Chronic pain in seniors can be a completely different ball game than chronic pain in younger adults. For one, it can be harder to diagnose and treat. For another, there can be more potential complications from typical pain medications. In fact, the risks of chronic pain in seniors are generally much higher than those of their younger counterparts.

A new study brings another risk to light: a greater risk of falls. Apparently, seniors with chronic joint pain or muscle aches, especially in the legs, are more prone to falling than seniors without chronic pain. They may be as much as 50 percent more likely to fall. This is a scary statistic, because falls in the senior population are bad news in general. Add an injury from a fall to a chronic pain condition, and you have a longer recovery and a return to a potentially lower quality of life.

My advice for seniors with chronic pain and their loved ones? Ask your doctor about seeing a physical therapist, or attending a falls prevention class. There, you can learn not only how to avoid potential falls, but also how to avoid greater injuries if you do fall. It can mean the difference between a strain and a broken bone.

I just read an article on Newswise about a condition I have recently begun writing about here:  chronic postoperative pain. Chronic postoperative pain is the term for pain that persists long after the expected healing time from an operative procedure. These range from simple laparoscopies to major surgical procedures.

The article focuses on one of the major causes of chronic postoperative pain, which is pain following hernia repair. They discovered that some of the expected indicators of postoperative pain did not contribute as much as expected. These include age, pre-existing anxiety or depression, obesity and the presence of other pain syndromes (such as fibromyalgia). This is a little different than some of the research findings I discovered, so it will be interesting to see what future studies find.

A recent article in the New York Times reports that many drug companies will be upping the prices of medications, due to health care reform. Drug companies are working to maintain profits, according to the article, and have increased their prices an average of 9 percent over the last year alone. The Times estimates this to cost the average household taking medications daily around $200 more per year.

We all know the economy hasn't been great lately. While things are starting to look up, many of us are still recovering from job losses and the housing market collapse. This will affect everyone, including those with health insurance.

This kind of story frustrates me, because it paints a picture of drug manufacturers as nothing more than money-making corporations, interested in profit margins. Me, on the other hand? I am interested in people being able to afford the medications that they need. It's hard enough as is. Now it looks like it will be even more of a challenge. I just don't think anyone should ever have to choose between basic necessities, such as food and shelter, and their prescription medications.

How does everyone else feel about this?

The holidays are rapidly approaching, and you know what that means. Sweet potato pie, pumpkin bread, homemade cookies...not to mention that Thanksgiving feast next week!

Of course, the foods you eat don't necessarily determine how much pain you have. However, there are some foods that can help relieve some types of inflammatory pain. Now is a good time to plan ahead, and to decide what you will splurge on and what you will avoid.

Splurge-worthy foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and water. Fill up on these first, and then you won't be tempted to eat as much of the "other stuff" that is not so good for you. That includes food high in sodium, and other processed ingredients. Rather than cut out all of that delicious holiday food, just eat less.

For more on anti-inflammatory foods, check out this article by about.com's Guide to nutrition.