The Thing About Pain

Pain is serious. And relieving it is big business. Those who suffer from pain spend billions seeking relief. In fact, pain is often what prompts people to visit our practice.

It turns out there are some very important reasons why we’re equipped to sense pain. I’m told that Dorland’s Medical Dictionary used by health professionals around the world, lists over 34 different types of “pain”!

But pain is rarely the problem.

Naturally, if you’re experiencing pain, you want it to go away. And while you can expect our compassion, our focus is always to detect and correct the dysfunctions that are the underlying causes of your pain.  And because we have so much experience with people in pain, we are equipped to help you manage your symptoms during the healing process without compromising your recovery.  As we are all too aware, many common responses to pain can actually prolong the causes, or create even worse consequences.  Sometimes what people appreciate the most is to have us assess their situation, share our findings in a way that they can understand what’s happening and provide a plan that helps them improve their quality of life.

A Limit Has Been Reached

Pain is a way our body tells us we’ve reached a boundary. When our finger exceeds the limits of the joint function for which it was designed, we experience pain.

This warning protects us so we can avoid more serious injury. It’s a good thing. And while a life without pain may sound great, people with this disorder tend not to live long or healthy lives.  Pain is essential for our health and well being.

Providing a Warning

Pain is a signal our body uses to alert us that something needs our attention. Physical pain, social pain and even psychological pain are warnings that something must change.

Pain is one way the wisdom of your body communicates with its owner: you.

Headaches. Spasms. Tingling. Aches and pains alert you that something is amiss and needs correction.

First, your body will gently whisper to warn you. Unheeded, it speaks with greater urgency. If still ignored, it may escalate into full-fledged shouting!  And even if you are successful in masking the cries for help, the the consequences of dismissing the signal will inevitably emerge in one form or another; these consequences are generally worse than the pain we tried to avoid.

Fooling Your Body

Pain prompts many to take a pill to reduce or suppress it, or to create stories why it must always be with us.  We often even attach to it by calling it “my” pain.

But bonding with it or numbing your body with a pain reliever doesn’t make the problem go away. It’s still there. Drugs merely help us to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the pain longer.

With time, the dosage must be increased to quiet your body’s outcry. Besides possible addiction, it can lead to other serious problems. As your body tries to eliminate the medicine it sees as a foreign substance, kidney and liver damage may result. Even stomach bleeding.

Using a drug to fool your body’s warning system may seem convenient, but it’s dangerous.

A thorough chiropractic examination can help determine if the pain is a signal of wayward spinal structures. The normally mobile bones of the spine are often implicated in many pain scenarios.

Our strategy is to address the underlying spinal problem with gentle and effective chiropractic adjustments. As spinal joints move better and more importantly, nervous system function improves, the self-healing capacity of your body is revived. Symptoms subside. Naturally.