"...the annual cost of pain was greater than the annual costs in 2010 dollars of heart disease ($309 billion), cancer ($243 billion), and diabetes ($188 billion) and nearly 30 percent higher than the combined cost of cancer and diabetes."
I'm no stranger to pain, myself. I have chosen to push through pain on many an occasion, in athletic endeavors and in my massage practice, and the result is typically the same: I hurt more. For longer. This "hurt more for longer" then takes its toll on my life, and sometimes my clients' lives. I can't do good work when I'm in pain. None of us can, really. So, multiple areas of my life suffer as a result of ignoring what my pain is trying to tell me.
According to the article the beginning quote is pulled from (Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research, by Darrell J. Gaskin, Ph.D. and Patrick Richard, Ph.D., M.A.), for those 100 million adults in the US in 2008 who suffered from chronic pain, it adversely impacted their quality of life. Pain can also make treating other medical conditions more difficult.
One of the crazy things about pain, though, is that we can often learn to tolerate it. Live with it. Think "well, this is just how my life is now."
Sound familiar? You've probably also heard:
No pain, no gain. Walk it off. Push through it.
While these motivational phrases can help us climb mountains and meet personal goals, they don't always offer the best advice. Suffering isn't fun, especially when it messes with how you can live your life, limits what you can do and leads to chronic problems.
Believe me, I totally understand the power and lure of rising above your limitations, getting around that defender to score some points, crossing the finish line even though your legs and lungs feel like they're on fire. That feeling of accomplishment is so powerful. Just remember that when the emotional tide has pulled back and left you sore and tired, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Rest. Recuperate. Take care of yourself. Maybe stretch, do some yoga, get a massage, soak in the tub and give yourself permission to take some time off. If your pain is chronic, and is aggravated or caused by what you're doing, it might be time to find some alternatives.
According to the article I mentioned earlier, if you don't take care of yourself, pain will cost you a heap of money in the long run. Be smart and kind; head it off at the pass, as they say.
If you're saying in your head, "too late! I've already got chronic pain," there's still hope. If you've tried conventional treatments and still have to live with pain, maybe there's another option. Massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy and nutritional changes are some alternative solutions to try.
Sometimes, tingling, numbness, soreness, stiffness and restricted movement come from muscle tissue issues. In those cases, massage therapy may be able to help. I have many clients who leave the office with better range of motion, less stiffness and reduced soreness. Clients who have lived with pain for a long time leave the office feeling better than they believed they could (scroll down to read Brenda's story). Can you imagine how that impacts their life for the better? Can you imagine having less discomfort and stress?
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