Recall the pain you experienced when you had an intermediate degree headache or the back pain that haunted you for a few hours or the pain of accidentally hitting your elbow joint against the wall. These types of pain that we experience are classified as “acute pain” and they don’t last long. We’ll also discuss options for coping with chronic pain.
Now imagine experiencing this pain over long periods, like a few months. This then becomes “chronic pain”. The cause for chronic pain can be an old or current injury or infection, or sometimes, there may not even be anybody damage or injury. Untreated acute pain may lead to chronic pain.
Pain is subjective and cannot be quantified. Chronic pain varies in the range from “I can bear this” to “even death is preferable to this torture”. The pain is a mere inconvenience in the former case and damaging in the latter.
Chronic pain can occur in any part of our body or one of the many muscles. It can be sporadic or continuous. Because of this chronic pain, pain signals will be active in the nervous system for a long time, sometimes for years. Therefore, even if it passes, it may persist.
Understanding and Coping with Chronic Pain
In addition to the physical pain, there is the emotional or psychological effect of chronic pain on the patient. Because of the constant pain, the patient may experience feelings of anger and anxiety, which may lead to stress and depression.
It can, therefore, interfere with the production of certain chemicals in the body, which can act as natural painkillers. Adding to that, the negative feelings the patient may experience can cause the production of chemicals that increase the sensation of pain. There is substantial evidence that chronic pain can even suppress the immune system.
As mentioned earlier, pain is subjective. It varies with the person. For example, two persons who suffered similar injuries might experience varying amounts of pain.
No instrument can measure pain. Doctors rely on patient’s description of pain like whether it is dull or sharp, sporadic or continuous and other details to estimate the strength of the pain and prescribe medicines. Because of this characteristic of pain, chronic pain is not yet fully understood.
A quick visit to some of the online chronic pain support groups will reveal just how differently everyone describes their pain. Effective treatment for chronic pain is ‘Pain Management’. Pain management can be done in many ways, of which a few are discussed below.
Pharmaceutical Drugs for Coping with Chronic Pain
These drugs are used to treat or cure the underlying cause of the pain (if any). These include pills for a headache or other symptoms, which may be the cause of the pain.
While using these drugs, one has to be aware of the side effects of these drugs and their compatibility with the patient depending upon his/her medical history.
Psychotropic Drugs
Psychotropic drugs are used to alter the mental condition. These are used to treat the mental or emotional effects of chronic pain, like stress, anxiety, and depression, among others.
Apart from that, some of them also relax the muscles and, on some occasions, can relieve the pain. But doctors prefer them less and only use them after they have tried the painkillers mentioned earlier.
Exercise
Many people don’t know the relation between exercise and pain relief. Some are confused when their physicians prescribe routine physical exercise for back pain or knee pain. Regular exercise, even a moderate one like walking, can improve the blood flow to muscles, thereby increasing the oxygen flow.
Exercise also causes the production of endorphins in the brain, which blocks the pain signals and helps in controlling our emotions like fear or stress. But we have to be careful to follow the prescribed exercise regimen and not overdo it.
Nerve Blocks for Coping with Chronic Pain
This concept is straightforward. The pain from any area is relayed to the brain in the form of electrical and chemical signals through nerves and the nervous system. So, in this method, the signals are blocked, or the nerves are numbed, thereby preventing the transfer of information about the pain.
You can do this with chemical agents (like anesthetics) or through surgery (like neurectomy). Different parts of the body require different types of nerve blocks.
One has to be wary of the side effects of this process, which may vary from itching, rashes, and weight gain to bleeding, the rise in blood sugar, or even death in sporadic cases.
Placebos
This a mysterious practice and, to some extent, controversial. A placebo is an inactive substance (e.g., sugar pills) or an innocuous procedure (e.g., administering saline) that augments the effect of active treatments.
Some argue that the effect of the placebo is psychological. While others say that it reduces the pain by stimulating the release of natural painkillers in the body, still, others believe that this reduces the negative feelings of the user like stress or anxiety.
Placebos don’t have any direct side effects. But one has to remember that this is an ‘expectation effect’, which means the patient experiences what he/she expects. Some unpleasant symptoms, like a headache or nausea, may be observed. This is called ‘nocebo effect’.
Final Thoughts
Overall, coping with chronic pain is an awkward situation, but not an impossible one to deal with. Both the patient and the family should be aware of this condition and different pain management regimens and make a living with chronic pain more manageable.
Throughout history, many chronic pain patients were mistaken for hypochondriacs or attention seekers. They have suffered a lot due to the negligence of the family or the doctors.
Even today, this is the situation in places with no awareness of this condition. That has to change; the seriousness of this condition, which can ruin lives if not properly treated, should be made aptly clear for everyone.
Founder @ WeAreMore: our support network
Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the healthcare industry. Strong startup management skills coupled with Operations Management, Marketing Strategy, Tech teams management, and Expansion and growth.