Pain is unpleasant, but a vital clue to what’s wrong.  Pain is a great motivator and a powerful reminder to continue and maintain therapy.  Pain is an important survival mechanism, a signal of danger.

Pain is not merely a mechanism for physical survival, because we don’t all experience it the same way and it is not purely a physical phenomenon.  Pain is experienced, emotionally, mentally and physically.  In 1965 Melzak & Wall called each of these phenomena separate aspects of the Gate Control Theory of Pain: ie –
           
Sensory  – discriminary = Physical sensations (body)
Motivational  – affective  = Emotional feelings (mind)
Cognitive  – evaluative      = Thought (brain)

Fear is learned from visual images associated with pain, the sounds and stories of pain, and actual physical association with pain, and pain becomes alive in our thoughts and feelings creating stress and tension in the body, which is interpreted in the mind and brain as pain.  A stress syndrome emerges and the fear – tension – pain cycle emerges.

You may notice that as you feel the first twinges of a headache, you tense up, recalling your previous associations with pain, and anticipate pain and perhaps agony.  Your fear increases muscular tension and your tension contributes to your pain.

Pain relates strongly to stress, which can increase blood pressure and other bodily problems.  It is possible that continued pain can make people more anxious, depressed, irritable, cardio vascular issues, and effect libido and sex life.  Marriages break up when people experience pain, because the person with pain becomes a different person compared to the person they used to be.  The dreaded D’s emerge – Drugs, Despair, Divorce, Disillusionment, Doctors and Dollars - as consequences of pain.

Pain cannot always be cured – and curing pain is not always the goal of therapy.  The aim is to get people back in the game again, taking greater control of their lives.

Types of Pain

1. The intensity of common, short-term aches and pain, which everyone suffers at some point, usually corresponds to the severity of the injury.
2. Someone is said to suffer chronic pain if it persists months after the injury has healed.
3. There are two types of chronic pain: deep ache (similar to a broken bone or muscle ache) and nerve injury (stabbing, burning or tingling sensation).
4. Persistent pain is sometimes caused by a tissue disorder such as arthritis. Other times it is a result of a malfunction in the body’s pain alarm system, often sparked by nerve injury.
5. Some medical conditions, such as shingles, can cause nerve pain, as can surgery such as amputation or a chest operation.

Symptoms, Treatment

1. If pain is triggered by diseases such as diabetes and cancer and is left untreated it can cause permanent changes to the spinal cord and brain chemicals, and become chronic.
2. There are physical and emotional symptoms (besides the pain itself) such as hormonal changes, increased blood pressure and heart rate.  Chronic pain can also lead to depression and anxiety.
3. There is no  “cure” for chronic pain.  It is treated through medication and behavioural programs, such as counseling and physiotherapy, to help sufferers cope.  They also may be directed to chiropractors and acupuncture.
4. Other treatments can include injections, localized electrical stimulation and even blocking the nerve.

Treating Chronic Pain

1. Biofeedback, where relaxation is taught using electronic devices to indicate tension by measuring conduction or temperature of the skin.
2. Acupuncture, the oriental practice of piercing with stainless steel needles to stimulate healing and vigor, said to be particularly useful in treating headaches, migraine and muscular-skeletal disorders such as arthritis.
3. TENS (transcutaneous electro nerve stimulation) therapy, the use of electrical impulses through the skin to nerves and muscles.
4. Ultrasound treatment uses high-frequency sound waves to produce heat, used with soft tissue injury.
5. Hypnosis to help with migraines and pain associated with anxiety.
6. Counselling to help increase the understanding of pain and to teach pain management techniques.
7. Certain foods may also worsen pain, along with diet and lifestyle.  Naturopaths and nutritionists can also assist with management and treatment of pain.

The nine leading causes of chronic pain

1. Failing to engage in vigorous daily exertion that includes aerobic, strength-building and stretching exercises.
2. Eating a high-fat, low-fibre diet high in dairy and flesh foods refined carbohydrates instead of a low-fat, high-fibre diet of plant-based foods high in complex carbohydrates.
3. Indulging in smoking, chewing tobacco, recreational drugs or more than two alcoholic drinks daily.
4. Engaging in long-term use of over-the-counter or prescription drugs and medications that are not essential.
5. Failing to manage stress.
6. Failing to provide the body with its biological requirements, such as adequate sleep, pure air and water, relaxation, quiet, emotional calm, sunshine and security.
7. Overeating and obesity.
8. Holding fear-based beliefs that invoke such emotions as anger, envy, resentment, anxiety, depression or frustration.
9. Believing you are a passive, helpless victim of pain and being unwilling to do what it takes to maintain optimal health.

Source: Painstoppers.  The Magic of All-Natural Pain Relief, by Norman D. Ford. Parker Publishing Co., Reward Books.

Vitamin deficiencies linked to chronic pain

1. Nutritional studies show that many chronic pain sufferers, especially those with arthritis, show severe deficiencies in several essential vitamins and minerals.  The stress of pain increases consumption of most nutrients.
2. Many chronic pain victims are deficient in B-complex vitamins and vitamins A, C, D and E as well as the calcium, magnesium and zinc.  A deficiency of these minerals may inhibit the supply of synovial fluid in arthritic joints, preventing lubrication and making joints ever stiffer.  A deficiency of magnesium can cause muscle spasm, leading to angina or headaches and to muscular-skeletal pain in the neck, shoulders or back.
3. Other sufferers are deficient in vitamin C.  They eat almost no fruits or vegetables, the primary source of vitamin C.  Yet the stress of pain consumes significant amounts of this vitamin.  Any victim who fails to eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables, or to take supplements, could be deficient in vitamin C.
4. Various researchers have also reported that vitamin C lessens the pain of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.  Some years ago, Texan surgeon James Greenwood discovered that when his patients took one gram of supplement vitamin C per day, it reduced their back pain.
5. The full range of B-complex vitamins are essential or the healthy functioning of the nervous system.  A deficiency of B vitamins can cause depression, irritability and heart disease.  Many refined and processed carbohydrate foods, including most white bread, have lost all their B vitamins and most of their fibre.

Pain Assessment

S          - Stop the activity
T          - Talk about what happened
O         - Observe signs
P          - Prevent worsening                             

NO

H         - Heat of any kind
A         - Alcohol
R         - Running or vigorous activity
M        - Massage