ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES & STEROIDS LINKED TO CHRONIC PAIN

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ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES STEROIDS LINKED TO CHRONIC
PAIN
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Taking anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen and
steroids for pain relief may increase your
chances and are linked to developing chronic
pain! When you sustain an injury or infection,
the body responds by releasing chemicals to clear
and clean the area. This initial stage of healing
causes swelling, increased warmth, and discomfort
and is known as the inflammatory stage.
Currently, the medical protocol would be to
recommend anti-inflammatories to decrease the
pain and swelling, and if the symptoms are
significant, a 5-day steroid pack. New research
has shown that blocking inflammation with drugs
can lead to harder-to-treat chronic pain. Taking
anti-inflammatories and steroids was linked to
chronic pain. Researchers in this study examined
pain mechanisms in both humans and mice. They
found that neutrophils play a key role in
resolving pain. Neutrophils are a type of white
blood cell that has a broad variety of functions
that include the release of inflammatory
mediators, fighting infection, removal of debris,
and much more.
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Inflammation plays a crucial role in resolving
pain.

• Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white
  blood cells. In healthy adults, they typically
  constitute about 50 to 70 percent of white blood
  cells and function as innate immune cells. They
  are the first line of defense against bacteria
  and other foreign organisms. Neutrophils respond
  to inflammation and fight bacteria mainly by
  their swallowing function (phagocytosis). They
  also release powerful chemicals that help with
  tissue healing after injury.

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Opposite to our current understanding, pain
resolution is an active biological process in
which the inflammatory process uses neutrophil
cells to stop the pain process. Taking
anti-inflammatories and steroids are linked to
developing chronic pain because they interfere
with the healing process.
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It is DANGEROUS to interfere with the
INFLAMMATION process.

• Neutrophils dominate the early stages of
  inflammation and set the stage for repairing
  tissue damage. Researchers found that when those
  with acute pain had a higher percentage of
  neutrophils, they were protected against chronic
  pain development. Inflammation occurs not only to
  clean and repair wounds but is also critical in
  reducing pain as the injury heals.

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• NSAIDs increased the risk of continued back pain
  2 to 6 years later.
• Experimentally blocking neutrophils in mice
  prolonged the pain up to 10 times the normal
  duration.
• These findings are also supported by a separate
  analysis of 500,000 people in the United Kingdom
  that showed that those taking anti-inflammatory
  drugs
• to treat their pain were more likely to have pain
  two to ten years later.
• Acute pain does not build in a progressive
  process to become chronic. Instead, it is an
  active biological process causing changes to
  occur in genes that results in the subsiding of
  pain.

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Instead of Medicating, Proper Pain Treatment MUST
Start with Identifying the Type of Pain
Chemical, Mechanical, Thermal

• Mechanical Pain
• Mechanical Pain occurs when stress is placed on a
  joint or soft tissue, such as when you bend your
  finger all the way back. If you go back far
  enough, you will feel pain. As soon as you
  release, the pain immediately abates. There is no
  injury or damage to the tissue. Bending your
  finger backward produces mechanical stress that
  causes pain. Movement in opposite direction
  relieves the pain. Mechanical pain is usually
  intermittent, but it can be constant as when the
  stress is constant holding your finger
  backward.
• When you have pain that comes and goes or changes
  with different movements and/or positions, it is
  mechanical.

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• Chemical Pain
• Chemical pain is caused by the bodys
  inflammatory response to injury. It is a complex
  chemical reaction and occurs to aid the initial
  repair of tissue damage by releasing chemicals
  from the blood, fibroblasts, and local
  macrophages to clean up the area and start the
  healing process. An example of chemical pain
  would be hitting your thumb with a hammer or a
  toothache.

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• Chemical pain is described as throbbing,
  constant, and does not change with movement. Pain
  that comes and goes cannot be chemical. Back pain
  that is worse with sitting and bending but a bit
  better with walking is not chemical or
  inflammatory pain. It changes with movement and
  will not respond to chemical treatments such as
  anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers.
  Inflammation can be uncomfortable, but it is part
  of the miraculous natural healing process. It
  usually lasts only a few days. Symptoms of a
  localized injury that continue after a few weeks
  result from re-injury / re-tearing of poorly
  healed tissue or unresolved mechanical problems.

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Treatment Differences Between Mechanical
Chemical Pain

• Mechanical pain only responds to a mechanical
  treatment or a CHANGE of position or movement.
  Mechanical treatment must therefore be targeted
  to a specific joint or tissue to change that
  tissues current position or property. An example
  of a mechanical disorder would be a shoulder
  dislocation. A dislocation is very painful and
  requires heavy narcotics to mask the pain for
  relief. But, if you can relocate the shoulder,
  90 of the pain is instantly resolved because the
  mechanical stress or dislocation is resolved.
• Chemical pain is the result of the inflammatory
  process. The body releases chemicals to clear and
  clean the area to begin the healing process. This
  initial stage of healing causes swelling,
  increased warmth, and discomfort.

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• Medications can assist in decreasing the swelling
  and pain, BUT the inflammatory process has a
  vital role in cleaning the area and properly
  initiating the healing process. Our goal should
  be to manage this phase, NOT stop it.
• Differentiating between pain caused by a
  mechanical or a chemical stimulus is critical. To
  get relief, you must first know if you need to
  remove mechanical stress or an inflammatory
  component. Chemical and Mechanical pain are
  different, and so are their treatments.
• Only a correct diagnosis will produce the proper
  treatment and outcome.

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