Eight mistakes that may worsen your pain

Are you experiencing pain that’s giving you problems in your daily life?

Prevention offers information on eight mistakes that consumers make in their pain treatment:

1. You’re trying to tough it out. One in four pain sufferers waits at least six months before seeing a doctor.

2. You’ve seen multiple specialists. In our fragmented health care system, with a specialist for every aliment, it’s easy to jump from one doctor to the next.

3. You’re afraid to exercise. It may be the last thing you feel like doing when you’re hurting, but studies show that exercise reduces all kinds of pain.

4. Your first instinct is surgery. Surgery may feel like the most efficient option, but for chronic pain, the research is mixed.

5. You’re wary of narcotics. The news is filled with stories about unintentional deaths from pain medications or celebrities who became hooked on them.

6. You haven’t tried natural remedies. If you can’t take pain medications because of side effects or are looking to enhance their effects, consider alternative treatments.

7. You don’t discuss depression. About 54 percent of people with chronic back pain suffer from depression.

8. You don’t do your own research. A little digging on your own behalf may open you up to new treatment options, help you ask more pointed questions, and improve your sense of control over your care.

See the article “Eight Mistakes That Make Pain Worse” for information on how to look at these options, including alternative medicine possibilities.

Comments

[Martha Peterson]

Thanks for this article. Pointer #8 is an important point. I teach Hanna Somatic Education, a form of movement re-education, in which a person learns to reverse muscular pain through improved sensory awareness and muscle control. Most of my clients find me after having spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours of therapy that is paid for by insurance, but doesn't help them stay pain free for the long term. They've taken it upon themselves to research, google, ask around for other options, because they have a feeling that their pain is something they can fix themselves. For the most part, they're correct. It's such a shame, however, that Somatic Education (Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method and Hanna Somatics) isn't acknowledged by insurance companies as a solution to chronic muscular pain. My clients' result tell a different story.

[Hayes Carter]

spelling mistake in the title but the article is very nice, brief yet informative !