Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists for three months or longer that is resistant to treatment. Along with the pain, the other thing that persists are common myths about chronic pain. These myths make patients reluctant to discuss their pain or seek treatment and keep chronic pain an invisible illness.
As part of Pain Awareness Month, it is important to examine these damaging myths and find the truth behind them. Here are twelve damaging myths surrounding chronic pain.
1. It’s all in their head
Perhaps the most damaging of all of the myths, the idea that chronic pain is all mental and that a patient can just decide not to be in pain, is just not true. While there is a mental component to chronic pain in that depression or other mood disorders can amplify chronic pain, mood disorders alone are not the cause of chronic pain.
Patients who receive this message from their family or their doctors may not seek treatment, and this could lead to more severe pain with long-term health consequences. They may feel that their pain is not bad enough to be checked. It is crucial that even mild pain be checked by a doctor. This can prevent pain from worsening or turning into chronic pain. Mild pain can also be an indication of a more serious condition that may be more treatable with early intervention.
If a loved one is suffering from pain of any kind, listen to them when they need to talk about it and urge them to see their doctor if they have not already done so.
2. A pill can fix it
Chronic pain is not the same thing as a headache. A simple headache is usually easily addressed with a tall glass of water and a few ibuprofen. Chronic pain is not as easily fixed. A few aspirin or even a handful of ibuprofen may not even touch the edges of a painful flare-up, and evidence is mounting that even prescription opioids are not effective.
Most likely, chronic pain patients are working with their doctors to create a comprehensive pain management plan that includes a variety of treatments, some of which may in fact be a medicine of some kind. However, the myth that simply taking a pill will make the pain go away is incorrect and dismisses the severity of the condition.
3. Alternately, all chronic pain patients are addicts
While some with chronic pain do take opioids for chronic pain, new research and tighter controls on prescriptions have dramatically decreased the number of people who are dependent on opioids for chronic pain management. In addition, the vast majority of those who are taking opioids are closely monitored by their doctors and take opioids as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.
Opioid prescriptions have declined from their highest rates in 2010. Research that indicates that opioids are less effective for chronic pain is part of the reason why. The other reason is that doctors and researchers are looking for new ways to address chronic pain that include things like antidepressants and beta blockers. The reality is that most chronic pain patients are now reaching for alternatives to opioids. Patients who are using some form of opioid therapy, under the guidance of their doctor, have likely found that they provide a level of pain management for their unique condition that outweighs the risks of their use.
4. Lifestyle changes will fix everything
On this page we often recommend lifestyle changes to manage chronic pain. These changes might be to increase the amount of exercise chronic pain patients get daily and to change to an anti-inflammatory diet. We stand behind these recommendations as being an excellent way to increase overall health, but the truth is that just changing diet and adding 30 minutes of daily walking may not be enough to heal chronic pain. We are all for any change that increases activity and adds healthy foods to the diet