Health

What a pain!

We have all experienced pain – whether it be child birth, a broken bone or touching a hot pan. It’s unpleasant but usually temporary. Pain killers, rest and sometimes even an operation can take these pains away and we feel better. But imagine if you have pain every day , for weeks, months or even years. Chronic or persistent pain, defi ned as pain that lasts for longer than three months, aff ects 28 million people in the UK, with back pain, fi bromyalgia, arthritis and headaches amongst the commonest causes.

Pain’s purpose is to keep us safe - it teaches us what is dangerous and what not to do again. It forces us to rest until something is healed. In chronic pain, however, those pain impulses can keep coming, long after the injury or problem has healed and our bodies can start to feel pain from the slightest stimulus, such as gentle touch or walking a short distance. We are starting to realise that this type of pain is less to do with what is injured, and more to do with a faulty pain pathway.

Patients with chronic pain are often at their wits end, desperate for something to take away their suff ering. The understandable answer for them is invariably more painkillers. These are often prescribed for acute pain – from straightforward paracetamol and ibuprofen to stronger opiate based prescription drugs like codeine, tramadol and morphine. These drugs can be invaluable for short term pain relief, but not only can these drugs stop working in the longer term, they can also make things much worse.

As well as unpleasant side eff ects such as nausea, constipation, and drowsiness, in the longer term opiate medication can lead to addiction and tolerance, so a person requires bigger and bigger doses to have the same eff ect, eventually resulting in very little pain killing eff ect but potentially a lot of long term side eff ects. However, we do not recommend stopping these medications abruptly, as this can lead to withdrawal side eff ects. Your doctor or

Dr Rachel Tyler is a doctor at

Stirling Road Surgery, St Budeaux

pharmacist can help with planning a slow reduction.

Many patients really want to come off these long term medications, but are fearful that there will be nothing to replace it with. In my experience, most will notice very little diff erence in their pain levels when they wean off their medication, as the tablets have long stopped being eff ective. In fact long term opiate medication use can actually increase pain levels in the long term. So what can you do to help persistent pain?

Top Tips 1. Relaxation – stress causes muscle tension which exacerbates pain. Meditation and mindfulness are great ways of helping reduce stress levels and also help distract from pain. 2. Exercise – it may feel like this is the last thing you can manage but gentle exercise such as Tai – Chi can make a huge diff erence to muscle strength and pain levels. 3. Get outside – Being close to nature has huge therapeutic benefi ts. Whether it’s getting out to go for some sea air, onto the moor for countryside and views or even just a walk to the bottom of the street or garden, try and get outside as often as possible. 4. Pace yourself – listen to your body’s stop signals. Better to do a small thing each day than try and cram it all into one and spend days afterwards paying the price. 5. Sleep – a good night’s sleep can improve pain levels considerably. See resources below for help with this. 6. Get Help – there are so many resources out there now to help. I have listed some here but do speak to your GP if you are struggling, especially if you want help with reducing medication. www.bodyreprogramming.org www.paintoolkit.org www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/ pain-service/reconnect2life/ www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/ mental-health-issues/sleep/

Expansion & investment for Rock Dental

Lucy Stevens and Raj Mohanty had the pleasure of taking over The Rock Dental Practice just over a year ago in June 2021. Lucy had worked alongside the previous principal dentist, Miss Pearton, who has now retired. The duo were keen to sustain the same friendly independent ethos of the practice whilst ensuring that it continues to stay up to date with the latest techniques and equipment of modern dentistry. Raj graduated in 2000 from SRMC University and has worked in both the hospital and practice setting in London before settling in Plymouth. She enjoys all aspects of dentistry and has a special interest in Periodontology in which she gained a Masters Degree in India. Raj recently completed training in botox and fi llers and consistently attends courses to further her dental techniques and skills. Lucy qualifi ed from Cardiff University with BDS (Hons) in 2010. She carried out her vocational training with Malcom Prideaux in Plymouth before working as a Maxillofacial Senior House Offi cer at Derriford. Lucy sat her MJDF exam in 2012 to become a member of the Joint Dental Faculties. She was an Associate Dentist at the practice for eight years, before taking up joint ownership with Raj last June. Lucy enjoys all aspects of dentistry and takes the time to build a good rapport with her patients. During this last year they have expanded the practice to include a newly fi tted accessible downstairs reception and surgery. There is ample free parking, helping to ensure the patient experience is as straight forward as possible. The practice has recently invested in a new cone beam CT scanner and intra – oral scanner to further enhance the level of patient care. Lucy and Raj have secured more clinical staff to enable an increased capacity for new private patients, which they are delighted to accept. The team is able to provide comprehensive general dentistry as well as advanced implant solutions and oral surgery with Suresh Somasunduran, who splits his time between the practice and his associate specialist post at Derriford Hospital. Suresh has many years’ experience and can off er a wide range of advanced surgical options from surgical removal of wisdom teeth to more complex treatments, such as ‘All on 4’. He accepts patient selfreferrals as well as referrals from general dentists. The whole team look forward to welcoming patients, both existing and new. n

For more information:

The Rock Dental Practice 14 The Rock Hotel, Yelverton PL20 6DS. 01822853344 info@rockdentalpractice.co.uk www.rockdentalpractice.co.uk

A FAMILY-FRIENDLY DENTAL PRACTICE OFFERING COMPREHENSIVE DENTAL CARE • Newly installed accessible downstairs surgery and reception • In house oral surgery and implant solutions • New Cone Beam CT Scanner • Free Parking 14 e Rock Hotel | Yelverton | PL20 6DS 01822 853344 | info@rockdentalpractice.co.uk www.rockdentalpractice.co.uk

Our team are delighted to welcome new private patients!