Pain: Somatic and neurological pain

Pain and mental health

Your physical and mental health are intricately linked in ways that experts and researchers still don't fully understand. However, they do know that the two are linked and the link goes both ways. That’s why feeling anxiety can also make you feel queasy or nauseated, or feeling fear can cause a sinking feeling in your belly. Pain is no exception to that, as it can negatively affect your mental health, and your mental health can affect the way you experience pain. Long COVID can exacerbate joint and muscle pain and cause tension.

Sources:  
The Mayo Clinic, The Cleveland Clinic 
Post-Covid recommendations for primary care physicians – Switzerland  
Practical management of post-Covid19 disease, Dr Ioannis Kokkinakis, Dr Mathieu Saubade, Dr Konstantinos Tzartzas, Dr Serge De Vallière, Dr Catherine Duquenne, Pr Gilles Allali, Dr Frédéric Regamey and Pr Bernard Favrat - Rev Med Suisse 2023 

    • Somatic musculoskeletal pain (joints, muscles, tendons, fascias, ligaments) 

    • Somatic diffuse (abdominal, chest) 

    • Neurological pain (burning, tingling, electric shocks, etc.)

  • Simple actions to begin, that you can do right now  

    • Painkillers according to the level of pain 

    • Daily resonance breathing (cohérence cardiaque) 

    • Daily mindfulness meditation 

    • Daily adapted physical activity 

    • Daily dynamic stretching

    Additional actions to go further

    • Vagus nerve stimulation 

    • Daily yoga 

    • Complementary medicine approaches (acupuncture, hypnosis, reflexology, etc.) 

    • Medical massages

    • Specific history of pain 

    •  Physical clinical assessment including neurological evaluation 

    • Painkillers prescription (oral, patch, topical) 

    • Specific prescription according to the clinical assessment (Duloxetine, venlafaxine, pregabalin, gabapentin, low-dose amitriptyline, etc.) 

    • Physiotherapy prescription 

    • Trans electrical neural Stimulation (TENS) prescription 

    • Osteopathy/chiropractic prescription 

    Tests:

    • Pain visual analogue scale

    • Radiological exams 

    • Electro-neuromyography

    • Physiotherapy, dynamic stretching exercises  

    • Manual therapies 

    • Physical exercises 

    • Trans Electrical Neural Stimulation (TENS)  

    • Dry needling 

    • Acupuncture 

    • Breathing exercises 

Find out what has worked for others experiencing your symptoms.

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