22 Secrets Pain Doctors Won’t Tell You
Updated: Oct. 04, 2018
Learn what pain doctors are really thinking when you visit them, and how you can better manage your symptoms.
Sure, I can give you some meds to dampen the pain
But the best doctors will talk to you about the cause of your pain, whether it’s your lack of activity, your stress level, a health condition like arthritis, your mattress, or one of these surprising back pain causes.
Heat or ice?
Use an ice pack for acute injuries, to minimize blood flow and reduce swelling and pain. Use heat to loosen muscles and stiff joints and help you feel more mobile.
Also read: How to Relieve Back Pain: 10 Tips Worth Trying.
Any doctor can hang a shingle that says ‘I treat pain’
Look for doctors who are board-certified in pain medicine or who did a fellowship in something pain-related.
Bonus: Understanding Your Back Pain
Your back and neck (and often shoulder) pain likely have little or nothing to do with your abnormal MRI
Studies show that if you perform an MRI on any 100 people, you’ll find an abnormality in about 90 per cent of them, even if they’re not experiencing any back or neck pain.
Here are 3 of the Best Herbs and Supplements to Relieve Back Pain.
Reconsider before asking for a prescription
The latest research shows that taking opioid pain meds (like OxyContin) for chronic pain can change the brain, damaging its ability to feel pleasure and leading to a craving for more drugs. A few studies found that long-term use can actually lead to increased back or neck pain.
In mild pain? Play word games or another favourite challenging puzzle
When you distract your brain, you don’t hurt as much. Another activity that helps: watching a funny TV show.
Give your brain a workout with our Daily Crossword challenge!
Before you praise me for curing your back pain, remember this
It may have gone away on its own. Approximately 90 per cent of low-back pain subsides within 12 weeks without medical intervention.
If you have chronic pain, consider experimenting with dietary changes
Eliminate dairy for a few weeks, then reintroduce it and see how you feel. Do the same with wheat, red meat, shellfish, citrus, peanuts, caffeine, and alcohol, one at a time. If your pain gets worse when you add back a food, then food allergies may be contributing to your problem.
If I specialize in prescribing narcotics, giving injections, or doing surgery, that’s probably what I’m going to recommend
But there are dozens of other effective health treatment options like massage, physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, spinal cord stimulators, and behavioural therapy.
Check out these additional pain management therapy options.
Think twice about having surgery, especially on your back or spine
I’m in a practice with only three doctors, and between us, we have over 1,000 patients who had back surgery who wish they never had. In a Consumer Reports survey, just 60 per cent of those who had back surgery were completely or very satisfied with the results.
Consider discussing these 4 Treatments For Chronic Back Pain With Your Doctor.
Pain is mental too
So you may want to explore psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, meditation, and even self-hypnosis.
Here are 8 Ways to Naturally Increase Your Endorphin Levels.
Your pain will improve with the right kind of exercise
And it will probably feel worse if you won’t get a good night’s sleep.
Pain medications are known for causing severe constipation
Always ask about a stool softener, or try one of these constipation home remedies.
Before you come to me, try taking Tylenol or Advil for a few days
Simple, but it works.
Also, consider trying these 6 Exercises For Back Pain.
Surgeons and orthopedic doctors who prescribe narcotics after surgery tend to under-dose
That’s because they’re worried about creating an addiction. If you’re still in pain after a procedure, it’s OK to ask for more.
Diagnosed with spinal stenosis?
If you’ve been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal, and your doctor says you could be paralyzed if you don’t have surgery, find another doctor. Studies have shown that’s not true, and surgery should be a last resort only after you’ve tried other options.
Check out these 33 Secrets Hospitals Don’t Want to Tell You (But Every Patient Should Know).
Try injections for carpal tunnel
Injections for carpal tunnel syndrome have the highest success rate of any procedure I do, hands down. It should definitely be something you try before you resort to surgery.
Please don’t take it personally when I ask you to take a drug test
We want to believe that you’re not addicted, but research shows 18 to 41 per cent of patients who take narcotic pain relievers are abusing them, and I don’t want to be responsible.
Chances are, you’re never going to be 100 per cent pain-free
Especially if you’re experiencing chronic back or knee pain. In many cases, we consider your treatment a success if we get rid of 50 per cent of your pain and help you to be more functional.
Did you know that Certain Foods Can Ease Knee Pain?
Steroid injections are now a top treatment for back pain
But critics say there is little evidence of any long-term benefit compared to their risks, especially for back pain that doesn’t radiate down the legs.
We’re incentivized to find ways to treat you
Pain doctors are paid about five to 10 times more for doing a procedure on you than for counselling you about how to prevent pain and injury. Nerve blocks and injections are very lucrative, especially if you do them assembly-line-style all day long.
Get out of bed!
For every day you’re lying there, you lose 1 to 3 per cent of your muscle strength, and then you start to feel stiff simply because you’re not moving. Your pain will get better faster if you stay active.
Sources: David Greene, MD, CEO of the Florida Pain Network; Adam Perlman, MD, executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina; Norman Marcus, MD, a pain medicine specialist at NYU Langone and author of End Back Pain Forever; Scott E. Glaser, MD, co-founder and president of the Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago; Joe Carlon, CEO of Arizona Pain Specialists and Boost Medical in Scottsdale, Arizona; and Marty Makary, MD, MPH, author of Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care.
