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Milk thistle is a flowering plant that belongs to the same plant family as daisies. It grows wild in the Mediterranean and is used to make herbal remedies. There are oral capsules, tablets and liquid extracts of milk thistle. The supplement is mostly used to treat liver problems. Milk thistle can cause an allergic reaction, including a severe and possibly fatal reaction (anaphylaxis). People who are allergic to other plants in the Asteraceae family, such as ragweed, daisies, marigolds, and chrysanthemums, are more likely to have an allergic reaction. What is the importance of the milk thistle? Milk thistle is a flowering plant that belongs to the same plant family as daisies. It grows wild in the Mediterranean region and is used to make herbal remedies. Different parts of the milk thistle plant can be used to cure a variety of ailments. Milk thistle is most commonly used to treat liver problems. How is milk thistle best used? Milk thistle is a dietary supplement that can be found in many health food stores. Since there is no recommended dose for milk thistle, it is advisable to follow the directions on the package. Tea made from milk thistle is also available. It is advisable to limit yourself to 6 cups of milk thistle tea per day if you drink it. It is provedAccording to studies on the use of milk thistle for certain ailments, Diabetes is a disease that affects millions of people Milk thistle may help people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood sugar, but more research is needed to prove this. Irritability (dyspepsia). Milk thistle, in combination with other nutrients, may help with digestive symptoms. The disease of the liver. The effect of milk thistle in liver disease such as cirrhosis and hepatitis C has produced conflicting results in studies. Before you start taking milk thistle or other supplements, it is always a good idea to consult a doctor, as it may interact with other medications or diseases. Milk thistle comes in a variety of forms, such as a dietary supplement or a pill. When people decide to look into it, they often turn to supplements. Oil of milk thistle Our 100 percent organic Milk Thistle Oil is another fantastic way to get the benefits of milk thistle. Our oil is made from a milk thistle capsule, which is good for the liver. It has a slightly different nutrient composition, which makes it great for protecting your skin and heart. It also helps to cleanse the body. Our oil is rich in vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that helps the body fight oxidative stress. It also contains omega-6 fatty acids, which are beneficial to the body when obtained from plant sources. If you are thinking about taking herbal supplements, talk to your doctor first. You can also seek advice from a therapist who specializes in the use of herbal/health supplements.

Millions of individuals live with chronic pain. To cope with everything from back and joint pain to debilitating pain from accidents, many people have turned to pain medication. Whether prescription or over-the-counter, there are several drawbacks to relying on medication to relieve pain. Pain pills can sometimes interact with other medications, they can be addictive, and they ultimately only mask symptoms instead of treating them. Physical therapy is a good alternative to the long-term use of pain medication. Why Choose Physical Therapy? There are several reasons why physical therapy is a great alternative to relying on pain meds. One of the primary reasons to choose physical therapy is that it can treat the root causes and not just the symptoms of your pain. While pain medication may give you instant relief, it doesn’t last. You remain in an endless cycle of taking more and more medication. There is also the cost to consider. Years of prescription medication, even at a reasonable price, will likely add up to more than the cost of how much physical therapy you’ll need. What Can Physical Therapy Do for Individuals Living with Pain? While the thought of doing exercises, or almost any type of physical activity, may sound unpleasant to a person living with pain, the right kind of movement can be extremely helpful. Physical therapy targets the area of your pain and works on treating the condition instead of temporarily masking it. A physical therapy routine can improve your overall strength and endurance. It can also improve joint stability and increase joint and muscle flexibility. According to PT in Motion, physical therapy can even help rewire the brain to reduce chronic pain. There are several conditions that physical therapy can help. Osteoarthritis Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis Chronic Headaches Fibromyalgia Neuropathic Pain Caused by Injuries Stroke What Treatment Options are Available? A trained physical therapist can use a variety of treatment methods to reduce or completely eliminate your pain. Manual therapy, which is also known as bodywork, is one of the most commonly used and effective types of treatment available. Manual therapies can include massage and joint manipulation. There are several other specific techniques that a physical therapist may use to help alleviate pain. Cold Laser Therapy – Cold lasers overwhelm injured tissues with photons. This can stimulate the healing process in cells that are damaged. When the healing process begins, this naturally reduces the level of pain. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation – This is also called TENS, and it involves low voltage currents that stimulate a painful area of the body. The electricity reaches the body through electrodes attached to various areas on the skin. This can increase endorphins, which naturally reduce pain. Graded Motor Imagery – This uses the brain’s neural connections to eliminate pain. The therapy includes visualizing movement and training the brain to overcome different types of pain. Ultrasound – Ultrasound works by using sound waves that generate heat. This ultimately promotes an increase in blood flow. Increased blood flow can promote healing in the affected areas. While using pain medication for a short while may be effective, physical therapy is a much better option for long-term relief from pain. An experienced physical therapist can do a complete assessment on your current condition and create a customized therapy plan that’s right for you. Contact us so we can help you start enjoying reduced pain in your life with the help of physical therapy!

Pain, unfortunately, is a part of life. Whether it’s caused by injury or simply the natural process of aging, many people experience pain on a daily basis. Low back pain, neck pain caused by cervical spine issues, and arthritis-related joint pain are the most common pain-related patient concerns. Other causes for pain can include injury, surgery, depression and even obesity. Managing pain Everyday aches and pains are often controlled by popping a couple of over-the-counter pain relievers. But for many people with severe or long-lasting pain, that’s not the answer. “For a long time, narcotic painkillers were thought to be the best treatment for chronic pain,” says Bryan Schuler, a Park Nicollet pharmacist. “But new research, combined with an incredible rise in painkiller abuse and dependence, has led the medical community to rethink the use of these drugs and focus instead on new methods of pain management.” A growing danger Nearly three out of four prescription drug overdoses are caused by painkillers. These overdoses cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. And it’s a growing problem for women, who are more likely than men to have chronic pain and be prescribed prescription painkillers, often at higher doses and for longer time periods. “Painkillers actually become less effective the more you take them, so we typically only prescribe them for short-term use for acute pain, such as fractures and surgical pain,” says Nadine Maurer, MD, a Park Nicollet Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctor. “If the pain continues, it’s important to follow up with your clinician to explore other treatment options.” How do opioids affect the body and brain? Painkillers, which are also called opioid pain medications, reduce the feeling of pain by attaching to receptors in the brain, which triggers a release of dopamine, the body’s “feel good hormone.” Our bodies naturally create chemicals in response to pain that can help heal it; these are called endorphins. They decrease pain in the same way as opioid pain medications, but opioids are more potent. When an opioid is taken, it reduces pain for about four hours; however, pain is amplified for the next 72 hours. As a result, many people have to continually increase the dosage of opioids they take in order to get the same pain relief. This happens because the opioid receptors became less sensitive and larger doses are required to achieve the same level of pain relief. When someone takes opioid pain medications for longer than two to three weeks, around the clock, the body’s ability to create and use endorphins is destroyed. Endorphins are never released in the body chronically – they are always only released for a short period of time – which allows the body’s pain system to return to normal after the painful sensation is gone. A body that is dependent on opioids is never allowed to return to that normal state. The body becomes dependent on higher and higher doses of opioid pain medication to feel a reduction in pain, and becomes dependent on opioids to release dopamine normally. This leads to pain and depression when opioid pain medications are reduced or stopped. Finding a better way Park Nicollet and HealthPartners are leaders in working to reduce the misuse of prescription painkillers. For many years both have been developing new initiatives and pain management processes – first independently, then together as our organizations combined. This big shift involved more than simply asking our clinicians to prescribe fewer painkillers; it was about changing our culture and the way we view pain. Instead of focusing on treating the symptom, we’re now more tuned into the causes of pain and how we can help patients alleviate their pain before drugs are needed. Not only do our pain management experts share their knowledge across the HealthPartners organization, but many give educational presentations to their peers at other health care systems locally and across the country in an effort to shift this national trend of painkiller misuse. Our teams even influenced the state medical licensing board to change its stance on opioids. We’re proud to be leaders in helping our patients – and the community – find the safest, most effective pain relief.

Four Steps for Using Prescription Pain Medications Safely ©Shutterstock/Kimberly Boyles(link is external) Prescription pain medications (opioids) are powerful drugs. They can be effective if they’re used safely, but if they’tedly, despite the harm they cause to the person’s life.re misused, a person can become addicted to them. Addiction occurs when a person continues to take drugs or alcohol repea Prescription pain medications can also cause nausea (feeling sick toath. the stomach), slow down a person’s breatng,hi and event sop the breathing completely, leading to de Follow these four important steps to help you and your family stay safe when it comes to prescription opioids: If a doctor or dentist prescribes a pain medication for you or someone in your family, ask if the medication contains an opioid. Talk about the risks, and consider asking if there are different treatments that could work. pioid is prescribed for someone in your family who has a history of drug use, addiction, or mental illness, tell the doctor or dentist immeIf an odiately. Any of these factors can increase a person’s risk for opioid addiction. Take opioids exactly the way they were prescribed, and never use them for any other reason. Never share medications with anyo else.ne If you have leftover pills, get rid of them safely. Learn the steps to do that and discover programs in your area that t baakeck unused medications.

One of the most common reasons Americans visit their doctors is to get help with pain relief. Pain causes distress and can even be debilitating. Doctors sometimes prescribe opioid pain relievers to their patients who are in pain. While these drugs can provide much-needed relief, they also have the potential for misuse and addiction. Addictive Pain Relievers There are different medications that can ease short-term or chronic pain. Many of these drugs fall into the opioid category. These drugs are also known as narcotic pain relievers and include morphine and codeine, as well as several synthetic modifications of these drugs. It is important to be cautious when taking medication for pain. In some cases, the treatment can pose more risk than the underlying cause of the pain. While not entirely free from the risk, you are less likely to become addicted to pain-relieving drugs when you take them exactly as prescribed. Still, many of these medications produce a “high” that can become addicting to some patients. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) explains that some people become psychologically dependent on this feeling of euphoria. There is also the risk of physical dependence. Dependence is most likely to happen if a person takes a higher dose of their pain medication than they were prescribed or if the medication was improperly prescribed. Pain medication over-use (sometimes called medication abuse or narcotic abuse) is one of the most prevalent forms of drug misuse in the United States.1 One of the reasons for the prevalence is that pain medications are sometimes over-prescribed. For example, a person might not need such strong pain relief or a pain medication might be prescribed for longer than a person needs it. The Opioid Crisis Prescription opioid addiction has risen substantially over the last few decades. What begins as dependency can lead to seeking pain medications on the black market or using illicit opiates such as heroin. The NIDA explains that the current issue of narcotic misuse in the U.S. started in the late 1990s when “pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates.” As of 2018, the NIDA estimated that between 8% and 12% of patients in the U.S. who are prescribed opioids develop a use disorder. Of patients who develop an opioid use disorder, 4% to 6% eventually turn to heroin. On average, 115 people die from an opioid overdose in the U.S. every day. Between July 2016 and September 2017, there was a 30% to 70% increase in heroin overdoses throughout the country. The epidemic has hit rural America as hard as it has the nation’s cities. In response, multiple government agencies have created initiatives to curb the epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the first line of defense is reducing the number of opioids that are prescribed. This initiative involves working with physicians and pharmacies to ensure that they only use powerful painkillers when absolutely necessary.America’s Staggering Opioid Epidemic Signs and Symptoms of Opioid Misuse Unfortunately, it is part of the nature of painkillers that they become less effective over time. This is partly because your body will adjust to the medication and develop a tolerance, which means your body will require higher doses of the drug to get the same effect. There are certain signs that your therapeutic use of opioids has crossed into the territory of addiction.2 Signs to be aware of include: Exhibiting compulsive behaviors to get the drug and continue to use it (even in the face of negative consequences) Taking the medication to get high or relieve anxiety rather than to relieve pain Needing to take a higher dose of medication to feel the same effects that you used to experience at lower dosages (especially if snorting or injecting the drug might be required to get the desired effect) Using pain medication in amounts or at times that are not consistent with your doctor’s prescription—especially if you are misleading your doctor or pharmacist to do so If you recognize these behaviors or are concerned about your use of pain medication, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider. Opioid Addiction Discussion Guide Get our printable guide to help you ask the right questions at your next doctor’s appointment. DOWNLOAD PDFTreatment for Opioid Addiction Most Addictive Painkillers According to the NIDA, these are the top 10 most addictive pain medications that are currently available. Most of these drugs are prescribed for the treatment of chronic pain, though some are intended for short-term use.  Note that this is not a complete list. There are other painkillers and prescription medications that can be addictive.1 Fentanyl More potent than morphine, fentanyl (which is sold under the brand names Actiq, Duragesic, and Sublimaze) is most often prescribed to treat patients with severe or post-surgical pain.3 It is also used for patients who have become physically tolerant of opiates. Fentanyl is available as a lozenge, injectable solution, or skin patch. While it can be legally prescribed by a doctor, the drug might also be obtained illegally. Common street names for fentanyl include: Apache China Girl China White Dance Fever Friend Goodfella Jackpot Murder 8 Tango and Cash TNT It has also become common for fentanyl to be used in counterfeit drugs or be cut into illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine. This practice adds to the dangers of these drugs because users are often unaware that they contain fentanyl.4 2 OxyContin OxyContin is a brand name for extended-release oxycodone. It is taken as a tablet and is used as an around-the-clock treatment for patients with moderate to severe pain that is expected to last for an extended period of time.5 OxyContin is sometimes called O.C., Oxycet, Oxycotton, Oxy, or Hillbilly Heroin when it is sold illegally on the street. 3 Demerol Demerol is a brand name for meperidine. This pain medication is often used with anesthesia. Demerol is also used to treat moderate to severe pain (such as that which can be experienced after childbirth).6 It is available as an oral