Managing pain when it affects your life

I've been whining over at www.helpmyhurt.com about my sore neck (Posts may slow down and Officially whining now) because it's been really affecting my life for the past week. Then, I realized that this week's Company's calling feature is about a surgeon who had to retire because of unrelenting nerve pain.

One reason I write the Help My Hurt blog is because pain can have such a devastating effect on people and it has such a high economic cost for both society and the people effected. Pain, like lower back pain - which is one of the most common chronic pain complaints in the so-called developed world - costs millions of dollars to society, employers and the healthcare system.

Besides not be able to work or being able to work as efficiently as before, people who used to be very productive in their personal life can no longer keep up the pace they used to keep. Volunteers may not be able to help coach the local baseball team, the Meals on Wheels volunteer may no longer be able to drive, the lay minister may no longer be able to visit the sick, and so on. So, it really is more than just economics - it affects society.

What is the solution? More research is being done on chronic pain. At a recent conference, physicians called for chronic pain to be designated a chronic illness - but will that help at all?

Many people with chronic pain can function well at certain times. I remember the first time I was off work as a nurse with a very sore back, I could still go out and shop (I had to, I needed food) and when a coworker saw me on the bus, she was very nasty about me being supposedly off sick because I was injured. I *was* injured. I couldn't work as a nurse. I couldn't sit for long periods and I couldn't stand for long periods. But I could get out of the house and run errands if my back felt up to it and I needed to.

Maybe before the issue of chronic pain and its economic impact can be addressed, we still need to work on the social and emotional view of others who live with it?

News for Today:
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Health Canada recalls a brand of blood thinner
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My back is *not* happy

Ack, my back! As a nurse, I know I’m not alone with my sore back. Because of our heavy lifting and awkward body mechanics, it’s not unusual to see a nurse rubbing his or her sore lower back and even calling in sick from time to time because it’s almost impossible to move.

I was reading some stats because of some articles I was working on. I knew back pain was common, but what I didn’t know was that in North America and other Western societies, we have a 65% to 85% chance of developing lower back pain at some point in our life and up to 75% can have a relapse. Of course, that means that many of us have a chance of not developing back pain, but I’m definitely in that 75% that relapses regularly. And I never know what will do it. This week, it was going to the driving range with my husband.

I learned how to golf a few summers ago but never had the time to get halfway decent. I decided that this was the year that I would. Well, after that first trip to the driving range, I’m rethinking that. My body mechanics were fine, I was hitting the ball really well, but my back just didn’t appreciate doing what I wanted it to do. Very frustrating.

We know that a lot of the level of chronic pain we experience is related to our mental health. That's not to say if you have pain, you’re not mentally well! But, there have been studies that have shown that people who learn how to handle their pain, through cognitive behaviour therapy, or biodfeedback, techniques like that, tend to report lower levels of pain. So maybe I have to find a way to handle this and to convince my back that I’m not going to stop golfing, no matter what it says. :-)

Seriously though, I do stretch and I do try to be very careful. After all, it is the only back I have. If any one has any suggestions, I’d love to hear about them. Exercising helps to a certain degree, but I still have to be very, very careful.

News for today:
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