:46.36 longer than 3 months. 00:15:46.39\00:15:47.52 What types of things do you see happening, many thousands 00:15:47.56\00:15:51.40 of patients that you've seen, when they have a pain that lasts 00:15:51.43\00:15:54.58 for longer than 3 months? 00:15:54.62\00:15:58.01 What begins to happen are some interesting changes in the 00:15:58.05\00:16:02.64 psychology of the person, the mental outlook. 00:16:02.67\00:16:06.23 For example: after about 2 years of chronic, 00:16:06.26\00:16:11.02 unremitting pain, virtually everyone will have a 00:16:11.05\00:16:14.77 substantial depression. 00:16:14.80\00:16:16.89 Secondly, they'll be completely consumed and focused on their 00:16:16.92\00:16:21.26 bodily functions and their pain because its part of every waking 00:16:21.29\00:16:26.14 moment. 00:16:26.17\00:16:27.14 There will generally be some financial problems because they 00:16:27.15\00:16:30.51 may or may not be able to work but typically 00:16:30.54\00:16:32.89 they will not be working. 00:16:32.92\00:16:34.14 So you have these pressures. 00:16:34.17\00:16:36.62 All of their friends are tired of hearing about their pain 00:16:36.65\00:16:39.64 and so in some cases, it's bottled up. 00:16:39.67\00:16:43.26 These make changes in the way people deal with other people. 00:16:43.29\00:16:50.24 They may become more solitary and it impacts marriages. 00:16:50.27\00:16:58.67 It impacts parenting skills. 00:16:58.70\00:17:01.43 Are they ever angry at you when they come in? 00:17:01.46\00:17:05.11 Well, I don't look at them as being angry at me, although 00:17:05.14\00:17:08.52 they're just maybe angry. 00:17:08.55\00:17:10.08 They're often quite angry at their employers. 00:17:10.12\00:17:13.06 And if an insurance company has sent them to me to evaluate 00:17:13.10\00:17:16.92 they may look at me as part of the system that's not very 00:17:16.95\00:17:20.74 helpful to them. 00:17:20.78\00:17:22.39 So they may be quite suspicious and quite angry. 00:17:22.42\00:17:26.18 That can be an aspect. 00:17:26.21\00:17:29.36 But generally if they are angry they're really angry at 00:17:29.40\00:17:33.01 themselves but they seem to be angry at other people. 00:17:33.04\00:17:36.58 Do you find that some people... I don't know how to say this 00:17:36.61\00:17:41.78 nicely, but do they need their pain or do they... 00:17:41.81\00:17:48.56 I don't know how to say that... 00:17:48.59\00:17:50.08 Well, you are talking about the psychological issues. 00:17:50.12\00:17:52.47 Are all people with chronic pain do they have 00:17:52.51\00:17:54.57 a real reason for the pain? 00:17:54.60\00:17:57.51 The fact of the matter is in some cases there can be a 00:17:57.54\00:18:00.72 psychological component of pain. 00:18:00.75\00:18:03.39 That pain provides a wonderful escape. 00:18:03.43\00:18:06.44 They are a failure in life and the reason is they could be 00:18:06.48\00:18:11.83 successful but they have this pain. 00:18:11.87\00:18:13.31 They could work, but they have this pain. 00:18:13.34\00:18:16.05 And in fact there are times when we are able to completely 00:18:16.09\00:18:19.09 take away the pain but they're not happy. 00:18:19.12\00:18:22.56 They need the pain and quickly get it back because for 00:18:22.59\00:18:26.96 reasons of their life situation it's the comforting blanket 00:18:26.99\00:18:32.21 that gives them an excuse not to perform, not to help 00:18:32.25\00:18:38.66 somebody else, not to do, and not to reach out. 00:18:38.69\00:18:42.50 It may also be that they get attention from a spouse. 00:18:42.53\00:18:47.10 They have the pain and the spouse will wait on them. 00:18:47.13\00:18:51.67 If they lost the pain then they would loose the attention and 00:18:51.70\00:18:54.74 being waited on by the spouse. 00:18:54.78\00:18:56.24 It is not unheard of to have patients, certainly I have had 00:18:56.27\00:19:02.83 patients where the pain had a psychological basis. 00:19:02.87\00:19:07.79 Let's assume that there are people watching today that 00:19:07.82\00:19:12.00 actually have true chronic pain, they are not malingering, 00:19:12.03\00:19:16.17 they're not trying to fool anybody, they really have 00:19:16.21\00:19:19.84 that chronic pain, what can they do to live 00:19:19.87\00:19:22.32 with chronic pain? 00:19:22.35\00:19:23.53 There are several suggestions that we have found helpful. 00:19:23.56\00:19:26.58 And again we are dealing with chronic pain. 00:19:26.61\00:19:28.97 Now chronic pain can have lots and lots of causes. 00:19:29.00\00:19:31.95 So for the first suggestion, but virtually everyone with chronic 00:19:31.98\00:19:36.67 pain has done this, but they need to have a thorough 00:19:36.70\00:19:39.80 evaluation to make sure that no medically treatable cause 00:19:39.83\00:19:44.10 can be uncovered. 00:19:44.13\00:19:45.62 If they're having chronic pain because a surgical procedure 00:19:45.65\00:19:49.88 needs to be preformed then that can be evaluated. 00:19:49.91\00:19:54.68 Or if they need certain types of medicines to take care of the 00:19:54.71\00:19:57.18 problem, that can be evaluated. 00:19:57.21\00:19:59.55 Because pain is so uncomfortable virtually all my patients 00:19:59.58\00:20:06.61 with chronic pain have had quite thorough work ups. 00:20:06.64\00:20:10.26 Under many physicians probably. 00:20:10.29\00:20:11.95 Yes. 00:20:11.98\00:20:12.95 And they're quite frustrated and so then the next suggestion 00:20:12.96\00:20:17.24 that we find helpful is perhaps the hardest of the group. 00:20:17.27\00:20:21.75 Is this what you start with when you talk to patients? 00:20:21.78\00:20:24.70 Well, I may not start with it but this is one of the most 00:20:24.74\00:20:27.62 important but because we have limited time here 00:20:27.66\00:20:30.18 I want to make sure that I deal with it. 00:20:30.22\00:20:33.96 One of the most important ways of treating people with chronic, 00:20:33.99\00:20:40.83 unremitting pain is to get them off their 00:20:40.87\00:20:44.72 addictive medications. 00:20:44.75\00:20:47.53 Does that mean all medications? 00:20:47.56\00:20:49.24 You're saying get off all pain medications? 00:20:49.27\00:20:51.79 Well, it may mean that. 00:20:51.83\00:20:54.10 It should be done under supervision because some 00:20:54.14\00:20:59.00 medication if you just stop you can have seizures and some 00:20:59.03\00:21:01.77 other problems. 00:21:01.80\00:21:02.77 They may have to be weaned off. 00:21:02.78\00:21:04.62 But the goal here is to get patients off of their 00:21:04.65\00:21:09.45 medication and we find in many cases that the medication was 00:21:09.48\00:21:14.60 providing not much relief, and we're talking strong narcotics, 00:21:14.63\00:21:19.98 the medication was not providing much relief but in fact was 00:21:20.01\00:21:25.32 dulling their mind. 00:21:25.36\00:21:26.37 The reality is that the way to deal with pain requires a 00:21:26.40\00:21:34.04 sharp brain. 00:21:34.07\00:21:36.44 The brain will be able to deal with the pain. 00:21:36.48\00:21:40.02 If you dull that, you dull the very best vehicle that you have 00:21:40.06\00:21:45.90 to handle chronic pain. 00:21:45.94\00:21:48.28 Now even in the acute situation if you recall 00:21:48.31\00:21:51.52 Jesus when He was on the cross they gave Him some vinegar, 00:21:51.56\00:21:57.07 which had been a pain reliever, and His mind was so important 00:21:57.11\00:22:02.11 to Him that as soon as He tasted it He wouldn't take any more. 00:22:02.15\00:22:07.12 That should suggest that the mind is very important in 00:22:07.15\00:22:13.60 dealing with these stressors such as pain. 00:22:13.64\00:22:17.63 So there's some complications with medications and one of 00:22:17.67\00:22:21.10 them is not being able to really think through how to deal or 00:22:21.13\00:22:24.53 cope with pain. 00:22:24.56\00:22:27.13 That is a pretty hard solution, I think, probably for some 00:22:27.17\00:22:33.16 people that are listening. 00:22:33.20\00:22:34.98 What is another suggestion? 00:22:35.02\00:22:36.73 Well, after we work toward decreasing the medications 00:22:36.77\00:22:41.72 or eliminating it, if it's possible, then another, 00:22:41.76\00:22:46.66 and this is also difficult, another important aspect 00:22:46.69\00:22:51.56 is exercise. 00:22:51.59\00:22:53.80 Now a person would say, "Well it hurts if I move this area. " 00:22:53.83\00:22:59.95 But not all pain is indicating that you should stop moving. 00:22:59.99\00:23:07.35 Let me give you an example. 00:23:07.38\00:23:08.82 If you injured your elbow or even if you didn't injure your 00:23:08.86\00:23:13.27 elbow, but you immobilized it in a cast, and that is 00:23:13.31\00:23:17.72 immobilized for 6 weeks, then you take the cast off. 00:23:17.76\00:23:22.10 I don't know if you've ever broken a bone and had a cast? 00:23:22.14\00:23:25.33 Just ribs but we couldn't put a cast on that. 00:23:25.36\00:23:27.24 If you then take the cast off and you start to move the joint, 00:23:27.27\00:23:31.67 oh it hurts! 00:23:31.70\00:23:33.56 But what is the solution to the pain? 00:23:33.60\00:23:36.37 More movement! 00:23:36.40\00:23:38.58 As you move it, it gets better. 00:23:38.61\00:23:41.15 Many times a person has had a back injury and the doctor has 00:23:41.18\00:23:45.68 said, "If it hurts don't move it. " 00:23:45.72\00:23:48.14 So the patient quit moving their back and when you quit moving 00:23:48.17\00:23:53.56 the muscles shorten up and the joint gets stiff. 00:23:53.59\00:23:57.66 With that stiffness, then if you move it, it hurts. 00:23:57.69\00:24:04.67 But we have found in certain types of back pain the solution 00:24:04.70\00:24:10.02 actually was special types of exercises and it even 00:24:10.05\00:24:14.78 involved machines that would help with those isolating 00:24:14.81\00:24:19.04 exercises that actually stretched out those muscles. 00:24:19.07\00:24:22.58 Although at first it hurt, with a bit of movement the pain 00:24:22.61\00:24:26.89 went away. 00:24:26.92\00:24:28.10 Now I found out in my own case that more exercise 00:24:28.13\00:24:33.12 is very important. 00:24:33.15\00:24:34.85 I started exercising about two years ago very religiously 00:24:34.88\00:24:40.48 in the morning. 00:24:40.51\00:24:41.48 But I only went about two miles and I had some underlying 00:24:41.49\00:24:46.44 musculoskeletal pain on a chronic basis but it wasn't 00:24:46.47\00:24:49.03 severe at all, but it is embarrassing so that you don't 00:24:49.06\00:24:52.80 dare let anybody know that you have pain 00:24:52.83\00:24:55.98 because I'm a pain doctor. 00:24:56.01\00:24:57.58 I would try to hide it so nobody knew I had a hurt anywhere. 00:24:57.61\00:25:02.63 However, with the two miles I still had some discomfort. 00:25:02.66\00:25:10.11 After this summer I increased my exercise to 4 miles 00:25:10.14\00:25:19.48 Take your own medicine here! 00:25:19.51\00:25:22.44 A short time ago I did 50 mile hiking up in the Rocky Mountains 00:25:22.47\00:25:26.73 and when I was done I was absolutely pain free. 00:25:26.77\00:25:30.65 If a person can increase their exercise often this is a very 00:25:30.69\00:25:38.00 important aspect of pain relief. 00:25:38.04\00:25:42.10 Many people stop when they begin to get sore. 00:25:42.13\00:25:47.57 They really should keep going. 00:25:47.61\00:25:49.07 It needs to be supervised. 00:25:49.11\00:25:50.50 You don't want to injure yourself but in most chronic 00:25:50.53\00:25:52.82 pain cases you're not in any danger of damaging your body. 00:25:52.86\00:26:01.49 We've talked about stopping medications. 00:26:01.52\00:26:03.84 We've talked about starting to move and that's 00:26:03.88\00:26:07.45 under advisement. 00:26:07.48\00:26:08.45 Medications we don't just stop them abruptly, you check 00:26:08.48\00:26:11.02 with your doctor. 00:26:11.06\00:26:12.03 You don't just exercise unless you really should be. 00:26:12.04\00:26:15.05 You would check with someone like yourself, a physiatrist. 00:26:15.09\00:26:17.60 Anything else that people should do that are dealing 00:26:17.63\00:26:21.45 with chronic pain? 00:26:21.49\00:26:22.46 Yes. 00:26:22.49\00:26:23.46 One of the most important is drinking water. 00:26:23.47\00:26:26.78 Oh, that sounds simple. 00:26:26.82\00:26:28.61 It is simple. 00:26:28.64\00:26:29.73 If you cells are relatively dehydrated they will send 00:26:29.76\00:26:33.92 signals to the brain and the brain may interpret those 00:26:33.96\00:26:38.08 signals as being pain. 00:26:38.12\00:26:41.25 If you make sure they are hydrated, by hydrated I mean 00:26:41.29\00:26:45.91 drink plenty of water, that in itself may make a person 00:26:45.95\00:26:50.54 feel like they're having less pain. 00:26:50.57\00:26:54.11 Some of the pain was just misinterpretations for 00:26:54.14\00:26:57.26 crying out for water. 00:26:57.29\00:26:59.51 Now in that regard, caffeine can dehydrate cells. 00:26:59.55\00:27:05.63 And we also know that caffeine increases the pain 00:27:05.66\00:27:11.70 that a person feels. 00:27:11.74\00:27:12.74 So people should stop all caffeine. 00:27:12.77\00:27:15.55 They should also stop all smoking for similar reasons. 00:27:15.58\00:27:19.60 Wow! so these are really practical things, some of them 00:27:19.63\00:27:23.74 are quite simple, drinking water and getting rid of some 00:27:23.77\00:27:27.84 habits people want to get rid of anyway. 00:27:27.88\00:27:29.66 But there are also some spiritual components to this. 00:27:29.70\00:27:33.71 Study Job and Jacob. 00:27:33.74\00:27:36.24 After Jesus touched Jacob he had chronic pain. 00:27:36.27\00:27:40.24 We need to look for some lessons within pain that maybe are not 00:27:40.27\00:27:46.60 right on the surface, especially those with chronic pain. 00:27:46.64\00:27:49.40 Thanks for joining us today, Dr. Mills. 00:27:49.44\00:27:51.45 I know you have a very busy schedule. 00:27:51.49\00:27:53.47 And thank you for joining us. 00:27:53.51\00:27:55.23 We hope that today you've learned some things that will 00:27:55.27\00:27:58.31 give you health for a lifetime. 00:27:58.35\00:28:01.50