Ok, so I have an unfortunate update to my magnet therapy for neck pain article posted a day ago, not only do I think it gave me a headache, perhaps because of the proximity to my head, maybe that was wrong of me. But also I woke up this morning to two small welts where the magnets were on the back of my neck. I wonder if these metal magnets I used were some cheap metal alloy with nickel or something that is a big time irritant in them.

Anyways, I won’t be using them again, I’m pretty sure. If anyone has some good experiences – or bad – with magnet therapy, would you mind posting your story here as a comment to share with other readers who are thinking of trying it out?

Over the years, and this goes WAY back to my younger years, before alternative therapies were really popular, I remembered seeing a lot of people with these weird, kind of unsightly and utilitarian looking bracelets on. They were all metal and rigid, and had an opening at the bottom, so you could just slip them on over your wrist. Like I said, they weren’t the biggest fashion statement, which is why I noticed them, and they all pretty much looked the same as well.

I never knew what they were for at the time until about ten years ago, I had heard my first bit of information about “magnet therapy”, and thought it sounded like the biggest bunch of hogwash I’d ever heard.

However, now that I’m older and I’ve become interested in all sorts of therapies that are “alternative” in nature, not just herbs and natural supplements and medicines, I decided I would actually finally give magnet therapy for pain a try on my neck and back, two areas that have always given me trouble since I had two nasty car accidents in my teens and early twenties.  I had already had some good results from herbal painkillers for my muscle pain, to help relax the muscles, but I thought this would also be an excellent addition to my repertoire of pain relief.

So, I decided to give it a try with the least expensive product I could find just in case it was a total bust.  I got these little “magnet dots” that are stuck on a circular piece of sticky bandaid like flexible paper that you affix to whatever areas are giving you problems. The magnets themselves are no bigger than the size of a skittle – actually smaller, and the circular sticker they are on is about the size of a nickel.

I affixed one on one side of my neck, at the base, and another on the other side of my neck, also at the base.  I often wear turtle necks in the winter so it was easily camouflaged.  I noticed that throughout the day ( I wore it about eight hours), my pain was definitely decreased. Could it have been a placebo effect?  I suppose so, but I also got an unwanted side effect, perhaps from wearing it too long – I got a massive, banging headache.

I wondered if the magnets caused the headache, so I did remove them when I remembered I still had them on, but I can’t be sure the two were related. I did notice that they seems to make my pain duller. It’s usually a constant discomfort, and it definitely wasn’t as noticeable throughout my day, so I looked at that as a benefit.  Who knows, it seemed to work for me though….but the headache put a damper on it. I’m gonna try it again on a different body part, maybe my back and see what happens.  More to come!

I signed up for a Massage Envy membership about six months ago, and I still think that it was one of the best things I could have done not only for my persistent neck and back pain that are leftover from two car accidents when I was younger, but I also happen to firmly believe that receiving massages helps me to alleviate any sort of tendencies toward depression and anxiety as well. Because massage is a one on one, touching therapy, it can be deeply therapeutic to those that experience it. Some studies have shown that it may even enhance your immunity.

It also can help to enhance your blood flow and stimulate circulation, and some people even controversially believe that massage stimulates the release of toxins that are built up in the muscles and soft tissues of the body, especially the fat, where it is thought most toxins are stored.

I happen to believe that massage can help release toxins from the body, as I had a few experiences with deep tissue massages for cellulite diminishment a while back, and every time after she pummeled the fatty areas of my thighs and belly, I would urinate and it would smell really funky. The massage therapist told me at the time that was because I was releasing toxins through my urine as a result of her massaging my tissues firmly and them releasing the stored up toxic materials.

I was dubious about it back then, but honestly I couldn’t think of any other reason why my urinations would consistently smell different after I got the massage. They do recommend that you drink a lot of water afterwards, and this is the reason that most of them site, because your body has just been stimulated to get rid of stored up toxins. Whether it is true or not, who knows, but it makes me feel better knowing it might work, and I know that counts for something.

I notice after I go for my massages and she manipulates my neck and the areas of my back that always give me a hard time, that I’m pretty much pain free for several days afterwards. Of course, then time settles in, and sitting at my desk all day cramped up and also doing certain movements when I work out puts the kinks back in that need to be ironed out, but I love the whole experience of a massage that it’s become a non negotiable part of my life that I can’t live without.

The experiences are so pleasant and so therapeutic that if I had more money, I’d get them once a week. Once a month is going to have to do for now though!

So many people have fallen prey to painkiller addiction that it has really become somewhat of a national epidemic.  This is the reason you (should) see doctors prescribing narcotic painkillers like Vicodin, Percocet and other narcotic and controlled addictive substances which are usually of the opioid family.

The reason they are so addictive is that they produce a pleasant feeling “high” in a lot of people, and therefore can become very addictive, but I’ve found personally when I’ve had to take these types of narcotic drugs that they are also physically addictive, as a definite withdrawal response is experienced when they are stopped.

Alternatives to painkillers are probably the best route to go if you’re not in serious, critical pain, but the problem is, that extremely intense pain from surgeries and other trauma to the body can really only be dented by a narcotic, and that’s what they are typically used for.  However, there is a black market and there are still some doctors who will prescribe these types of meds to people who consistently ask for them by faking pain or coming up with reasons they need it over and over.

If a good doctor sees this type of thing, what they should do is refer the patient to counseling and refuse to continue to write prescriptions, as it may be indicative of an addiction.  However, Doctors do walk a thin line between alienating patients and doing the morally and ethically right thing here, so it definitely creates a grey area for them.

Burt Reynolds, who most of you know as a long time actor and celebrity, has recently admitted himself to a rehab clinic to help him overcome his addiction to prescription painkillers (undisclosed which ones they actually are, but I feel pretty certain it’s gotta be one of the opioids).  He had back surgery and was in severe pain, so he was prescribed painkillers and became dependent on them, so dependent that it started to really interfere with his life and happiness.

Often people feel out of control when they feel they can’t live without a substance, and this is what painkiller addiction does to you.  Just because they are legal and can be prescribed by Doctors doesn’t mean that they are still severely addictive and debilitating when an addiction forms.

Flip-flops are very cute and stylish and they let your feet stay cool in hot weather.  Another purpose of flip-flops is protection for your feet from stepping directly on sharp objects or from getting fungal infections in a public area.

For short term use, flip-flops are functional and serve a purpose. However, wearing flip-flops for extended periods of time such as all day, everyday can cause a host of problems for people with foot, knee, hip or back ailments or injuries.  Long term use of flip-flops for people without these underlying problems probably won’t have any ill effects, but for people with these issues, wearing flip flops even for shorter periods of time can result in joint pain and discomfort, and even lasting issues stemming from their use.

If you do have foot problems such as hammertoes, flat feet, a high arch or bunions, you probably will find that wearing flip-flops for extended periods of time will aggravate and worsen these conditions.   Another part of the population that flip-flops can be hazardous to is diabetics or people with circulatory problems.  This group of people can have problems with numbness of the feet therefore they would not notice cuts or abrasions to the feet that could lead to serious infections.

Flip-flops are, by their design, not supportive of the feet which makes them a poor choice for anyone with back, hip or knee ailments.  The lack of support of the flip-flop will often lead to pain and worsening of these injuries.

Wearing flip-flops causes a shorter stride and inward rolling of the foot and the toes curl to keep the flip-flop on.  The combination of these factors causes a low shock absorption for your feet while wearing flip-flops.  Recommendations by the American Podiatric Association are to bend a flip-flop to check for the foot supporting ability.  When doing this, the flip-flop should never bend in the middle, but should bend at the ball of the foot.  Usually, the cheapest flip-flops offer no foot support.  Generally, use of flip-flops for short term is okay and long term use should be avoided unless your feet and joints are in perfect shape.