Thrive Magazine - Fall 2016

Do Life Better!

SEPT â—? 2016

EPIDEMICpain-killer addiction Exercise for your soul Easy workout with a HUGE pay-off!

Are you over or under dosed?

Here with you when minutes count

Minutes count when you’ve suffered a stroke.

Prompt diagnosis and expert treatment are key to reducing a stroke’s impact and even saving your life. That’s why Essentia HealthSt. Joseph’s Medical Center is an Acute Stroke Ready hospital and has a specially trained team to rapidly respond. Martin Luther, of Brainerd, has made a full recovery from the major stroke he had last year thanks to the Stroke Alert Team.

EssentiaHealth.org

Signs and symptoms of a stroke

F ace drooping A rm weakness S peech difficulty T ime to call 911

Co nt e n ts

Features

Fall 2016

Do Life Better.

Holy Yoga 8

Jill Mattson’s Holy Spirit Holy Yoga Studio breathes new life into Main Street Crosby.

By Sarah Nelson Katzenberger

Past the Pain 17

Articles

Area providers work together to help patients manage pain and avoid opioid addiction.

By Sarah Nelson Katzenberger

Sinuplasty (Page 14)

Simple sinus surgery helps patients breathe again. By Jodie Tweed

High Five! (Page 6)

Cuyuna Regional Medical Center adds first hand surgeon to orthopaedic team.

By Sarah Nelson Katzenberger

Walking to Workout (Page 14) Walking is a great (and easy) way to get moving. By Sheila Helmberger

Physician’s columns:

Know Your Meds (PAGE 12)

By Justin Richards, Pharm.D.

Bare Bones (PAGE 16)

By Essentia Health St. Joseph’s-Brainerd Clinic

Staff PUBLISHER • Pete Mohs ADVERTISING • S usie Alters EDITOR • Sarah Nelson Katzenberger COPY EDITOR • Delynn Howard DESIGN • Lisa Henry

To advertise: Susie Alters 218-855-5836 Comments: newstips@brainerddispatch.com Brainerd Dispatch P.O. Box 974 Brainerd, MN 56401 Read Thrive online: thrive@brainerddispatch.com

Cover Tracey Schrock practices spiritual breathing and stretches at Jill Mattson’s Yoga studio.

thrive@brainerddispatch.com •

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Balloon sinuplasty is a treatment option for chronic and recurrent sinusitis. While many people are able to treat their cold and flu symptoms with medication, including antibiotics, chronic sinusitis never seems to go away, often lasting for 12 weeks or longer.

Chronic sinusitis symptoms can include: Dr. Kurtis Waters demonstrated a sinuplasty procedure on a patient in his Baxter office. The procedure helps relieve the symptoms common with chronic sinus issues.

SINUPLASTY

• Headaches • Fatigue • Dental pain • Bad breath • Low fever • Nasal blockage and discharge • Facial congestion/fullness

By Jodie Tweed

Mike Manion of Brainerd figures it had been five years since he had been able to breathe out of both nostrils. “My sinuses were constantly running and I was getting a lot of sinus infections,” Manion explained.

He had sinus surgery performed about 25 years ago, but back then the procedure involved scraping out his sinus cavities. “It was brutal. I knew I needed to have my sinuses cleaned out, but I didn’t want to go through that again.”

While the procedure worked, a few years later the nasal stuffiness and discomfort returned. Last year Manion learned about a balloon sinuplasty procedure performed by Dr. Kurtis Waters, a Baxter facial plastic surgeon and Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist, and decided to give it a try. He met with Waters, who decided Manion was a perfect candidate.

Waters said it is important to differentiate between allergy problems and sinus problems, although the two can be related. Balloon sinuplasty is a treatment for individuals suffering from chronic and/or recurrent sinus problems.

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“There’s no surgical cure for allergies, even though we wish there were,” said Waters.

During the sinuplasty procedure, a small balloon is inserted via a nasal endoscope into the patient’s nasal cavity to gently open and reshape the clogged sinuses, allowing them to drain normally and restore blood flow. They often are also irrigated to clean out any infection. While the procedure has been available for the last few years, Waters said the technology has become more refined, allowing most patients to undergo the procedure in his office under a mild local anesthetic. He uses Entellus balloon sinus dilation equipment for this procedure.

The procedure is minimally invasive — no incisions or cutting — and offers a quick recovery time. Waters compared the discomfort similar to going to the dentist for a common

• living your best life • thrive@brainerddispatch.com

dental procedure under local anesthesia.

“It was completely painless. It worked just beautifully,” Manion explained, of the sinuplasty procedure he had last February. “I’ve been breathing through both nostrils since I left the place.”

Waters also tested Manion for allergies and he is allergic to at least six different types of trees and weeds. He is now taking medicated drops placed under his tongue to treat his specific allergies. He’s never felt better.

“I would recommend it to anyone,” said Manion.

Jackalyn Fox of Nisswa was only 12 when she started suffering from debilitating headaches. On a scale of one to 10, her daily and constant headaches never got under a seven, said her mom, Sheila Fox. The Pequot Lakes eighth-grader spent more than a year suffering from daily headaches because nothing seemed to work. She had lost her sense of smell and had no air flow

Are you ready to change your life?

through her nose. Doctors tried a variety of medications and tested her for allergies. Someone suggested she needed a gluten-free diet. James and Sheila Fox worried that their daughter could have a tumor. She underwent a CT Scan.

“She had headaches all day,” Sheila Fox said of her daughter, now 13. “You feel bad and helpless because you can’t do anything about it.”

Fox was referred to Dr. Waters, who recommended a balloon sinuplasty procedure, which he performed May 11 at the local surgery center under general anesthesia.

Jackalyn’s sinuses were clogged so the medication wasn’t able to reach her infected sinuses. Right after the procedure, she felt immediate relief, her mom said. She could breathe and smell again. The constant headaches were gone and they haven’t returned.

In preparation for their surgery, Waters said he tells his sinuplasty patients to plan to take the rest of the day off, but most can return to work the next day. Most patients who undergo an Entellus Medical balloon sinus dilation report improved sleep, less facial pain, less antibiotic use and fewer visits to the doctor following a sinuplasty procedure, according to Entellus Medical.

For chronic sinusitis patients who need additional medication to shrink inflamed sinuses, Waters also performs an office-based procedure where he places a dissolvable implant within the sinuses that is able to deliver medication directly to the sinus tissues for a month. •

thrive@brainerddispatch.com •

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218-829-2020 NorthernEyeCenter.com Brainerd Little Falls Staples

001453620r1

“There’s no surgical cure for allergies.” -Dr. Waters

CRMC WELCOMES NEW ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON

High Five!

By Sarah Nelson Katzenberger

Susan Moen is here to make some waves.

Fresh out of a yearlong fellowship at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Moen will join the surgical team at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Crosby as the hospital’s first orthopaedic surgeon specializing in hand and elbow surgery.

Dr. Susan Moen

Moen said some of the most common hand conditions are carpal tunnel syndrome, “trigger fingers” — a condition where one or more fingers gets stuck in a bent position, and arthritis at the base of the thumb. Hand conditions affect patients of all ages.

“There are a lot more conditions that affect the hand that are very complicated,” Moen said. “The hand is so intricate and complex which opens it to a lot of problems — but also

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provides a lot of unique solutions for those conditions.”

Moen said her patients are referred from their primary care physician following an injury or issue with a chronic hand or elbow condition. Once imaging (x-ray or MRI) is completed, Moen works with the patient to decide the next step, whether surgery is necessary or an alternative treatment plan.

CRMC also has a certified hand ther-

apist. “That is a crucial part of hand surgery,” Moen explained, noting that a lot of conditions can be managed with injections or therapy, but sometimes they do require surgery. “We make that decision together. ” Many orthopaedic surgeries are hard on the body and require a great deal of force with tools like large sterile hammers —not for the faint of heart.

“Hand surgery is a little more delicate,” Moen laughed.

• living your best life • thrive@brainerddispatch.com

“The hand is so intricate and complex which opens it to a lot of problems — but also provides a lot of unique solutions for those conditions.” -Dr. Susan Moen Moen, a native of Stillwater, said she is excited to bring something new to the area. She will see patients at CRMC in Crosby and Baxter as well as Riverwood Hospital in Aitkin.

“This is something we haven’t had here at all,” noted CRMC Marketing Director Peggy Stebbins. “Until now, patients have had to go to Duluth or St. Cloud to find a hand surgeon.”

CRMC’s orthopaedic surgical team has shifted in recent months with

the resignation of Dr. Leo Chough in early 2016. Dr. Erik Severson has been the only orthopaedic surgeon in Chough’s absence.

The hospital will also add an additional orthopaedic surgeon who specialized in sports medicine, Dr. Jonathan Hurseth in September, making all three orthopaedic surgeons fellowship trained. Fellowship training means an extra year of education focused on a specific specialty.

“This really expands the number of services we are able to offer,” Stebbins said.

Moen said going into medicine has been something she always knew she would do. Her mother worked as a nurse anaesthetist, and allowed Moen to shadow her in the operating room when Moen was younger. “I just fell in love with it,” Moen said. “You get to meet and interact with a lot of interesting people.” •

thrive@brainerddispatch.com •

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By Sarah Nelson

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PHOTOS BY

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thrive@brainerddispatch.com •

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Wanna Go? or a monthly

r $70 ith 10 visits fo w s rd 51-4337. ca ch n u tion, call 218-8 offers p a a g rm Yo fo it in ir p re S o Holy s tax). For m te of $35 (plu ra ip h rs e b m e

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thrive@brainerddispatch.com •

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PHYSICIAN’S COLUMN

Justin Richards, Pharm.D.

Too often, patients tell providers they don’t remember the name or prescribed doses of their medications. Cuyuna Regional Medical Center (CRMC) is devoted to safe medication use and is urging patients to keep track of all the medications they take. Having an up-to-date list of all your medications with you at all times helps your doctor, pharmacist, hospital, and other healthcare workers provide better care.

On the right are rips that will make your health care visits easier, help to reduce medication errors, and allow health care workers to provide better care.

CMRC also provides a medication therapy management (MTM) service, which is medical care provided by pharmacists whose aim is to optimize drug therapy and improve therapeutic outcomes for patients.

For more information about this service or to schedule an appointment please contact:

Internal Medicine 218-545-1047 (select option 1 )

Know your

Meds

Can you name all of your medications?

Do you know the doses and what 5 MED the medicine is for?

TIPS!

By Justin Richards, Pharm.D.

1. Before your appointment: Gather all of your medications and their

original bottles to bring to the appointment. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins and supplements, inhalers, eye drops, ear drops, ointments and lotions.

2. During your appointment: Tell your provider about any medication

allergies or side effects you’ve noticed, if you have started taking any new prescription or over-the-counter medications since your last visit, and how often you skip or forget to take doses of your medications.

3.

New medication: Find out the name of the medication; why you need to take it; how often to take it, when to take it, and how much to take for each dose; and if you should avoid any other medicine, food, or drinks while taking that medication.

4.

Picking up your prescription: Ask the pharmacist if the drug is what your doctor prescribed, how to follow the directions on the label, if there is an information sheet available that explains possible side effects, what to do if you miss a dose or take too much, and any other questions you may have about this or other medications.

5.

After your appointment: Keep an updated list of your medications with current doses and directions in your wallet or handbag, use a pill box or track your doses with a written chart to help you remember to take your medicine, and schedule a follow-up visit with your provider to track your progress.

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• living your best life

Gadgets and Accessories

Missing A Dose?

By Lisa Henry

Medication organizers have come a long way!

For those who have many meds or have trouble remembering to take them, there are several new options. Go “techy” and try a digital pill

! s p o o

box or download a pill alert app for your phone.

MedFolio

Equipped with LED lights that illuminate the compartment containing the pill needing to be taken. For more information: www.medfoliopillbox.com

There are variations on how “techy” the boxes get, but probably the most impressive is the The Audio/Visual Alerting Pillbox by MedFolio found on their site for $199.00. By connecting the box to a computer using a USB cable, you can input all your medication information including doses, times to take, side effects, basically anything on the information sheet you would get from the pharmacy or label.

Too daunting a task?

Have a tech savvy friend or physician with internet access set it up for you remotely! Still think you’ll miss a dose? That’s okay, for a $2.99 monthly subscription fee, the box will email or text you with a notification. Ha! Looking for something a little less pricey?

Set up reminders yourself using calendars or reminders on your phone. In Google Calendars, you can do this quite easily for free and get email notifications. You can also download a prescription reminder app for your phone. With a 4.5 star rating on Google Play, the Medisafe meds and pill reminder app is a popular solution. It’s free to download and available for both iPhones and androids. Bonus! It can also track other measurements like blood pressure and glucose. Makes sharing with your doc a cinch. •

Medisafe App

Track your medications, set reminders and save prescription data.

Available for iPhone and Android.

thrive@brainerddispatch.com •

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Walking to Workout

Invest in good walking shoes!

By Sheila Helmberger

Our neighborhoods are full of walkers. They amble past the houses when the sun is just starting to rise. Others walk at the end of a long day, when the sun has already set. Going for a morning or evening stroll might seem like just a leisure activity but the benefits of doing it regularly are huge.

FitBit tracks your progress!

Many walkers and runners use Fitbit to track their movement.

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Whether you just revel in the solitude and the time to yourself or use it as a social outing to catch up with your partner or a friend, a walk is more than just a casual outing. Sometimes there’s a four-legged pet involved too – and it benefits everyone.

Jessica Longhurst is the owner of Sexy In Training and is certified as a NPTI personal trainer, TRX and sports performance coach. She said the best part about walking for exercise or weight loss is that anyone can do it.

“Walking is one of the easiest things for all of us to do,” she said, “Walking is great whether you’re fit, unfit, young, old, slow or fast. Research has shown that just by walking you can lower the risk or prevent heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Walking can also help you lose weight and re-activate and tone your glutes, calves, thighs and hamstrings.”

Depending on the person, and how fast or slow you walk, or if there are hills, you can burn anywhere from 70-250 calories per 30 minutes of walking. “If you burn 250 calories every day,” said Longhurst, “It means losing a half a pound a week.” While it might not sound like a lot, Longhurst said to remember that it took a little while to put on any extra weight so it will take a little while to take it off.

“With all exercise, walking included, it will increase your mood and actually give you more energy.”

The American Heart Association said walking is a low-risk activity it’s a habit that’s easy to start. The AHA said 40 minutes of vigorous activity three to four times a week is all it takes to lower your blood pressure or cholesterol. A brisk walk also offers a cardio-vascular workout and benefits both the heart and lungs. Combined with other activities and a healthy diet it can improve muscle strength, bone health, and increases circulation throughout the body.

Getting started To begin a walking program start first with shorter distances and then increase your walk by five to 10 minutes each time, as you are able. Speed is not important because it will naturally increase the more you walk. Make it a part of your daily routine and you will begin to appreciate the benefits, both internal and external. As with any exercise program a few light stretches before and after a walk will keep your muscles limber. Use a

• living your best life • thrive@brainerddispatch.com

PHOTO BY

Kelly Humphry

Take a break from work and WALK!

Walking is a great (and easy) way to get moving no matter your age or stage of life.

route with hilly terrain, and it will help Buffalo Hills have some great new trails tone your legs as well. that go down to the Mississippi River.

New walking trails like the one recent Tools ly opened in the north side of Brainerd, There are dozens of apps available for and the trail that encompasses the your smart phone that will help you track downtown area can also be great placyour walk and tally how far you go, how es to walk while taking in some local many calories you’ve burned and other sights. So, whether you’re just taking information you’d like to track. The Fit- the family pet for a casual stroll after Bit is also popular with today’s walkers, work, or choose to go at a quicker pace runners and others to track their daily and cover a little more ground, those movement. walks are doing more good than you ever knew. • Comfortable shoes The shoes that you walk in should be comfortable and fit your feet well. Poor fitting shoes will result in blisters and eople day P y r calluses. Choose a pair that is designed e v rE ear fo specifically for walking, that is lightFootw weight and has some shock absorption.

Replace shoes as they begin to show wear because they may no longer offer adequate support. Longhurst said the new barefoot shoes that are on the market are thought by some to work well for walking as well as running. If you would like to see if it’s right for you she recomLet Us Help mends making the switch slowly.

Enjoy the many local trails!

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Where to walk When choosing your route, Longhurst said to keep your fitness level in mind.

She also said Brainerd is loaded with great places to walk if you want to venture out farther than your own neighborhood.

“I would recommend getting in at least three walks a week for 30 minutes.

The Paul Bunyan Trail, Kiwanis Park and

We design, manufacture, & fit Custom Orthotics

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Bare bones

By Essentia Health St. Joseph’s-Brainerd Clinic

Woman finds back pain relief thanks to skeletal pain specialist

HER ANSWER:

THE BEST PART ?

“I can now take care of my grandson, Asher.” Before, she couldn’t carry him across a room.

Now they’re playing and exploring playgrounds together.

“I couldn’t stand, sit or lay down. I had to move every 10 minutes and I was still in pain,” recalled 53-year-old Cushing resident, Lori Carry. “I just couldn’t take it anymore.”Carry was “ready to try anything” when she met with Kassandra Nelson, her nurse practitioner at the Essentia Health-Pillager Clinic. Five years of worsening lower back pain had taken its toll. Physical therapy and chiropractic visits weren’t working. Narcotics weren’t an option due to her drug allergies.

Nelson referred Carry to Henry-Socha, a new pain specialist at the Essentia Health St. Joseph’s-Brainerd Clinic.

Henry-Socha diagnosed Carry’s pain as arthritis in her spine, a common condition. The pain specialist recommended radiofrequency ablation, an outpatient procedure. Radiofrequency ablation causes nerves to temporarily lose their ability to transmit pain signals, Henry-Socha explains.

“It’s like cutting the cord to a TV or radio -- there’s no signal,” she said.

Using multiple views of X-rays, Henry-Socha carefully inserts needles through the skin and precisely positions them on nerves near the spine that send pain messages to the facet joints. Heat generated by radio waves is delivered through the needles’ tips to the targeted nerves and cauterizes them. Patients receive a mild sedation and numbing medicine.

Carry needed two treatments, one on each side of her spine.

She got pain relief immediately after her first procedure in mid-March. “I felt 100 percent better. I sat in the chair for a half-hour with no pain,” she said. “I kept waiting on the drive home to wake up from my Cinderella story.”

Henry-Socha said not all patients get immediate relief and it can take two to four weeks for the full effect. The pain relief typically lasts at least 12 months because the nerves regenerate. However, the procedure can be repeated.

Carry remains pain-free. Feeling better helps her keep up the stretches and strengthening exercises for her back that Henry-Socha outlined.

Carry is back to doing work around her home and yard. She can go Kayaking with her daughter and recently went shopping for more than six hours and never sat down.

“I have my life back,” Carry said. “For the last two years, I couldn’t get away from the pain.” • Dr. Nancy Henry-Socha is a muscle and skeletal pain medicine specialist at the Essentia Health St. Joseph’s-Brainerd Clinic. Since joining the Essentia Health team in January she has brought more options for pain relief to Brainerd lakes area.

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• living your best life • thrive@brainerddispatch.com

Past the PAIN Opioid Addiction

By Sarah Nelson Katzenberger

CROSSLAKE/CROSBY— Amanda Rooker is in pain.

Everyday for the last 11 years, she has dealt with lower back pain. She was five-months pregnant with her son when the pain started, and made the decision with her doctor to wait a year before seeking treatment in order to allow her body to recover from pregnancy and all the hormonal changes that come with it.

“A year later, nothing was better,” Rooker recalled.

She tried physical therapy, chiropractors, even a back fusion, and later, opioid pain medications.

“It just got to the point where we had tried everything and nothing was working,” Rooker said. Rooker’s need for pain medication increased and eventually she found herself living in a constant haze, sleeping up to 16 hours a day and dealing with an increased heart rate.

A dental assistant, Rooker found it increasingly more difficult to do her job and was eventually forced to resign due to her escalating pain.

In 2013, Rooker’s primary care physician, announced he was leaving. Rooker was devastated and anxious about what would happen with her treatment. More so, fearful of what it would mean for her now chronic pain. Rooker’s fears were calmed when she met Dr. Sara Lokstad at Essentia Health’s Clinic in Emily and immediately felt connected to her new doctor.

“She was kind from the very beginning. And so encouraging,” Rooker said. “There was an immediate trust there. I knew she heard me” Lokstad identified an issue with Rooker’s thyroid that may have been causing her increased heart rate and issues with exhaustion.

Once those issues were under control, Rooker realized she wanted

more. She wanted to be fully engaged in life with her kids and her husband who had taken on a lot of the work at home and in taking care of the kids. “I really wanted my life back, but I didn’t know, with the amount of medication I needed for my pain, if that was even possible,” Rooker said. “But, I was willing to try just about anything.”

Lokstad was committed to helping Rooker taper off her medications with a twoyear plan.

Lokstad said recent years have brought a shift in how physicians treat chronic pain.

At one time, opioid therapy was the norm.

“We’re learning how addictive they are and how long term use can actually cause a great deal of harm to patients,” Lokstad said. Physicians are now shifting the focus to non-opioid pain management treatments with tools like acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, physical therapy and pain psychology. “Each case is different. It’s not ever black and white,” Lokstad explained.

“We have to try to identify the underlying issue and treat that. There’s not one magic thing out there to treat chronic pain.”

For Rooker, part of having the courage to leave her pain medication behind was identifying what was driving her pain and learning to cope with it. Rooker said she has dealt with depression on and off

Pain

thrive@brainerddispatch.com •

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throughout her Clinic has given her an arsenal of tools to manage her pain life and feels with. “Before all I had was the pills,” she said. “Now I have a that exacer- so many things I can rely on — therapy, breathing, my family, bated her pain. my doctor, my faith. I’m not alone it in this.”

Her medicaCuyuna makes proactive changes tion not only eliminated her to help patients manage pain pain, it left her Chronic pain affects millions of Americans for many different feeling noth- reasons and in many different ways. ing else either. Recognizing the need to help patients “I was just a cope with and overcome pain in safe, mess inside,” addiction-free environments, Cuyuna she said.

Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in In an effort Crosby opened a pain management to help Rooker center in September. The idea is to Dr. Sara Lokstad (right) with overcome her help patients, like Amanda Rooker, patient Amanda Rooker in reliance on manage pain and still live their lives.

Crosslake. opioid pain Dr. Joshua Horowitz, an anesthem e d i c a t i o n , siologist and pain management speDr. Joshua Horowitz Lokstad started searching for additional resources and came cialist, helps patients dealing with across a four-week outpatient program at the Mayo Clinic. The all kinds of chronic pain from ongoing back pain to residual goal of the program is to help patients learn to cope with pain chronic pain that affects many cancer survivors, avoiding opiwith tools other than opioid medication and ultimately help oid treatment as much as possible. them leave their medications behind all Horowitz said pain clinics tend to get a together. bad wrap because of outdated mentality “It’s intense,” Lokstad said. that covering pain with opioid therapy was Last April, Rooker spent nine hours a standard for pain management. day, every day for four weeks at the Mayo “We’re not a pill mill — that’s a common Clinic learning new techniques to deal misconception,” Horowitz said.

-Amanda Rooker with her pain, one of the most important CRMC’s pain management center will use being training her brain to overcome the many of the same tools Rooker found at sensation of pain. She learned how to use biofeedback, breath- the Mayo Clinic as well as other more practical solutions like ing exercises, mindfulness and physical exercise to tackle her injection therapy, pain psychology and surgery when needed. pain in new ways. In May, Rooker came home with news Lok- “We’re kind of a one-stop shop,” Horowitz said. stad never thought she’d hear so soon — Rooker was comHorowitz noted there are cases where a period of opioid pletely off her pain medication. therapy may be the best solution and the goal at CRMC is to Lokstad said Rooker’s success so far has been in great part help patients manage medication and try to keep them from due to personal motivation to fight to get her life back. “Any- going down a path of reliance on medication. “We’re here to one willing to change things has a shot at success,” she said. offer any assistance we can with that,” Horowitz said.

“It’s a matter of saying, ‘I want to get better,’ knowing it may Essentia Health St. Joseph’s-Brainerd Medical Center marnot be perfect.” keting director Miranda Anderson said area hospitals are workIn August, on her 14-year marriage anniversary, Rooker cel- ing together to help fight the opioid epidemic locally and better ebrated another huge milestone — 90 days without any kind educate patients in dealing with chronic pain. The goal is not of pain medication. “I never thought I’d be here,” Rooker said. to marginalize patients struggling with opioid addiction, but to “I’m just really grateful.” work with them to find the tools needed to cope with pain and Rooker still has lower back pain. But it doesn’t control her not just mask the symptoms. life. “I’m managing,” she said. “I really am. It’s tough, but it’s “Pain is a part of life — just like joy is a part of life,” Andernot impossible.” son explained. “We feel pain physically, emotionally, spirituStatistically, the first six months are the most difficult, but ally. Learning to cope with pain and overcome it is part of the Rooker is committed to maintaining the life she has been giv- human experience.” • en back. She said she feels like what she learned at the Mayo

“I never thought I’d be here, I’m just really grateful.”

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• living your best life • thrive@brainerddispatch.com

PAIN-

OPIOD EPIDEMICWhat is being done locally

Killers

While doctors have traditionally prescribed pain-killers like oxycodone for these patients, these opioids have not been proven to be effective in the long-term treatment of non-cancer related chronic pain. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), opioid overdoses now cause more deaths in the United States than motor vehicle accidents. And hospital admissions due to opioid use, as well as babies born with opioid dependence, are on the rise across the country.

Local healthcare providers working together In order to combat the negative opioid consequences that widespread inappropriate opioid use is having on patients and communities, beginning in 2015 local healthcare providers joined together to adopt new standards of care for treating patients who have chronic pain based on the recommendations of leading healthcare organizations including Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing. Essentia Health, Cuyuna Regional Medical Center (CRMC), Lakewood Health System, and Mille Lacs Health System have all agreed to: • Minimize the number of new opioid therapy patients • Educate patients about the risks • Phase out the use of opioids for patients willing to try other treatments.

• Tighten monitoring processes to reduce abuse and diversion.

In order to provide safe, effective care for patients with chronic pain, these organizations have committed to following the current best-practice guidelines for the assessment and management of chronic pain as outlined by the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI).

Per the guidelines, the best practices for managing chronic pain include:

Research long-term u ers now believe the se of to patients a opioids is harmful nd use and abu the widespread se addictive dru of these highly g a threat to s has become public hea lth.

• Application of heat and ice.

• Use of over-the-counter medications.

• Use of anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications.

• Physical therapy, including stretching and exercises.

• Complementary therapies such as massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, and pain psychology.

Information provided by Essentia Health St. Joseph’s-Brainerd Medical Center.

Approximately 50 million Americans suffer chronic pain.