Ouch! Coping with Chronic Pain

by Molly M. Ginty

It fries your nerves. It fogs your brain. It fouls your mood.

That’s the toll of chronic pain, defined as any ache that lasts more than three months, impairs your normal functioning, and is no longer useful because it alerts you to an injury you already know about.

"Common yet under treated, persistent pain limits you in many ways, affecting you psychologically as well as physically," says Dr. Jennifer Schneider, author of Living with Chronic Pain. "It can take over your entire life — but only if you let it."

According to the American Pain Foundation, 14 percent of us have aches that have persisted three to 12 months, while 42 percent suffer from pain that has lasted more than a year. These stats — and the fact that chronic pain is the leading reason we seek medical care — have prompted health advocates to name September Pain Awareness Month.

From stiff shoulders to aching arches, chronic pain can strike anywhere, often plaguing several body parts at once. Its most common forms are backaches (27 percent), followed by headaches (15 percent), neck pain (15 percent), and facial aches (4 percent).

Who develops chronic pain? Researchers believe sufferers may have lower-than-average levels of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. Studies show they may also have memories of pain stuck in the brain’s cortex long after injuries have healed.

Being female is another risk factor. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women are more likely than men to have pain. And according to a University of Maryland study, they’re also more likely to seek treatment for it.

"Women transmit sensations in their central nervous systems differently than men do, so they seem to have a heightened perception of pain," says Micke Brown, R.N., director of advocacy for the American Pain Foundation. "They’re more likely to develop painful problems such as fibromyalgia and migraines, and they experience pain due to pelvic conditions that men don’t get, such as endometriosis and fibroids."

Regardless of how chronic pain begins and develops, the search for a cure can prove maddening. "No medical tool can measure pain’s intensity, so the standard way of assessing it is for a doctor to ask, ‘On scale of 1 to 10, how much pain are you having?’" says Schneider. "Since the reply is subjective, it can be tough to tell what’s going on and fix it."

Because chronic pain is so difficult to assess and treat, sufferers see an average of five to eight doctors — and search three to five years — before finding a cure that works. The good news? Faster relief is possible if you follow these expert tips.

Get Treatment ASAP
"The longer you leave pain unattended, the more damage it does to the central nervous system, and the worse the problem becomes," warns Brown. "Act now, and you’ll spare yourself more pain down the line."

Communicate Clearly
When you seek treatment, give your doctor a detailed, written description of your experience. "Chronic pain patients are often so distraught that they don’t describe their symptoms in a clear, chronological way," says Judith A. Paice, president of the American Pain Society. "But if you communicate effectively, you’ll get effective help."

Blend Remedies
The first line of defense against chronic pain is usually medication: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-seizure drugs, opioids, or tricylclic antidepressants. Other remedies include meditation; biofeedback; acupuncture; hypnosis; chiropractic; counseling; music, water, and physical therapies; yoga; and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), which delivers gentle impulses to the affected area. If one cure fails you, experts recommend trying another — then another — until you find the right mix.

Rethink Your Rituals
Whether you realize it or not, your regular habits could be causing — or exacerbating — your pain. Reexamine what you do on a daily basis. What movements trigger flare-ups?

What events cause stress that makes the pain worse? Is your mattress the right type to help your lower back problem? Is your work station set up to ease your neck, arm, or wrist pain? Make sure that you move and act only in ways that support your healing.

Exercise, Gently
"People in chronic pain are often afraid of physical activity, but if you don’t move, your muscles get stiff and weak, making the problem worse," says Schneider. Every day, get a little exercise, slowly walking around the block or simply stretching on the floor

Get Support
Tell your friends and family what you’re going through and keep your employer in the loop. Consider reaching out to on-line peer support groups run by the American Pain Foundation (www.painfoundation. org) and the American Chronic Pain Association (www.theacpa.org).

Think Positive
"Give yourself permission to cry and get angry, but don’t get stuck in ‘woe is me,’" says Maggie Buckley of Walnut Creek, California, who has lived for three decades with daily pain from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder. "Even if the pain doesn’t go away, you can cope if you stay positive and focus on what you can do. This will distract you from the pain, and that will allow you to resume enjoying your life."

Molly M. Ginty lives in New York. Her work has appeared in Ms., Marie Claire, Redbook, and Women’s eNews.

Article published in Lutheran Woman Today, September 2008