Pain - Grow

When you experience pain your brain is telling you that there is something wrong, that you are in danger of becoming hurt or that a body part already injured needs to be protected.

You will begin to feel pain when the nerve endings in your body (primarily within the bones, skin and other tissues) become stimulated by an actual or impending danger to the body. The level of pain that you will feel is directly related to the level of danger that your body experiences, hence the difference in the pain felt from a cut on the leg compared to a broken leg.

The actual Pain Process occurs with danger, and is the reaction of your brain to nerve impulses, or chemicals that are transmitted from one nerve cell to another, these are called neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters cause stimulation of the receptacles located on the surface of the brain and the nerve which allow for the Pain Message to move from one cell to the next and to the brain via the spinal chord, so pain is felt both locally and through mental awareness.

There are considered to be two types of Pain, Acute and Chronic. Acute Pain is sudden pain that lasts for a finite time, and would be the pain that you feel during illness or following damage to skin, bone or tissue. Acute Pain will normally subside when treated. Chronic Pain, which includes headaches
, cancer pain, arthritis and lower back pain, is persistent. Many people ignore continuous pain, because it becomes like a habit, but ignoring pain of any kind is ignoring a warning sign from your body that something is wrong, and chronic pain normally indicates a serious underlying issue.

Managing Pain
If you suffer Acute Pain the best solution is to either contact a GP or a Natural Health Practitioner who will recommend products for you to use to directly treat the pain, possibly a product to apply locally (more common in Natural Health treatments) or a capsule or tablet taken orally (common pharmaceutical treatments). Oral products for Pain Relief tend to target the brain pain receptors and so prevent the neurotransmitters from getting their message to the brain, therefore cutting out the sensation of pain that lets you know something is wrong.

If you suffer Chronic Pain it is widely regarded that you do more than just taking Pain Relief Drugs. Pain Relief Tablets can be addictive and once you become used to them, returning to a life without them can be difficult. When you have chronic pain your Doctor may also advise you to consider stress relief and relaxation methods, possibly including meditation depending on the type of Pain that you are experiencing. If you were to visit a homeopath or holistic Doctor they would explain how relaxation and stress relief can benefit you in ways that your GP may not fully understand.

Staying positive is absolutely critical in managing Pain. No matter how bad it gets it is important to try to focus on getting better, the Pain Cycle can trap you if you just accept that this is the way you are now, and that the rest of your life will contain pain. There are many many stories of heroic feats, achieved by people who have suffered horrendous injuries, look at paraplegic athletes who overcome many boundaries on the way to their achievements, because they simply refuse to bow down to their predicament and their anguish (both physical and mental) and they maintain their positive outlook, always.

If you suffer from pain you should consult your GP and also consider visiting with a Natural Health Practitioner, Holistic Practitioner or Homeopath.

If your pain is on-going, don’t let it take over your life, learn to manage it, and stay positive.