Chronic Pain: The Truth Hurts – You’re Not Alone

Source: Sagewood Wellness

Pain is an epidemic that affects 85% of Americans. Most just live with it.

Chronic Pain - The Truth Hurts

If you’ve heard me speak about what I do and how I help clients, there’s a very high likelihood you’ve heard me discuss the topic of chronic pain. Many of my clients deal with chronic pain issues and come to me for relief.Through a holistic and natural approach, I focus on treating the underlying condition to break the cycle of pain while avoiding damaging pain medications.

While some cases of chronic pain can be traced to a specific injury or trauma, such as a sports injury, a car accident, or even a surgical incision, other cases have no apparent cause – no prior injury and no traumatic tissue damage. In both instances, chronic pain symptoms can be debilitating and go on to create more severe issues if not treated properly. Based on all available information and factors, I develop a personalized therapy program for the client that may include Nueromuscular Therapy, Trigger Point Therapy and deep tissue massage in order to effectively eliminate chronic pain symptoms and associated complications.

Regardless of the original cause, many cases of chronic pain are commonly related to these physical conditions:

  • Lower back pain
  • Neck/shoulder pain
  • Joint Pain
  • Arthritis/Osteoarthritis
  • Headaches
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Nerve damage (Neuropathy)

Chronic pain can also have a profound negative effect on a person’s day to day mental state if left untreated. Those attempting to cope with persistent or long-term pain can become irritable, short-tempered, impatient, and depressed. Everyday problems like a child crying or bad traffic can become daunting for those dealing with things from this sensory-overloaded state. As if that’s not enough, this cumulative situation can have the added adverse effect of making the original pain symptoms seem more profound.

Recent studies have even shown evidence that, over the long-term, chronic pain can actually affect brain chemistry. Cells in the spinal cord and brain of a person suffering from chronic pain, deteriorate more quickly than normal, limiting ability to focus and increasing depression-like symptoms. Sleep may also become difficult, because the section of the brain that regulates sense data also regulates the sleep cycle.

The graphic below is based on a study by Harris Interactive and shows that my clients aren’t alone. In fact the study shows that almost everyone deals with chronic pain issues in some form or another and, usually in more than one place. The numbers illustrate how prevalent the problem is and who’s dealing with it.

Chronic Pain: The Truth Hurts

I found these figures to be very telling and enlightening. Some key takeaways to pay attention to:

  • 70% Use Pain Medication – This is a shocking statistic that clearly shows a lack of holistic focus and emphasizes why over medication and drug abuse is so prevalent in pain management. Almost all but the most extreme cases of chronic pain may be dealt with through holistic means.
  • 15% Use A Holistic Approach – The converse of the above statistic. This number should be MUCH, much higher.
  • 21% Use Massage Therapy – Many turn to basic massage therapy to alleviate chronic pain symptoms. Even more effective are the use of Nueromuscular Therapy, Trigger Point Therapy, Reiki and Intergrative Mind-Body Therapy.
  • 64% Combine 2 Or More Treatments – The problem is that if you’re not working with someone who understands body physiology, you could be doing more harm than good. A combination of pain meds and hot/cold treatment may actually be keeping you in pain instead of relieving those chronic symptoms.

No matter what the cause or how the symptoms manifest themselves, chronic pain is something that should be dealt with holistically if possible, focusing on the cause vs. treatment, through a personalized program based on your own body physiology.

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