Pardon my rant for moment and please consider what I am about to say. Pain is a symptom or an indicator. Pain is annoying. Pain can be frustrating. Pain can even be debilitating. Treating for pain, however, is a terrible way help someone get out of pain.
The origins of pain are not well understood and can be a very deep topic. That saying, from my study, most of our pain is distributed through the limbic center of the brain. The limbic system is really the emotional center of the brain. So, to me, pain is an emotional response. Ever notice that some people have a high pain threshold and others have little to none? Likewise, some cultures are very stoic about pain while others are extremely passionate. The very same stimulus can be applied but the reaction is completely different.
Don’t get me wrong. Pain is very real. I am not suggesting we write off anyone in pain with the idea that it is all in their head. What I am suggesting is that we keep pain in perspective. Bad pain does not always mean horrible damage. Likewise, some of the most serious damage to the human body can display very little pain. Furthermore, pain can be a good thing when it gives a warning that something can be harmful. Have you ever stepped on hot sand and immediately pulled away so you didn’t burn your feet? What if you were a diabetic with poor blood circulation and therefor poor feeling in your feet. Would you say that it was a good thing to burn your feet because you couldn’t feel it? Of course not!
Rather than focus on the pain of an injury, I like to focus on the rehabilitation or function. If we only treated for pain, very few people would ever recover. Rehabilitating an injury whether chronic or acute can be painful. Let me say that again, TREATMENT CAN BE PAINFUL! Sometimes we have to break down a lot of scar tissue. This will be painful. When you are dealing with functional and physical medicine, like chiropractic, the end result is to get you functional which will eventually lead to less pain. By the way, this takes time.
Please don’t kid yourself that you can rehabilitate an injury without pain or discomfort. It is just not how the body works. Would you expect to work with a personal trainer to get in shape and never feel soreness or fatigue? Instead, focus on improving function and accept pain for what it is. In the words of the Dred Pirate Roberts aka Westley from The Princess Bride, -“Life is pain, your highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.”
***Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash