You can eat right, exercise regularly and follow all the instructions of doctors - but regardless of all this, at some point, back pain may begin to cause you problems. For most people the pain - is episodic trouble that can happen last couple of days and go. For others, the pain is constant.
When the pain becomes chronic, it is not only about the physical sensations. It affects and emotions
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. Chronic pain can become a black hole that pulls all the life. And only if the pain becomes less, life makes sense. On how well you cope with the pain, and you will find the appropriate treatment for physical and emotional aspects of pain depends on whether you will control the pain - or it will control you.
The relationship between pain and emotion
Lower back pain can be more than just a physical problem. It can have a big impact on your mood and on all other aspects of life. Chronic pain can affect all aspects of daily life, experts say. It can affect the memory, appetite, sleep,
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.
People suffering from constant pain may worry about how they can continue to work or just do everyday chores. Such thoughts increase stress, and the person becomes irritable, gloomy, restless.
Pain - is not just discomfort that sends the nervous system. It also affects the perceptions, feelings and thoughts. The more you think about the pain, the stronger it is.
Some people suffering from pain, tend to think of her constantly and exaggerate its impact on their lives, to dramatize the situation. Suppose the doctor diagnose degenerative disc disease. If you are prone to dramatization, in your imagination there are the darkest scenario. Can you imagine that the disease is so severe that you have to give up work. You imagine yourself in a wheelchair.
The physical and emotional consequences of chronic pain result in approximately one-third of people who suffer from it, to clinical depression
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. About 75% of people treated for depression reported physical symptoms, including pain. If the pain leads to emotional stress, the opposite is true. The harder you fight stress
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, The greater the likelihood of pain symptoms.
Stress and pain can be woven into a vicious circle. You have pain and feel anxiety and stress. Stress causes muscle spasms, which in turn increases the pain.
It may be another vicious cycle - based on fear and avoidance. People avoid those activities, which they believe can increase the pain. Avoiding physical activity reduces the body to such an extent that when a person has to do something, he does not have the strength.
The fight against the physical and emotional pain
Medication or surgery can help to fix the physical cause of the pain, but if you're experiencing depression, the problem will remain. You need a global approach to address the problem, experts advise, that is, at the same time to deal with the pain, and its emotional consequences.
For people who have mild to moderate pain, treatment may be sufficient exercise program under the supervision of a specialist. The purpose of this program - to strengthen the muscles of the back and support them and to learn how to move, to everyday actions do not cause harm to the waist. Experience shows that people are starting to engage on such a program, less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, cease to avoid loads.
If the pain is more severe, it may help to visit more than one doctor and several specialists, such as a permanent physician, orthopedic specialist, chronic pain, a physiotherapist and a psychologist. These doctors usually have experience of working with patients with chronic pain.
Be sure to be an active participant in your treatment. Keep a diary to understand what is causing the pain. Discuss with your doctor the possible treatment options. Psychotherapy can help you cope with the pain and the obstacles and depression that it causes.
Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and others - can teach you how to relax the muscles, getting rid of stress, which leads to lower back pain. The doctor may also prescribe medications to help kill the pain, sleep better, or get rid of depression.
Be sure to discuss with your doctor appropriate for your level of physical activity. It is not necessary to throw everything and lie on the bed all day, but throw in sports, not paying attention to their limitations, too, do not. The exercises are very useful for getting rid of the pain and stress. But when choosing the exercises should definitely take into account the health condition and the specific cause of the pain. Therefore, exercise regimen should be discussed with a specialist.
It is important to maintain the activity of not only the body but also the brain. Distracted very helpful, it does not focus only on their suffering. Occupy yourself - communicate with friends, watch movies, read, walk - all this distracts from the pain.