To Your Health
November, 2022 (Vol. 16, Issue 11) |
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Chronic Pain Can Wreck Your Life
But It Doesn't Have to Be That Way
By Editorial Staff
Chronic pain is pain that stays around, rather than going away after a short time (with or without treatment). Chronic pain is pain that lasts 3-6 months or longer ...
sometimes much longer. In fact, many people end up trying to "live" with their pain. The problem with chronic pain, besides the pain itself, is that it can do real damage to your quality of life for years – even decades.
Case in point: a new study that suggests people who experience chronic pain are more likely to experience poor general health, poor mental health outcomes and even joblessness years later. The study tracked pain patients from an average age of 44 through their 50s and 60s. Both short-term and chronic pain at age 44 predicted pain and poor health in later decades. Chronic pain in particular at age 44 was associated with pain (bodily pain and back pain) poor mental health (depression and general unhappiness), lower life satisfaction, poor sleep (fewer hours per night, more likely to be "troubled") and joblessness at age 55. Findings appear in the research journal PLoS One.
In other words, chronic pain can wreck your life! But it doesn't have to be that way. That's where your doctor of chiropractic comes in. By evaluating and treating the root cause of your pain, your doctor can not only help avoid short-term pain from becoming chronic; he/she can also help prevent the pain from returning. In fact, you may prevent the pain from occurring in the first place if you receive consistent, preventive care from your doctor.
