Pain is a normal part of life. It is an indication that something is wrong. It’s a warning to address whatever is causing it. Interestingly, we humans deal with pain in ways that the rest of nature does not. That’s because we have the ability to practice medicine at a highly advanced level. Thus, we have more options than the rest of nature.
How we deal with pain varies from one person to the next. Treatment decisions are influenced by everything from individual pain tolerance to whether pain is acute or chronic. In the end, we human beings tend to deal with pain in one of the following four ways:
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1. We Ignore It
One way to deal with pain is to simply ignore it. Doing so may not be easy for some people, but it is old hat to others. You might even know someone who is very good at ignoring pain. They just continue on despite experiencing something that would cause others to fall on the floor writhing in agony.
Doctors would suggest that ignoring pain is a bad idea. In most cases, they are probably right. But there are some aches and pains that really aren’t worth getting worked up about. The pain from a pinprick or a small cut is no big deal, comparatively speaking.
Sometimes, ignoring pain is just the reality of allowing whatever is causing it to run its natural course. Maybe you have a cold. There is little that can be done to treat the common cold. It must run its course. That includes the aches and pains that come with it.
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2. We Mask It
When ignoring pain is not an option, we might choose to mask it. For example, more than 60% of all medical cannabis patients use the drug to treat chronic pain. Neither CBD nor THC actually take away pain. Instead, they mask it. They distract the brain so that the pain is not as noticeable.
When doctors prescribe opioid painkillers following surgery, they know full well that the medications will not eliminate pain. They simply cover it up. The pain signals continue as long as the body is recovering from surgery.
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3. We Block It
Certain types of pain medications are not appropriate for long-term use. Opioids are at the top of the list. Still, there are ways to manage chronic pain without the risks associated with addictive drugs. For example, certain types of pain can be blocked.
The pain doctors at Lone Star Pain Medicine in Weatherford, Texas often recommend a blocking therapy. Two examples are facet joint injections and medial branch blocks. Both therapies utilize medications that block pain signals emanating from affected nerves.
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4. We Fix It
Finally, there are times when we address pain by fixing its root cause. A patient might be suffering from the pain of an inflamed appendix. What is the solution? An appendectomy. The inflamed organ is removed to both address the pain and eliminate the risk of a ruptured appendix.
Sometimes, fixing the cause of a patient’s pain is not as direct. Addressing osteoarthritis is not necessarily as straightforward as at an appendectomy. One doctor might recommend joint replacement surgery while another prefers to try stem cell injections. Both therapies are designed to address the source of pain. They are just addressing it from different angles.
Unfortunately, there is no single therapy that works for every type of pain. If there were, pain management would be so much easier. In the absence of a single treatment, doctors and patients have to work together to figure out what is best.
