Pain is a big business. People who suffer from pain are willing to spend significant amounts of money to medicate it, and pharmaceutical companies know this – and appreciate it. But before you rush out to fill a prescription for pain relief, it’s important to ask yourself one very important question: What is this pain trying to tell me?
Understandably, you want the pain to go away. But until you address the cause of the pain, all you’re going to do is medicate it. It will come and go according to your dosage schedule. But wouldn’t you rather it just go?
Pain is a message. It’s your body’s way of saying, “you’ve reached a boundary here, and something needs to change”. You can see this in action if you bend a finger backward. At some point it starts to hurt, and you know not to push it any farther. You’ve reached a boundary, and you need to change something – in this case, you simply need to stop pushing your finger backward!
So what is the message? A headache, a back ache, a tingling or spasm… These things are signs that something has gone wrong in your body. And if you don’t address that “something”, the pain is going to continue. In some cases it might get worse and worse.
Medications trick you into ignoring the problem. We’re not going to tell you that medication is never warranted. But if you haven’t addressed the source of the pain, medicating it will only mask the symptoms. You won’t address the underlying cause, and it won’t be solved. It might even get worse over time.
At the same time, you’re taking the risk of side effects from the medication, along with potential dependence or addiction. Over time, many prescription painkillers can lead to stomach bleeding, liver damage, and kidney damage. And of course, we all know the dangers of addiction.
Instead of masking your body’s symptoms and ignoring important messages, why not listen and respond? In many cases chiropractic care can relieve your pain by addressing the underlying cause, helping you to avoid potentially dangerous drugs.
If you’re experiencing pain, either from a recent incident or on a chronic basis, give us a call to discuss your options. We will investigate the source of these messages from your body, listen to them, and respond appropriately so that you can return to your usual activities.