WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PAIN KEEPS COMING BACK

Pain is an inevitable part of the human experience.  Whether physical, emotional, or psychological, each living and breathing human is going to endure discomfort at some point in their lives.  Knowing this, we feel that it is time for the medical community to stop promoting tools and treatments to eliminate pain as we feel these methods are often based on placebo, have low proven efficacy, and ultimately harm the patient by fostering a codependent relationship and possibly contributing to an avoidant lifestyle driven by fear of movement.  In short, we do not subscribe to the common narrative that pain is always indicative of tissue damage and is an evil that needs to be avoided at all cost.   

But pain is still...a pain.  Most people, despite having this knowledge of pain do not enjoy being in pain.  So how should we deal with our pain if it keeps coming back from time to time? 

1. Find a provider that will help you prioritize your independence.

The provider(s) you choose to surround yourself should all have one common goal in  mind - helping you help yourself.  Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in their own ability to achieve a particular outcome (Bandura 1977).  It demonstrates the confidence of the individual to take ownership of their own motivations and behaviors.  This can be an extremely challenging aspect of a successful rehabilitation process but it should be the cornerstone of what physical therapy is truly about.  Studies show that those individuals who can demonstrate higher levels of self-efficacy are able to manage pain more effectively, maintain daily function, and are more capable of coping with their daily fluctuations in symptoms (Hadjistavropoulos 2006).

We should take a second to mention that self-efficacy does not imply that you do not need the help of others.  As healthcare providers we believe that sometimes demonstrating self-efficacy does mean having the self-awareness and initiative to seek help when it is necessary.

2. Don’t be so hard on yourself.  

Studies also show that individuals with higher “perfectionist” characteristics also have a more challenging time when it comes to pain management and pain severity (Hadjistavropoulos 2006).  Although the relationships are correlative and not directly causative, this holds true with the biopsychosocial model of pain in that the expectations we perceive from others as well as those we place on ourselves play a significant role in how we believe we should be feeling physically.  

Realize that perfection does not exist and the rehabilitation process is a non-linear one.  It’s easy to compare our own pain experiences and injury rehab timelines to those of our peers but recognize that each individual is different and recovery will not look the same for everyone.  

3. Find a support system.

It’s easy to feel the need to isolate ourselves when we are experiencing an injury but it is important to know that a strong social support system is helpful in the rehab process. Nothing helps with the psychosocial aspect of recovery like having a select group of individuals in your corner who can empathize with your current situation.  

If you belong to a CrossFit gym, keep going to your normal class time even if you have to do your own rehab workout off to the side.  If you play a team sport, continue to show up to practice and games to show to the rest of the team that you are still invested in their success and they will likely do the same in return.  

In short, when you are dealing with a setback do not fear.  Surround yourself with people who believe in your goals, share your frustrations, and refuse to allow you to believe that “your time is up”.  Be patient with the process, gracious with yourself, and excited about the outcome. We will be there with you at the finish line!

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behaviour change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.

Hadjistavropoulos, H. et al. (2006).  Recurrent pain among university students: Contributions of self-efficacy and perfectionism to the pain experience.  Personality and Individual Differences, 42 (2007) 1081-1091.