For many in world of healthcare today, “pain management” is often the title placed upon their job. This job consists of releasing the patient from any experience of pain, whatever the cost may be. While at first thought this approach does not sound nefarious, further examination exposes the farcical reality of this approach.
Perhaps to blame for the current opioid crisis afflicting this country, seeing pain as an enemy in the battle for health is a backwards method by which to operate. The truth is that pain exists for a specific reason, to notify you that something must be changed in order to continue living. If pain weren’t an unpleasant, excruciating experience how else would we know to not do something. If it did not hurt to place your hand onto a hot stove then what would stop us from doing so? The sensation is there to let us know that the extreme heat is vaporizing adjacent cells and if left there long enough could inflict serious physical damage upon our body. This is true of all forms of pain, from physical, to psycho-emotional.
If one were to view pain in its proper light, one will see the value of what it is telling us. Pain provides instant, precise, details about what the issue is and where it is happening. In theory this gives our conscious selves the best chance of potentially fixing this issue, not just covering it up.
Let’s take a common example of pain for many people today, in the knee. This likely points to physical damage of some of the connective tissues that support the knee joint. A previous approach to this issue would be to suppress the pain response through pharmacological intervention; or, in the realm of physical therapy, strengthen the muscles around the knee. Both answers are but short term fixes to a potentially chronic issue.
If we look at the knee pain as a signal to change something, we then know that if our knee hurts, we must be using it, or some other part of our body, incorrectly. Continuing to use the body in an improper fashion will further worsen the issue, yet if the pain is suppressed via some therapy we will have no idea until the problem gets much worse.
In regards to the kinetic chain of human movement, one weak link can spell disaster for the entire unit. That said, the weak link in the chain may not always be the one displaying pain. Movement compensation by the body, in order to adapt, can leave a part of the body bearing more than its fair share of stress.
In the case of knee pain, spine and/or hip immobility can manifest within the knee. As the joint performs movements and bears loads that were meant for other parts of our anatomy, microscopic damage to the supporting tissues will accumulate. If enough time is spent in this condition then damage and pain will most certainly follow. Strengthening the muscles that surround the knee joint will help alleviate the forces placed upon the connective tissues, but will not solve the issue. Say, if one lacks spinal mobility then the pain will eventually manifest at some other point in the kinetic chain.
Modern medicine is based upon symptom based treatment, a fantastic model for business. This business is among the largest in the world today because of the nature of the symptoms, and their root cause. An issue that is upstream will lead to issues downstream; fixing the downstream expression of the issue will only cover that specific issue. Without removing the problem upstream more issues, in potentially different forms, will continue to arise.
Since it is not very profitable to fix someone and have them not need your services again, little awareness exists on the issue. Although this has been the case for some time, things are changing. Begin today by shifting your view of pain. Pain is a necessary part of life meant to show us that we must change our ways, or suffer the dire consequences.
Health For Life 