You may not like it, but when you feel pain, your body is trying to tell you something. In most cases, it’s to stop what you’re doing. (“Ouch, that stove is hot!”) That’s why some pain is necessary and can prevent us from seriously injuring ourselves. However, at times, pain also can be intolerable, becoming constant and negatively affecting our quality of life.
Understandably, people want to alleviate their pain. Over-the-counter pain relievers can provide temporary relief from minor pain such as headaches and muscle aches, but in many cases, the reasons for and extent of pain are complex. There is more to safe pain control than just popping a pill.
If you or a loved one suffers from chronic pain, it’s important to make sure that you are managing it the best way possible. Here are four things you should know about pain:
- Address pain when you first feel it: Acute pain is the type you feel after cutting your finger or breaking a bone. It hurts at first, but eventually the pain goes away. When pain doesn’t subside and lasts for several months, it can be considered chronic. Unfortunately, acute pain – such as from surgery – can become chronic if it is not treated correctly; the nerves may be injured or become hypersensitive to the stimuli causing the pain. This is when patients should consider seeing a pain medicine specialist.
- Chronic pain is common: Millions of Americans suffer from chronic pain, which can seriously interfere with their quality of life. The most common sources of chronic pain are headaches, back pain, and arthritis pain in the joints, such as the knees or hips.
- Pills are not always the right solution: If you are someone suffering from chronic pain, there are many alternatives beyond traditional oral pain medication to provide you with relief. Serious pain sometimes may be alleviated or minimized by injections or appropriate use of medication(s). In addition, there are many other non-medication methods that can help alleviate pain, such as physical therapy or electrical stimulation – which short circuits pain by stimulating nerve fibers either through the skin or, in some cases, via an implanted device in the spine (and no, it’s not painful).
- Pain medicine requires specialist care by a physician: Pain medications are strong, but the spine and nerves that register pain are delicate, so everyone’s anatomy and pain tolerance is different. Pain treatment is complex and can cause more harm if not administered by a skilled pain medicine specialist, who has the training and expertise to diagnose and treat each individual patient safely and effectively.
While many people can manage pain on their own, or perhaps be helped by a primary care physician, people with challenging, unrelenting pain that is negatively affecting their quality of life should seek help from a trained specialist.
Millennium Pain Center, located at 1015 S. Mercer Ave. in Bloomington, provides the most advanced and comprehensive pain management for a wide variety of conditions. In an effort to increase awareness of chronic pain and the treatment modalities available, they are hosting the third annual pain health fair: Pathway to Pain Control… on Thursday, September 10, from 9am until 3 pm at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 10 Brickyard Ct, in Bloomington. For more information, you may contact them at 309-662-4321 or online at www.millenniumpaincenter.com.
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