Every so often, I’ll see a health or fitness magazine displaying an article title on the front that intrigues me. I do not read those types of magazines regularly, but I always like to see what type of information is being presented to the public.
Last week, I saw one with an article titled “Beat Back Pain”. Back pain will affect most people at some point in their life, so I wanted to see what type of advice the author provided.
I flipped through, found the page, and couldn’t believe what I saw. The first strategy the author mentioned was “pop a pill”. Seriously?!
So many people deal with pain during their lifetime, and many believe the only thing they can do is take a pain pill. Like it’s the magic fix to their problem.
They fall into this vicious cycle of developing pain then taking a pill over and over and over again. Why? Because they are only treating the symptom of their problem.
Pain is always a warning sign. It’s like a light on your car dashboard. The difference is, you usually do not know what the problem is.
Photo Credit: http://www.mentalhealthy.co.uk/news/797/-urgent-warning—anti-psychotics-found-in-nurofen-packs.html
When the seatbelt light comes on, you know exactly how to fix that. With pain, it is never that simple. And yet people are offered the simplest and most ineffective advice for getting rid of pain.
If you don’t believe me, watch any Advil or Tylenol commercial. They all show the same thing. At first, the person is in pain and feels horrible. Then they take a pill and magically they are cured.
Except, the commercial doesn’t show what happens next. That pain comes back a few hours later and they are in the same exact situation they were before.
Does that sound like a good solution to you? Instead, people need to be taking a different approach to pain.
I want to give a couple guidelines for the management of pain, but let me first say I am not a pain expert. There are those that study it for a living and do a great job presenting their work to others.
One in particular is Lorimer Mosely, a professor of neuroscience in Australia. If you want to find out more about his work, check out his website here. He also has a great TED talk about pain which you can watch here.
I just felt that I had to write this post in light of the article I read. People need to know that pain cannot be fixed by taking apill. If it were that simple no one would ever be in pain.
The strategies here are not revolutionary, but I hope they help you realize that there is a better and smarter approach to dealing with pain. Here they are!
1. Get checked out by a professional
I know absolutely nothing about cars, so If I have an issue I have a great mechanic that I can take my car to. The same applies here.
Most people suffering from pain are not doctors or medical professionals. That is why it isn’t the best the idea when they try to fix themselves.
If you are in chronic pain, get an MRI done to ensure there is no internal damage. If there is then you may need surgery.
If there isn’t then find a physical therapist or movement specialist in your area to help you figure out what may be contributing to your pain. They usually know more about helping you get out of pain.
2. Change the way you move
Movement isn’t always the cause of pain, but I have seen many clients where this is the case. They present with back pain and then I see them pick up an object off the floor to move entirely through their lower back.
The low back isn’t designed to be taken through a large range of motion. That is why when it is done repeatedly, pain can result.
You hips however are designed to move and move a lot. They are also designed to handle heavy force. So when picking things off the floor try to use your hips and not your low back.
I wrote an entire article that explains this in more detail. You can check it out here.
3. Do not catastrophize the pain
To the author’s credit he did mention this, and I do think it is an important step for everyone. When you think positively about your pain it can make things better (1).
The brain is very powerful, and studies have shown that people report less pain with positive emotions. Some research has even shown that negative emotions are correlated with more pain.
When dealing with pain, you need to realize that it will be ok. That it isn’t the end of the world. When your thoughts are happy it can make a huge impact on the way you perceive and manage your own pain.
I know that pain is awful, especially if you have dealt with it for years. Unfortunately there are no quick fixes. They never work, because the problem always arises again down the road.
Yet we are told time and time again that there are. This needs to change.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this article and the strategies presented here show you a better path. No one wants to be in pain, but remember it isn’t the end of the world.
There is always something that can be done. There is always a cause to the problem. When you search for that, you will get much better results than just treating the symptom.
If you are looking for a personal trainer in Savannah, contact me to set up a consultation.
And if you found any of this information helpful, or know of someone it could help please share with others!
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