Misconceptions About Pain – Grinning and Bearing It!
cope by herself. Hormone levels can affect response to pain too. Women are generally more sensitive to pain just before their periods.
Misconception 5. One should always take medicine for a headache.
No, one should not take medicine for a headache because, though the pill makes you feel better immediately, headache medicine actually makes the brain more susceptible to pain and so popping pills can, in the longer time period, cause “rebound” headaches.
So analgesics should be reserved for really bad headaches and for times when you have to function at your best. At other times, a short nap in a quiet, preferably dark, room is a good way to get rid of a headache. So is meditation or the application of a cold pack to the area in front of the ear on the side one has the headache.
Misconception 6. A pain that is strong in the morning and then decreases as the day progresses can be ignored.
This often happens with joint pains. Muscles, joints and tendons tend to be stiff in the mornings and hence cause pain. But, as the day progresses and you move around, these loosen up and the pain subsides. Such pains can be ignored when you know that they are caused by minor injuries which will get cured.
But if the pain is not caused by an injury, it is not going to get cured by itself and something has to be done about it. If this kind of pain (which is worse in the morning and gets better as the day advances) persists, becomes worse and becomes chronic, it could be something like osteoarthritis and you should see your doctor.
Misconception 7. No pain, no gain.
This is what all trainers and fitness experts say when they start you off on a new exercise regimen or fitness programme. Yes, sore and painful muscles are a part of all these programmes when you start, but if your workout leaves you in real pain even after a while, it could mean that you are overdoing it, that you are developing an overuse injury or that you are exercising incorrectly.
So you should ease into a new exercise regimen slowly and work different muscle groups on alternate days. Jog and cycle one day and swim the next. Of course, walking is the best. It rarely results in injury and it can be done every day.
Misconception 8. OTC pain relievers are safe and can be taken in any quantity.
Most people feel that the medicines a doctor prescribes are strong and that one has to be careful about using them. They also feel that OTC medicines that one can get without prescriptions are safe and that one can take any amount of them. But this is not true. Overuse of OTC medicines can increase the risk of ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding or damage to the liver. So watch out as you blithely pop those analgesics and cold medications.
Misconception 9. Doctors prescribe anti-depressants when they should be giving you pain relievers.
This is the complaint when a patient who is ill and is suffering from pain is given antidepressants. But it is just not true that the doctor is messing up. Constant pain causes people to be depressed and this worsens the physical symptoms of their illness. Depression can also trigger certain types of pain. Antidepressants on the other hand, help by increasing levels of chemicals that control our moods and the way we perceive pain. So they are good for the treatment of pain.
Misconception 10. All pain can be banished for good by a good doctor.
Unfortunately, this is not so. There are some chronic pains – like backache – that just cannot be cured. But people can learn to manage these pains so that they can function better. Today, doctors are less afraid that patients will become addicted to painkillers and so prescribe them for even chronic pains – to be taken when the pain gets worse, when the patient is under stress or when he or she has to function particularly well.
Today, many doctors operate on the principle that people have the right to be free of pain. They weigh the dangers of becoming addicted to painkillers against the relief that they bring and then take a decision.
Even young patients are given painkillers when the doctor knows that recovery is going to be quick enough for addiction not to be a risk. And at, say, the terminal stage of cancer, they decide to let the patient leave the world free of pain, even if “addicted”.
Doctors also prescribe relaxation exercises and suggest behaviour modification that will help avoid pain. For example, people suffering from back problems should learn not to make sudden movements, to always carry a small pillow for the small of the back when they know they have to sit for a long time and to learn to pick up weights without straining the back.
Physiotherapy