26 Abr 7 myths about chronic pain
One of the things that really affects a patient, regarding chronic pain, is creating nocebos: A negative ideal that leads to fear of movement.
This will only hinder your recovery process. Yes, recovery can take time and at times can seem complex, but one thing must known, the body heals with movement. Not but creating limitations of it.
1. A SCAN WILL GIVE ME A DIAGNOSIS:
Although an X-ray, CT or MRI scan may occasionally be helpful, findings such as disc degeneration, arthritis, disc bulges and fissures are common in the pain free population and are not necessarily the eason for your pain.
2. I AM CAUSING DAMAGE IF IT HURTS:
The level of pain experienced is often a poor measure of injury or tissue damage. Even if an activity is painful, it is not an accurate sign of doing harm. A physical therapist can help develop a programme for you to move safely.
3. BENDING AND LIFTING WILL MAKE MY LOW BACK PAIN WORSE:
It may be painful to bend and lift with back pain, but developing the mobility and strength to bend and lift is important. Many types of exercise, including weight training, can bring great benefits.
4. I SHOULD STAY IN BED AND REST:
Returning to movement and work is better for recovery and preventing recurrence than bed rest. Immobility and bed rest for more than two days have never been shown to be beneficial.
5. STRONG PAIN KILLERS (OPIOIDS) WILL HELP MANAGE MY PAIN:
Solutions that focus on opioids for managing pain at best mask people’s physical problems and delay or impede recovery and at worst may prove to be dangerous and even deadly.
In this sense, I could share the case of one of my patients, Jean Carlos Rodríguez, who came to me with a herniated disc and scoliosis, which, in addition to a lot of pain, «forced» him to take a lot of medication. From the exercise we managed not only to reduce the pain and to be able to have a normal life again, with sports included, but also to be able to eliminate all those pills.
In this link from my Instagram account, you can check it in his own words: https://www.instagram.com/p/CotAnqIMHYj
6. SURGERY IS MY ONLY CHANCE OF IMPROVEMENT:
Surgery and interventional procedures have a very limited role, if any, in the management of low back pain. Only about 1-5% of low back pain is caused by serious disease or injury.
7. MY PAIN AND LIMITED FUNCTION MEAN THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO:
People who catastrophise about the meaning of pain become trapped in a vicious cycle of avoidance behaviour, pain and disability. A physical therapist can help interpret pain and use exercise to break the cycle and reduce pain.
Exercise therapy should be included in all chronic pain treatment guidelines
THE MOVEMENT TO TREAT CHRONIC PAIN
Exercise therapy should be included in all guidelines for the treatment of chronic pain. It is something that I have more than studied and verified in all my years of experience as an injury rehabilitator, both among sports professionals and any type of person, whatever their age, profession and condition.
Contact me if you need help to overcome chronic pain and I will be happy to help you, either in person in Costa Rica or online anywhere in the world, thanks to my distance training program.
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