Sally, now 4 months after surgery that was supposed to help her neck pain reports, "My pain is worse than ever. I can't sleep, can't work, or even do simple house work."
Sally's neck pain developed when she began work as a data entry clerk. She says, "I hated it. I was always meeting a deadline. I got so wound up, I wasn't sleeping at night. My neck muscles kept getting tighter and tighter with more and more pain."
Now, Sally is sure her pain was caused by job-related stress. She wishes she had talked to her supervisor about the stress or even just quit the job. Pain is your body's message that something's not right. Ignoring or silencing pain without treating its cause just doesn't make sense. That's why the most important pain relief method is to treat the cause of your pain.
"LEARNS" offers a helpful acronym for 6 steps to finding and treating the cause of pain: Listen to your body, Evaluate possible pain causes, Action taking, Notice the results, Seek professional help if needed.
LEARNS... 6 Steps to Pain Relief
Listen to your body.
Sounds silly, but too often in our busy lives we don't notice subtle cues that something we're doing or some situation we're in is hurting us. Anyone with chronic tendonitis will tell you they wished they had listened to their body before chronic inflammation... chronic pain set in.
The old adage of "no pain, no gain" is just plain wrong. Those in the know now say you should rest from an activity when pain develops. The body needs rest to recover... to heal. This holds true for stress too. Stress causes physical responses in your body that tighten muscles and constrict blood flow leading to headaches and other forms of musculoskeletal pain. Pain can be a real blessing giving you information on changes you need to make for a happier, healthful life.
Evaluate possible pain causes.
Now that you're catching your body's pain signals earlier, use the "Four Ws" to uncover possible causes, then decide which cause is most likely. This exercise works best when relaxed, so take some personal time to do it. Some find writing their response to these questions helpful.
- Where is the pain located?
- When did you first notice the pain?
- What activity or situation is associated with the pain?
- Why did this activity or situation lead to pain? (Were you under stress? Were you using good body mechanics?)
Action taking.
Take action on what you learned. Treat the cause of the pain. Maybe your action is resting from an activity or reducing the stress of a situation you're experiencing at work or at home. For severe pain, you may decide you need immediate professional help. You may want to try natural pain relief methods, like these:
- Ice or Heat. Ice the area as soon as possible after injury for 10 to 15 minutes four times a day for 48 hours. Then use heat to promote pain relief and increased blood flow to the area.
- Chiropractic Treatments
- Massage Therapy
- Yoga/Tai Chi/Qi Gong
- Acupuncture
- Herbal Therapies
- Relaxation Techniques
Notice the results.
Pay attention to how your treatment is working. Develop ongoing body awareness. Is your pain gradually improving, are there situations or activities that make it worse. Keep updating your treatment plan as you learn more about what helps and what harms healing by listening to your pain. Some find keeping a journal helpful. Your body normally can heal itself in 4 to 6 weeks.
Seek professional help if needed.
If your body hasn't righted itself after 6 weeks see your health provider for a professional evaluation and treatment of your pain.
Make sure you receive a diagnosis (the cause of your pain) and treatment that adequately addresses this cause, not just symptom treatment (pain medications).
Too often, drugs and surgery form the bedrock of mainstream medical treatment. If you're not satisfied with both the diagnosis and treatment plan, get a second opinion from a doctor who provides natural medicine.
Treat your pain with the respect it deserves. Use the six LEARNS steps to develop your treatment plan and avoid pharmaceuticals whenever possible.
Using the LEARNS steps to identify and treat the cause of your pain along with natural pain relief methods can stop pain permanently. Plus, you get the added bonuses of greater self-awareness and control of your health-both leading to a happier more healthful life!
About this Author
Copyright by Nancy S. Moore PhD, RN, a health advocate and coach dedicated to helping you create vibrant health and your great potential. Discover more on how to enjoy optimal health based on the art and science of healing the natural way at http://www.natural-healing-health.com.
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