What's your pain telling you?
Is that pain you feel in your back, neck or shoulders just a short ache from your new exercise menu? Or is there something deeper and more serious at work? Either way, you decide not to pay attention to it.
"Pain is a warning system; it tells us that something is wrong," says Bradford Butler, a doctor. "Continual pain goes further. It is telling you that a whole system in your body isn't working right."
For many people and their doctors, the first reaction for pain, and sometimes the second and third reactions as well, is to take some painkillers and go on your way.
"That doesn't solve the problem," Butler says. "Too often, with back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain or other continual pain, many doctors focus on reducing(减少) the pain rather than finding out the cause."
Imagine this, you wake up midnight with an unbearable toothache, and then visit a doctor who discovers a huge cavity(空洞)but, instead of repairing the cavity, just gives you some powerful medicine for the pain and sends you home." Left untreated, the pain would get worse and the damage to the tooth would worsen, leading to bigger and more expensive medical process later on, "Butler says.
Butler offers some advice for those whose bodies are trying to warn them that something is wrong.
Choose your doctor wisely. Blind faith (信任) in any doctor is not the answer. Butler says, "Doctors have their own specialty and make sure you find someone who will really help you with your problem."
Don't let your body resetting its pain level fool you. What happens when you let the pain go? Your body adapts (适应) . Butler says, "When your body gets used to the pain, you think the problem must be gone. While in reality, your body's pain setting has been raised. The only time you're feeling pain is when you're already in terrible poor condition. "
Think of prevention. Dental (牙科的) patients are encouraged to have regular check-ups, whether they're in pain or not, so the doctor can work on potential (潜在的)problems. "That's the way for other pain," Butler says. "Being free of symptoms(症状)doesn't mean you don't have big problems. It just means that you don't know they're developing. "
"We need to listen to our pain and fix whatever is wrong as soon as possible," Butler says. "You won't get better until you find the cause of the problem."
