Below is a quick summary on PAIN – and as pain is the number one reason as to why patients come to our clinics, an accurate understanding of pain is essential!
- What is pain? It is an output from the brain to halt what you are doing so the brain can scan the damage to your body.
- It does not correlate with the amount of tissue damage present.
COMPLETE REST IS NEVER A FIX
Think about the last time you went to your doctor with a complaint of pain. If you experienced that pain while lifting, there’s a good chance the doc uttered these words, “I recommend not lifting for a few weeks.” Sound familiar?
It’s true many find some short-term relief of their symptoms by following these orders. It makes sense on paper. If lifting causes your back to hurt, not lifting will likely decrease your pain! Problem solved, right?
Wrong.
While eliminating what triggers your pain for a few weeks will likely decrease your symptoms, it is never a final solution. Chances are the pain will eventually return because you never addressed why the problem started in the first place.
Eliminating the movement, posture or load that causes your pain is only half of the battle in fixing any injury. Anyone can tell you to stop doing something that hurts.
Eliminating symptoms and building your body to become more resilient to future injury requires a different and more active approach.
Come and speak to one of our team if you are unsure about the right balance of rest vs. rehabilitation for your injury!
