Friday, February 22, 2013

February Meeting

Hey, I made a meeting! Good thing too. More wonderful info shared by our members. This meeting was about "What sources do you use to help with pain."

The "Senior Circle" that is sponsored by McKenzie Willamette costs $10.00 a year for seniors and offers yoga, tai chi etc.

You may also try the Cardiovascular Institute for exercise that is supervised if you are impaired and need to be watched while in repetative motion, balancing issues etc.

Also recommended was to move with you entire skeleton. For example, don't just push your arm out to reach for something. Lean into it, using your whole skeleton.

We discussed having a person come in and show us about foot reflexoliogy. This would be very cool.

Sombra, heat, ice packs, moist rice packs were brought up as well.

Look into a tens unit. It provides some relief to some people.

Exercise in general was a hot topic. Your danged if you do, danged if you don't. But your body really needs movement so find a way. Natural endorphines will kick in and help keep you moving. Try exercising in water if regular exercise is too strenuous.  Reward yourself with a long soak in the hot tub before you leave.

Laser light therapy provided by Axis Physical Therapy is wonderful. Everyone who tried it was in love with it. So its definately worth a try.

Use a "Happy Light" as Teri Strong suggested. Helps even with depression. Nice!

Acupuncture is a great tool that works for some. If you haven't tried it yet, its another one to put on your list to try. And a  feed off that is accupressure where you target certain parts of the body with pressure to find relief.

A bath overflow ring that you can buy at Bed Bath and Beyond was a trick shared by a member. I for one had never seen such a thing. It blocks your bathtub over flow giving you an additional 4 inches or more in your tub. That a little nugget of gold right there. When you hurt, you need those extra inches! :)

Still looking for other things to try? Here are some more: Use music to uplift or calm your soul! Get out your essential oils for daily use. Peppermint blocks substance P and gets that brain whirling again. Muscle pain - grab the lavendar and lemongras. Pick up the chamomile for relaxation. The list goes on and on. Essential oils are great tools to add to your arsenal.

Chocolate in moderation can be used for pain. Proven by researchers. Truth. Don't believe me? Google it!

Take your vitamins. Make sure you are getting enough B and D especially.

Another lady recommened those Sciata pills that are advertised in the Sunday paper. She has had good luck with them. So maybe that is something to research.

Lastly, I'd like to mention pets. Yes, pets. Those furry little boogers are a part of your pain team or should be! Snuggling and petting has been proven to relieve stress. So forego the goldfish and get something furry to be your best friend.

Thats it my peeps! Just remember you are your best advocate. Build a team to support you. Hug often as its proven to comfort and heal. And get lots of rest. Hope to see you the second Tuesday of March at 6 pm for our next pain meeting!

January Meeting

I feel really bad but I missed January's meeting. The following is the handout that was given from Teri Strong. And I have no idea why the paper is streaked either. The copy is clean and so is my scanner. Grr. Please disregard the patchy look. ;)