Get The Right Help For Your Pain

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How Much Does It Hurt?

Sometimes, a medical professional will ask us to “rate your pain on a scale of 1–10”.

It can be tempting to avoid rating one’s pain too highly, because if we say “10” then where can we go from there? There is always a way to make pain worse, after all.

But that kind of thinking, however logical, is folly—from a practical point of view. Instead of risking having to give an 11 later, you have now understated your level-10 pain as a “7” and the doctor thinks “ok, I’ll give Tylenol instead of morphine”.

A more useful scale

First, know this:

Zero is not “this is the lowest level of pain I get to”.

Zero is “no pain”.

As for the rest…

  1. My pain is hardly noticeable.
  2. I have a low level of pain; I am aware of my pain only when I pay attention to it.
  3. My pain bothers me, but I can ignore it most of the time.
  4. I am constantly aware of my pain, but can continue most activities.
  5. I think about my pain most of the time; I cannot do some of the activities I need to do each day because of the pain.
  6. I think about my pain all of the time; I give up many activities because of my pain.
  7. I am in pain all of the time; It keeps me from doing most activities.
  8. My pain is so severe that it is difficult to think of anything else. Talking and listening are difficult.
  9. My pain is all that I can think about; I can barely move or talk because of my pain.
  10. I am in bed and I can’t move due to my pain; I need someone to take me to the emergency room because of my pain.

10almonds tip: are you reading this on your phone? Screenshot the above, and keep it for when you need it!

One extra thing to bear in mind…

Medical staff will be more likely to believe a pain is being overstated, on a like-for-like basis, if you are a woman, or not white, or both.

There are some efforts to compensate for this:

A new government inquiry will examine women’s pain and treatment. How and why is it different?

Some other resources of ours:

Take care!

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  • The Pain Relief Secret – by Sarah Warren

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    This one’s a book to not judge by the cover—or the title. The title is actually accurate, but it sounds like a lot of woo, doesn’t it?

    Instead, what we find is a very clinical, research-led (40 pages of references!) explanation of:

    1. the causes of musculoskeletal pain
    2. how this will tend to drive us to make it worse
    3. what we can do instead to make it better

    A lot of this, to give you an idea what to expect, hinges on the fact that bones only go where muscles allow/move them; muscles only behave as instructed by nerves, and with a good development of biofeedback and new habits to leverage neuroplasticity, we can take more charge of that than you might think.

    Warning: you may want to jump straight into the part with the solutions, but if you do so without a very good grounding in anatomy and physiology, you may find yourself out of your depth with previously-explained terms and concepts that are now needed to understand (and apply) the solutions.

    However, if you read it methodically cover-to-cover, you’ll find you need no prior knowledge to take full advantage of this book; the author is a very skilled educator.

    Bottom line: while it’s not an overnight magic pill, the methodology described in this book is a very sound way to address the causes of musculoskeletal pain.

    Click here to check out The Pain Relief Secret, and help your body undo damage done!

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  • Olive Oil vs Coconut Oil – Which is Healthier?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Our Verdict

    When comparing extra virgin olive oil to cold-pressed coconut oil, we picked the olive oil.

    Why?

    While the cold-pressed coconut oil may offer some health benefits due to its lauric acid content, its 80–90% saturated fat content isn’t great for most people. It’s a great oil when applied topically for healthy skin and hair, though!

    The extra virgin olive oil has a much more uncontroversially healthy blend of triglycerides, and (in moderation) is universally recognized as very heart-healthy.

    Your local supermarket, most likely, has a good extra virgin olive oil, but if you’d like to get some online, here’s an example product on Amazon for your convenience.

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  • Supergreen Superfood Salad Slaw

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    When it comes to “eating the rainbow”, in principle green should be the easiest color to get in, unless we live in a serious food desert (or serious food poverty). In practice, however, a lot of meals could do with a dash more green. This “supergreen superfood salad slaw” is remarkably versatile, and can be enjoyed as a very worthy accompaniment to almost any main.

    You will need

    For the bits:

    • ½ small green cabbage, finely diced
    • 7 oz tenderstem broccoli, finely chopped
    • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped (if allergic, simply omit)
    • ½ cucumber, diced into small cubes
    • 2 oz kale, finely shredded
    • 4 green (spring) onions, thinly sliced

    For the dressing:

    • 1 cup cashews (if allergic, substitute 1 cup roasted chickpeas)
    • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 oz baby spinach
    • 1 oz basil leaves
    • 1 oz chives
    • ¼ bulb garlic
    • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp chia seeds
    • Juice of two limes

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Combine the ingredients from the “bits” category in a bowl large enough to accommodate them comfortably

    2) Blend the ingredients from the “dressing” category in a blender until very smooth (the crux here is you do not want any stringy bits of spinach remaining)

    3) Pour the dressing onto the bits, and mix well to combine. Refrigerate, ideally covered, until ready to serve.

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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Related Posts

  • They Were Injured at the Super Bowl Parade. A Month Later, They Feel Forgotten.
  • Is still water better for you than sparkling water?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Still or sparkling? It’s a question you’ll commonly hear in a café or restaurant and you probably have a preference. But is there any difference for your health?

    If you love the fizz, here’s why you don’t have to pass on the sparkling water.

    Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

    What makes my water sparkle?

    This article specifically focuses on comparing still filtered water to carbonated filtered water (called “sparkling water” or “unflavoured seltzer”). Soda water, mineral water, tonic water and flavoured water are similar, but not the same product.

    The bubbles in sparkling water are created by adding carbon dioxide to filtered water. It reacts to produce carbonic acid, which makes sparkling water more acidic (a pH of about 3.5) than still (closer to neutral, with a pH around 6.5-8.5).

    Which drink is healthiest?

    Water is the best way to hydrate our bodies. Research shows when it comes to hydration, still and sparkling water are equally effective.

    Some people believe water is healthier when it comes from a sealed bottle. But in Australia, tap water is monitored very carefully. Unlike bottled water, it also has the added benefit of fluoride, which can help protect young children against tooth decay and cavities.

    Sparkling or still water is always better than artificially sweetened flavoured drinks or juices.

    Isn’t soda water bad for my teeth and bones?

    There’s no evidence sparkling water damages your bones. While drinking a lot of soft drinks is linked to increased fractures, this is largely due to their association with higher rates of obesity.

    Sparkling water is more acidic than still water, and acidity can soften the teeth’s enamel. Usually this is not something to be too worried about, unless it is mixed with sugar or citrus, which has much higher levels of acidity and can harm teeth.

    However, if you grind your teeth often, the softening could enhance the damage it causes. If you’re undertaking a home whitening process, sparkling water might discolour your teeth.

    In most other cases, it would take a lot of sparkling water to pass by the teeth, for a long period of time, to cause any noticeable damage.

    How does drinking water affect digestion?

    There is a misconception drinking water (of any kind) with a meal is bad for digestion.

    While theoretically water could dilute stomach acid (which breaks down food), the practice of drinking it doesn’t appear to have any negative effect. Your digestive system simply adapts to the consistency of the meal.

    Some people do find that carbonated beverages cause some stomach upset. This is due to the build-up of gases, which can cause bloating, cramping and discomfort. For people with an overactive bladder, the acidity might also aggravate the urinary system.

    Interestingly, the fizzy “buzz” you feel in your mouth from sparkling water fades the more you drink it.

    Is cold water harder to digest?

    You’ve chosen still or sparkling water. What about its temperature?

    There are surprisingly few studies about the effect of drinking cold water compared to room temperature. There is some evidence colder water (at two degrees Celsius) might inhibit gastric contractions and slow down digestion. Ice water may constrict blood vessels and cause cramping.

    However other research suggests drinking cold water might temporarily boost metabolism, as the body needs to expend energy to warm it up to body temperature. This effect is minimal and unlikely to lead to significant weight loss.

    Which water wins?

    The bottom line is water is essential, hydrates us and has countless other health benefits. Water, with carbonated bubbles or without, will always be the healthiest drink to choose.

    And if you’re concerned about any impact to teeth enamel, one trick is to follow sparkling water with a glass of still. This helps rinse the teeth and return your mouth’s acidity back to normal.

    Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University and Charlotte Phelps, Senior Teaching Fellow, Medical Program, Bond University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Dry Needling for Meralgia Paresthetica?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

    In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

    As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

    So, no question/request too big or small

    ❝Could you address dry needling, who should administer it, and could it be a remedy for meralgia paresthetica? If not, could you speak to home-based remedies for meralgia paresthetica? Thank you?❞

    We’ll need to take a main feature some time to answer this one fully, but we will say some quick things here:

    • Dry needling, much like acupuncture, has been found to help with pain relief.
    • Meralgia paresthetica, being a neuropathy, may benefit from some things that benefit people with peripheral neuropathy, such as lion’s mane mushroom. There is definitely not research to support this hypothesis yet though (so far as we could find anyway; there is plenty to support lion’s mane helping with nerve regeneration in general, but nothing specific for meralgia paresthetica).

    Some previous articles you might enjoy meanwhile:

    Take care!

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  • Science of HIIT – by Ingrid Clay

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    We previously reviewed another book in this series, Science of Yoga. This one’s about HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training!

    We’ve written about HIIT before too, but our article doesn’t have the same amount of room as a book, so…

    This one lays out 90 key HIIT exercises that you can do at home without special equipment. By “without special equipment”, we mean: there are a few exercises that use dumbbells, but if you don’t want to get/use dumbbells, you can improvize (e.g. with water bottles as weights) or skip those. All the rest require just your body!

    The illustrations are clear and the explanations excellent. The book also dives into (as the title promises) the science of HIIT, and why it works the way it does to give results that can’t be achieved with other forms of exercise.

    Bottom line: if you’ve been wanting to do HIIT but have not yet found a way of doing it that suits your lifestyle, this book gives many excellent options.

    Click here to check out Science of HIIT, and level-up yours!

    Don’t Forget…

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

    Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails: