What Are The Barriers To Pain Treatment And How Can It Be Overcome?

According to John Green, ‘’that’s the thing about pain… It demands to be felt’’

Pain is the highly unpleasant physical sensation caused by an illness or injury. Pain is part of human life. Pain can be there as a symptom of an illness or just as a disturbance that imbalances the days to day affairs. Most of the time, we neglect pain. We consider only when it is severe and out of control. Usually, we have a let-it-go attitude toward pain. We are trained to suffer. Pain statistics of America are actually shocking. It is said that almost 60 percent of adults live with pain. Back pain is the most common one. Two in every 5 American adults are struggling with back pain. Women are the majority among them.

barriers in pain treatment and why do we suffer?

As we are all living in symphony with we really have to know the barriers in pain treatment and why do we suffer. Back pain, elbow pain, foot and ankle pain, hip pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, hand wrist pain, and knee pain are very common and they usually don’t have a serious cause. Even your doctor does not consider you apart from a pain killer as there is not a serious health condition to cure. There is a big group of people suffering from pain after serious diseases too. Toothache is the most irritating pain children have to suffer. When it comes to women it ranges from periods-related pain to pregnancy and after delivery. 

🤦‍♂️Lack of knowledge 

We are trained to suffer chronic pain. As per a recent survey, 50% of chronic pain patients are not satisfied with their physicians. Reasons for the thought of changing physicians include physicians’ unwillingness to treat the pain and failure to take the pain seriously. It can be a pain without a serious underlying cause that the physician neglects. Discuss your pain with your physician and know the safest way. Pain killers that you use can be a discussion too. Treating the underlying cause after diagnosis can definitely help you. Also, be aware of things that may trigger your pain. Avoiding those triggers can be helpful for you to stay away from chronic pain to an extent. 

🤦‍♂️Psychological Barriers

There are also patient-related barriers to pain treatment. It can be communication, psychological and attitudinal issues. Here patients are failed to express the intensity and type of pain to the doctor. There is a prominent attitude or belief in most of the patients that no one can cure my pain. First of all, we should break such notions and realize that it is 2022, the medical science is in its maximum advanced form. Fear of addiction and side effects are also important factors that keep you away from pain treatment and doctors. 

Some psychological problems complicate the diagnosis as the symptoms may mask and confuse the physician. Distress, depression, anger, and dementia can be the most common psychological issues that often complicate the symptoms of pain and thus pain treatment. Always visit your psychologist if you are facing any mental disturbances that you are not able to recover from. 

🤦‍♂️Barriers of the health care system

The health care system should be updated on a regular basis. Still, there are doctors who treat in the very traditional way. Knowledge gap, negative attitude toward pain killers and opioids, and inefficiency of diagnostic services may worsen the situation. Always approach a well-experienced physician for treating your pain. 

Women and treatment for pain

We always love making stereotypes. There is a non-written natural law that is deep in the human psyche is women are supposed to suffer. They are the pain bearers and a good woman will never complain about her pain and suffering. Now we are culturally grown, we are all well-educated and well-mannered; even then we prefer believing in these anecdotes and making things complicated. 

There is published research about gender disparities in pain treatment which states that gender inequality or disparity in treating pain is still prevailing in our modern-day society. There are numerous reasons for a woman for her suffering. Menstruation, pregnancy, baby birth, feeding everything is deeply related to womanhood. Society wanted to train women for their sufferings from their childhood days. When a girl cries out of pain, it can be even an injury to her knee; elders reminded her that she cannot cry as you have to face a lot in the upcoming days.

Pain is a disgusting situation for all. It doesn’t make any difference with women. Also, there are solutions for all irritating pains women may face. A gynecologist can help you if the menstruation is painful. A hot water bag, proper rest and hydration, and pain killers can save you from your sufferings. Any painful situation that you cannot manage can be discussed with an experienced health practitioner. There is no need of suffering all the pains and punishing your womanhood. It is medically proven that Yoga and light aerobic exercises can make your menstruation period easy and painless.

Drugs and pain 

There are pain relievers and medicines available that reduce headaches, muscle-related pins, back pain, and all. It is common for all of us to have a medicine box containing pain killers in it. 

Over-the-counter medicines such as Aspirin, naproxen, and ibuprofen are available without the prescription of a doctor. We know that it is not safe to use painkillers, but at times we are forced to use them to perform day-to-day tasks. 

The risk factor differs from person to person. If you are generally healthy, there is only the least chance reported. But if your health condition is not good get the medication only after the instruction of your doctor. 

Anyhow, no expert doctor will support you in using pain killer drugs. According to the experts, treating the underlying cause, engaging yourself in positive activities and exercising can give you a better result in a safe way. 

A hot water bag can be a magical remedy. It decreases the intensity of pain. A hot water bag is effective for most of the common types too. 

 Pain is the same for everyone. It is a really disgusting and disturbing sensation. As there are treatment plans, remedies, and solutions available, it is not necessary to suffer. Be brave to approach your doctor and get rid of the pain that haunts you… Be happy…