Pain management without medication

[MrDoGood]

Hi, I'm a 24 year old male who has recently suffered from muscle death in my right shoulder. My original diagnosis was AVN, but this spread to the deltoid. When the surgeon discovered this a bypass was done, restoring circulation but causing me a crippling ammount of pain. My consultant has told me he can relieve the pain by removing the deltoid and part of the bicep but this will leave me with a withered arm. Consequently, I'm not going to have that done to me. I've been prescribed hydrocodone to dull the pain but I know this will lead me to be dependent and possibly cause other health problems as a side effect. I'm just after some advice on how to manage pain without drugs. I'm running regularly to try and release endorphines and trying to stay active but the pain won't fade without medication. Does anyoone have any tips or advice to offer?

Thanks for your time.

[nano369]

Make sure you try acupuncture too. One of the things it helps best is pain management. Best wishes with this problem.

[Jaybay]

Have you tried a good chiropractor yet?  The one I see when needed specializes in sports related injuries and I achieved some very good results there.  The treatment was somewhat similar to what you might find with a physical therapist, but with some added bells and whistles like accupuncture.  Might be worth a try.  Also, not all Pain Management docs are created equally.  They don't just pass out narcotics, and I personally know of one in my area who also uses accupuncture.  That would be another avenue to pursue.