Often when we see people in the office at Equilibrium, they are in pain. The spectrum of pain is wide and diverse. Ultimately, pain is a subjective experience influenced by physical (muscular and/or neurological), psychological and environmental factors. Pain perception is influenced by the makeup of different parts of the brain and other genetic factors, leading it to be highly individualized. Though each person’s perception of pain is unique, pain, and especially chronic pain, is a widespread problem that has become more obvious with the opioid epidemic, sparking more research into the root causes of pain and how to effectively treat it.

Pain

While it’s tempting to yearn for a life without pain, pain serves a variety of important functions. Pain sensations are a form of communication between the gross tissues of the body and the brain. Just like the ‘5 senses’ tell us what’s going on outside our bodies, pain can tell us what’s going on within our bodies. Pain helps us avoid harmful things like fire or pointy objects, and protects us from potentially detrimental behaviors like walking on a broken foot, or stretching a muscle too far. With this perspective, it’s impossible to ever be pain-free, and in fact, we wouldn’t want to be pain-free.

Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is a slightly different story. A common contributor to chronic pain is inflammation, which is the body’s response to cell damage which often triggers swelling, redness and heat. However, some forms of chronic pain like migraine headaches, aren’t related to inflammation or injury or nerve damage. Many scientists believe that chronic pain occurs when there is dysfunction in the nervous system itself.

Pain perception acts similarly to memory in order to help with self-preservation. For example, if you put your hand on a hot stove, your body and brain store a record of pain so that you remember not to put your hand on the stove again. During this process your brain cells actually alter shape, just as they do when you learn a new math equation. In other words, pain changes nerve cells. Those changes happen both in the brain and in the spinal cord. Those changes remain even after the initial trigger for pain vanishes, continuing to send ‘pain’ signals.

Managing Pain

The misuse of opioid pain relievers—which are ideally suited for short-term management of acute pain—has become rampant across the United States. It is clear that we need a better understanding of pain, its root causes and what treatments are effective for relief with few to no adverse effects.

While we can’t expect a pain-free life, there are things that can help manage pain:

• Maintaining a healthy spine may help with managing chronic pain. Dr. Andrew Tan at the Yale School of Research says “evidence from our work and others in more recent years show that the spinal cord is also important in abnormal pain processing.” Looking after your spine health with proper posture and healthy movement can help with chronic pain. Speak with your chiropractor for individualized treatment for your body and symptoms.

• Work on a healthy, balanced diet. Diet can be a contributing factor to inflammation, exacerbating pain. Cultivating a healthy diet and including anti-inflammatory foods like tomatoes, leafy vegetables, nuts and fatty fish can help get you on your way to feeling better.

• Getting enough sleep and moving your body regularly can increase resistance to pain. Sleep loss not only amplifies the pain-sensing regions in the brain, but blocks the natural painkillers secreted in the brain. Exercising produces those natural opioids, reducing pain sensation.

• Considering the mixed results from opioids and other medical interventions, you may consider other treatment options that are less invasive, such as massage therapy, yoga therapy, behavioral approaches, or acupuncture.