Choose your best pillow!

Did you know that the pillow you sleep on can help relieve or exacerbate your pain levels?  There are tons of therapeutic pillows on the market, but before you shell out the cash, it’s important to learn what kind of pillow will work for you.

A good pillow, needs to support the natural curve of your neck. If this is not the case, your whole spine can be impacted.  How much support you need is determined by your unique situation (Do you have old neck injuries? Disc problems?)  Often those who have experienced a loss of curvature in their cervical spine benefit from a pillow that provides extra traction (tilts the head back further while they sleep) and more firmness in a pillow.  If you can’t afford a pillow with good neck support, you can substitute by rolling a hand towel, securing the ends with hair bands and putting that under your neck while you sleep.  

While this type of pillow should, in theory, work best for most people, that isn’t always the case.  Some people do better with foam or down others try buckwheat pillows.  If you can find someone who has a therapeutic pillow you can borrow, see if you can try it out for a night or two.

Other considerations:

-Sleeping on your stomach is terrible for your neck. If you suffer from chronic neck pain you would benefit from losing the stomach sleeping habit.

-Hip and low back pain can often be helped by putting a pillow or rolled up towel beneath your knees when sleeping on your back or between your knees when sleeping on your side. Again, there are no benefits to sleeping on your stomach.

Don’t let sleep make your pain worse!  Reassess how you sleep and the tools you sleep with now to make the most difference!

*Sore No More! is not a licensed physician. All information on this blog is researched by our staff and is subject to inaccuracies. No information found here should be used in the place of advice from your doctor. * Sore No More 150 East Center Street Moab, Utah 84532 Tel: (435) 259-5931 Toll Free: (800) 842-6622 www.sorenomore.com

Making the Pain Scale Work For You

How many times have you found yourself gazing at a form depicting a scale from one to ten and asking you to assign your pain a number? How many times have you pondered whether indicating that your present pain level is a three might impact your care, even though sometimes it’s as high as a seven?  Pain scales can feel severely limiting, but they are invaluable to health care providers to track your progress with them (and even required by some insurance companies!)

Following are some serious articles to help you most effectively use the pain scale at maximum benefit.

Using the Pain Scale: How To Talk About Pain

Using the Pain Scale Effectively

And here is one not so serious, but potentially more useful pain scale option.

Boyfriend Doesn’t Have Ebola. Probably.

*Sore No More! is not a licensed physician. All information on this blog is researched by our staff and is subject to inaccuracies. No information found here should be used in the place of advice from your doctor. * Sore No More 150 East Center Street Moab, Utah 84532 Tel: (435) 259-5931 Toll Free: (800) 842-6622 www.sorenomore.com

Barometric Pressure and Pain

Have you ever known a storm was coming because you could 'feel it in your bones?'

What is Barometric Pressure?
Barometric pressure is the measurement of air pressure and can be described as follows:
"The weight of the air pressing down on the Earth, the ocean and on the air below causes air pressure. Earth's gravity, of course, causes the downward force that we know as "weight." Since the pressure depends upon the amount of air above the point where you're measuring the pressure, the pressure decreases as you go higher." (source)

These changes in pressure don't just impact the earth, but also impact the inhabitants- us.  Increased atmospheric pressure can do a number on our bodies and our pain levels.

Learn more about barometric pressure and pain by reading the following articles:

Pressure and Pain

Does Weather Affect Joint Pain?

Why Does Pain Get Worse When A Storm is Coming?

*Sore No More! is not a licensed physician. All information on this blog is researched by our staff and is subject to inaccuracies. No information found here should be used in the place of advice from your doctor. * Sore No More 150 East Center Street Moab, Utah 84532 Tel: (435) 259-5931 Toll Free: (800) 842-6622 www.sorenomore.com

Magnesium- the Magical Mineral

Many people take Calcium-Magnesium supplements because they know that calcium is vital to bone growth.  Magnesium tends to fall by the wayside as ‘that mineral you need to absorb calcium.’  The fact of the matter is that it’s a bit of a miracle substance that has many benefits to the human body. Some of those benefits include;

-Muscle Relaxation (and decreasing cramps)

-Improved Sleep

-Decrease in Anxiety and Depression

-Decrease in Body Odor

-Aid in treating, reversing or reducing the impact of a variety of illnesses.

-Healthy digestive/bowel function

Sometimes increasing your intake of magnesium rich foods, or taking a quality magnesium supplement can make all the difference in how you feel.

Learn more by reading some (or all!) of the following articles

Benefits of Magnesium Far Greater Than Previously Imagined

Are You Low on Magnesium?

Top Five Health Benefits of Magnesium

Magnesium for Pain Relief

Inflammation and Pain Management With Magnesium

*Sore No More! is not a licensed physician. All information on this blog is researched by our staff and is subject to inaccuracies. No information found here should be used in the place of advice from your doctor. * Sore No More 150 East Center Street Moab, Utah 84532 Tel: (435) 259-5931 Toll Free: (800) 842-6622 www.sorenomore.com

Arnica Your Pain Away!

For those that turn to homeopathics for their health needs, Arnica Montana is renowned for its assistance in treating pain.  While there are many kinds of Arnica, those that are most beneficial for muscle pain and bruising contain an anti-inflammatory compound called helenalin.

Topical preparations of arnica are commonly used by athletes for sore muscles, to sooth contusions and in cases of arthritis.  Topical applications can cause skin sensitivities in some, so do a patch test first! Once you’ve established that you’re not having an adverse response, keep a tube of arnica gel or cream on hand.  (We haven’t tested out the use of Arnica in conjunction with Sore No More, but imagine it would probably prove even more effective!  (Again, patch test for safety!)

Arnica can also be used in homeopathic form.  Those familiar with homeopathics will understand the ‘like treats like’ principal behind them.  Homeopathics are highly diluted versions of a particular substance and can often be found in either liquid or tablet form.  The tablets are dissolved under the tongue and have many rave reviews regarding their effectiveness.

If Arnica is not something you have previously tried for pain relief, it is worth taking into consideration.  Even better? It’s safe for your pets!

*Sore No More! is not a licensed physician. All information on this blog is researched by our staff and is subject to inaccuracies. No information found here should be used in the place of advice from your doctor. * Sore No More 150 East Center Street Moab, Utah 84532 Tel: (435) 259-5931 Toll Free: (800) 842-6622 www.sorenomore.com

Natural Health Websites You Might Be Missing Out On

Here at Sore No More, we are big fans of looking at your health in a more natural sense- which is why we offer you a natural product to combat your pain.  That being said, there are so many wonderful resources around the web to help you in your journey to live a more natural life.  Whether you want to replace your Tylenol with something less likely to damage your liver or you're just interested in the possibilities, these websites can help guide you.  

MindBodyGreen

Nature Hacks

Natural News

Herbs Info

GreenMedInfo

Note: We are not affiliated with any of the above listed websites.  They are purely for informational purposes.  This is in no way a sponsored post.

*Sore No More! is not a licensed physician. All information on this blog is researched by our staff and is subject to inaccuracies. No information found here should be used in the place of advice from your doctor. * Sore No More 150 East Center Street Moab, Utah 84532 Tel: (435) 259-5931 Toll Free: (800) 842-6622 www.sorenomore.com

Pain Free 2013 Part V : Pain Free Medicine Cabinet

When you’re striving for a pain-free life, especially a natural one, there are a few things that you will benefit from having on hand.

Arnica Gel and Homeopathic Tablets

Arnica is particularly useful for sore muscles and bruising.  The gel can be used for massage and topical application to contusions while the tablets sooth tightly wound or overworked muscles.

White Willow Bark and Turmeric Capsules

White willow bark contains a substance called salicin, which is a predecessor to aspirin and functions as a pain reliever. Turmeric serves as a natural anti-inflammatory.

Ice Packs and Heat Packs

Ice and heat therapy can both be very beneficial in fighting pain. Remember, ice is primarily for acute pain (e.g. decreasing swelling after a sprain).  Heat helps with more chronic problems (e.g. tight muscles from repeated stress injuries.)

Sore No More!

Nothing works quite as quickly as a topical analgesic which provides nerve numbing agents for instant pain relief as well as compounds that work on deeper muscles.  Never hurts to have a tub of Sore No More on hand to apply to pulled muscles or to add to your bath.

Learning stretches that can sooth aching muscles, breathing techniques to combat pain and meditation exercises can all supplement your all natural, pain free regimen.  

*Sore No More! is not a licensed physician. All information on this blog is researched by our staff and is subject to inaccuracies. No information found here should be used in the place of advice from your doctor. * Sore No More 150 East Center Street Moab, Utah 84532 Tel: (435) 259-5931 Toll Free: (800) 842-6622 www.sorenomore.com