Take Two Aspirins and the Pain Is Still There. Chronic pain, the kind that lasts longer than six months, can be inconvenient and excruciating.
You don’t look sick so not many people know that every movement hurts. Chronic pain interferes with your emotional health, social life and working to support yourself or your family.
You travel from doctor to doctor while they perform various tests and dispense medication for you to try. Still, nothing changes. The pain is there where no one can see it and you begin to question your mental stability.
Your family thinks that you are “faking it.” Your work suffers because you just can’t do what you used to do. Your friends drop you from their circle because you aren’t available to do fun things because of “your pain.”
Classic approach
You have tried every remedy that you can think of and a few that are new to you. Prescribed medications, acupuncture, physical therapy, electrical stimulation, behavioral therapy, surgery and not to forget your “grandma’s cure for everything have not helped in the least. Pain has become a constant companion. It’s a good day when you can forget about it for a few minutes.
This pain comes from the firing of your nervous system for no apparent reason. Patients with chronic pain have higher rates of depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances. They may also have a higher rate of mortality due to heart and respiration disorders. When physical activity causes pain, you cease to stop exercising and gain weight.
Teams of doctors are formed to help with pain management. While one course of treatment may work or lessen the pain in one patient, it may not help another patient with the same symptoms. The team will try a hunt and peck method to see what works best for you.
If you are unable to have a team, then take a list of all medications, prescribed and over the counter, to each and every doctor. You do not want to have the medications interact with each other, giving you another set of problems.
People have a difficult time in understanding your chronic pain. You need to form a group of understanding people who will listen to your complaints, your constant visits to different doctors and all of the pills you are taking.
You need to be willing to try things until the pain returns. Sometimes, acting just like everyone else releases the stress of the pain and you can forget about it. Find things that you enjoy doing that can be do when you are in less pain. Photography, writing or other hobbies will keep your body and mind working.
Different approach
If you reside in Manchester, England, there is one place that specializes in the whole team approach to your chronic pain problem. Physio Well Being is different that most pain management clinics. They don’t prescribe exercising the affected area. They are guided by the principle that it is better to rest that area before exerting any pressure on it. Their treatment sessions also last an average of 45 minutes or longer.
After your initial consultation, they will devise a plan for treatment that has been formed by the team just for you. They offer a variety of services for all types of pain from pain management to postural assessment. They provide deep, joint massages to conditioning before playing a sport. If you are unable to come to them, then they will come to you either at home or your office.
Chronic pain is disheartening, debilitating and not understood. Under the pain, is the real you.
