Tens of thousands of people whose chronic physical pain is usually kept in check have suffered setbacks since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, according to pain management specialists across the nation.

Those who regularly treat pain say that since Sept. 11 they have been inundated with complaints of worsening pain from patients who suffer from cancer, back problems, arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, chronic headaches and other ailments.

At Washington Hospital Center, pain management specialists said complaints about flare-ups have been five times greater than usual. In Houston, specialists reported that pain complaints from cancer patients are up 33 percent, and in Buffalo, they have doubled.

The widespread reaction, they said, was clearly triggered by stress over the attacks, fear of more terrorism and concern for what the future will bring their children.

"A lot have been stable for years on their medication, but after [the attacks], we are getting flooded with phone calls saying that their pain has gotten quite out of control," said Lee Ann Rhodes, the medical director of pain management at Washington Hospital Center. "Patients who normally are happy that their pain is under control are coming in in tears."

The phenomenon was evident in the first week after the attacks. At George Washington University Hospital, physicians said complaints about pain and other symptoms of chronic ailments climbed abruptly.

"The medicine department was swamped with . . . patients with rheumatoid arthritis, pain, asthma," said James L. Griffith, associate chairman of the psychiatry department. All kinds of chronic medical disorders were aggravated , he said.

Physicians said stress levels across the country have increased as Americans fret over the risks of bioterrorism, the ailing economy, grief for those who died and anger at the attackers.

Moreover, they said, the suffering has been amplified by insomnia, as millions of Americans stay glued to televisions into the wee hours or simply lose sleep to worry. They go through their days on less rest, and doctors said sleep deprivation intensifies the perception of pain.

Peter Staats, chief of pain medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said the reaction leaves no doubt about the strength of the mind-body connection. "Pain more than any other area of medicine has the mind and the body interlinked," Staats said.

"When patients are in an emotional state of anxiety and anger, there is symptomatic magnification. It doesn't mean they don't hurt. But pain involves emotions," and physicians must understand that and not automatically prescribe more painkillers.

Estimates of the number of Americans who suffer chronic pain range from 45 million to 100 million.

Many are treated with drugs, but specialists also provide counseling, biofeedback and other relaxation techniques to help patients diminish discomfort.

But anger and angst can cut through such efforts without a patient's awareness, said David Borenstein, a rheumatologist and clinical professor of medicine at George Washington University. He said the many patients who have perceived more pain were unaware that their bodies were reacting to world events.

"When you tell people this is a natural response to a loss and stress, I think many have come to understand it and don't necessarily require additional medicines," he said. "Those more on the edge have needed more."

Judy Denny, 55, of the District, has had chronic pain in her right leg since she emerged from failed back surgery as a paraplegic four years ago. The pain has mostly been controlled with the help of her physician, Rhodes.

But the past two weeks have not gone well for Denny, who said she has felt anguish for the attack victims and fear for what the future will bring her two teenage children. After speaking with Rhodes, she said, she realized why she was in greater pain.

"I never, ever put it together before, but I have been having particular problems with my right leg in the last weeks," she said. "There are earthquakes in other countries that kill thousands of people, and we don't see that as a major thing in our lives, but when it's the Twin Towers, it really gets to you ."

Roberta Hagen, a Bethesda nurse who has suffered from chronic back pain for 10 years, said her pain skyrocketed the day of the attack when her family was worrying about a nephew who worked in the World Trade Center. Even after learning that he was alive, she said, her symptoms did not ease.

"It was absolutely miserable," she said. "Obtaining information about my nephew helped, but then there was a secondary effect of sympathy for the rest of the folks who didn't survive. . . . Normally, you think you have such good control, and then you find with these outside stressors [that] you lose that and the condition just goes out of control."

Physicians across the country who treat cancer patients for pain report the same phenomenon.

Jessie Leak, an associate professor of anesthesiology at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in Houston, described the problem as endemic and said complaints to her office have risen 33 percent. Most of MD Anderson's patients come long distances, so the complaint volumes there are representative of the nation , Leak said.

"This extraordinary event is beyond anything we normally deal with," she said. "They are experiencing a tremendous sense of displacement and anxiety about this event added to their cancer and pain."

Mark J. Lema, chairman of anesthesiology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, said clinic traffic at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute there has doubled in recent days because of pain complaints, and he said those complaints stem from the stress of Sept. 11 and the worry that there will be other attacks.

"Everyone's been worried," Lema said. "People are tense because they are waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Washington Post October 1, 2001; Page A01

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

As I mentioned in the October 6 newsletter, EFT is phenomenally helpful in treatment of emotionally related pain.

EFT was put together by Gary Craig and is a derivative of Thought Field Therapy that was developed by Roger Callahan. TFT was my first introduction into energy medicine and I learned that in 1998.

However, EFT is much more streamlined and seems to achieve fabulous results by balancing one's energy meridians while saying positive affirmations about the addiction in question.

Psychological Acupuncture

EFT is psychological acupuncture without the needles. It works by inputting kinetic energy (tapping) onto specific acupuncture meridians on the head and chest while actually activating the brain circuits that are involved in the energy disruption by thinking about the problem.

All, not some, but ALL negative emotions are due to disruptions in one's bioenergy system.

Combining the tapping with a positive affirmation seems sufficient to disrupt the field that is created from the emotion and its consequence on one's physiology and thus normalizes the bioenergy disruption.

I used to use antidepressants 5-10 times per year on my patients, but with EFT under my belt, I seriously doubt that I will ever need to use antidepressants again.

This is incredibly exciting, as depression is one of the most devastating and common diseases on the planet. It exacts a toll far more significant in pain and suffering than just about any other disease.

If you are struggling with depression, one of the best things you could do would be to find a qualified EFT practitioner and once you are feeling better start following my eating plan . EFT can also be used for any food addiction problems such as sugar or bread.

Anyone Can Learn This Technique in Five Minutes

This technique is so amazing it is to good to be true. It has been a major benefit for nearly all of the patients we have trained in it.

The actual technique is described in great detail at www.emofree.com through a free 80 page book that you can download. One can also identify practitioners who use this technique on the site.

The only variation in the above book that is different from what I use is that the "9 Gamut" procedure does NOT need to be done. This is described in the advanced EFT materials. Eliminating the 9 Gamut procedure drastically simplifies the technique.

I use a derivative of the technique that is presented in the manual that I learned from purchasing all the videos that Gary offers on the site. It is much more streamlined and seems to work even better.

Advanced Work for Health Clinicians

Gary has over 60 hours of videos from his previous workshops that collectively can be purchased for around $400. I believe that it is one of the best values in health care education on the market.

EFT is the most effective therapy that I know of to rapidly and efficiently resolve the physical consequences of severe emotional trauma and it is far superior to the drug solutions that many in New York are currently choosing.

The following are some reactions common to people who experience traumatic stress following a crisis or disaster. Although these thoughts, feelings and actions can be very upsetting, people should try to remember that they are normal reactions to what can be an abnormal and very stressful situation.

The keys to resolving the trauma are the affirmation statements used in EFT. They generally revolve around what one is distressed about. Dr. Patricia Carrington provided the EFT community with a list of some statements that are particularly helpful for the trauma:

Statements One Can Use During tapping

From Mercola.com.