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UNDERSTANDING CHRONIC TREATMENT-RESISTANT PAIN – PSYCHOSOMATIC BACK PAIN

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Science has shown that there is an incredibly powerful connection between the mind and body. In many cases, the underlying cause of neck pain, back pain and sciatica, also known as back pain complex, can be psychological. When someone is in pain and is told that it could be psychological or psychosomatic, the patient often becomes immediately defensive, often saying, “I can’t figure it out, the pain is real!” The fact is, whether the pain is labeled psychosomatic or not, it is very real. When Rückenschmerzen unterer Rücken dealing with treatment-resistant chronic pain, the mind-body connection needs to be examined so that it can be ruled out. In this article we will talk about mental pain, psychosomatic pain and chronic mental back pain. While we discussed in a previous article, we will also revisit, but briefly, the link between chronic back pain and depression. Chronic pain in any form can be the most insidious, debilitating, and disabling of all medical conditions. In order to fully treat the condition, the underlying causality must be thoroughly investigated and diagnosed. It is true that most cases of neck pain, back pain and sciatica stem from or stem from an actual pathology or some other physiological condition. However, mental back pain is widespread and is in fact a leading cause of treatment-resistant chronic pain.

When an illness is called psychosomatic

Unfortunately, an illness labeled psychosomatic often comes with an immediate stigma or negative perception. Very often, when a person suffering from neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica hears the term psychosomatic, they are immediately defensive. When a condition is labeled as psychosomatic, the connotation attached is that the condition is “all in the mind” or somehow “imaginary”. There’s even a stigma of mental illness where the patient protests, “I’m not crazy, this pain is real!” Even people close to you, sometimes members of your own family, will say unkind things like “I knew he was faking” or “I knew she was just trying to get attention, I felt sorry for her!” For these reasons and others, the Significant resistance to a psychosomatic diagnosis, often socially and culturally conditioned .

As discussed in a previous article, there is a strong link between stress and psychosomatic illnesses, in this case neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica; or treatment-resistant chronic low back pain. In addition, the connection between depression and psychosomatic illnesses, especially in old age, is often very strong. Individuals suffering from a psychosomatic illness may experience incredible pain or other physical manifestations or symptoms without a physical diagnosis. Paradoxically, there are a number of physical illnesses such as B. Brain injuries and vitamin deficiencies to name just two that can have profound psychological symptoms. However, it is common for many individuals with treatment-resistant chronic pain to have a psychiatric or psychosomatic illness without an underlying medical diagnosis.

result of a psychosomatic illness

Contrary to popular belief, pain that is the result of a psychosomatic illness, emotional or psychological process is actually quite real. Psychosomatic pain, in this case treatment-resistant chronic back pain, is not imaginary, it is not “in our head”, it is not the result of delusion or a mental illness, and it is not the result of a mental illness. The fact is that everyone who suffers from tension headaches, ulcers, colitis, tension back pain, and myriad other stress-related illnesses suffers from a psychosomatic condition. Of course, all these people are not “crazy”. I suppose the best way for a person to understand how real psychosomatic pain can be is to think back to their last tension headache and ask one very simple question: “Was the pain real?”

Psychological back pain is simply another name for psychosomatic back pain and is sometimes referred to as stress-induced back pain. Once again, the pain associated with this condition is very real indeed. While pain can ultimately be related to the mind-body connection, the physical expression of pain, whether it’s neck pain, back pain, or sciatica, can be debilitating and disabling. Consequently, managing psychosomatic, treatment-resistant chronic pain is often difficult, if not nearly impossible, without effectively treating the underlying condition. As a well-known evolutionary scientist once pointed out, psychosomatic pain can be considered an evolutionary anomaly, but it is entirely human and entirely normal. When our system, and that includes our mind, becomes overloaded, it tries to alleviate or eliminate the problem as quickly and efficiently as possible. Unfortunately for the patient, it does this by taking the focus away from the root cause, the real danger, and expressing it in a very uncomfortable, often intense way; and in this case by chronic therapy-resistant back pain.

Least understood form of the two acute

Psychosomatic pain is the most commonly diagnosed and least understood form of acute and chronic back pain. Significantly, most treatment-resistant chronic low back pain sufferers, i.e. those with unresolved back pain, meaning there is no clear diagnosis, are by definition suffering from an underlying and misdiagnosed mental illness or condition. As medical schools begin to address this very important medical topic, psychosomatic illnesses have long been pushed to the background of medical education. As a result, doctors are simply not prepared or able to understand, let alone treat, this condition. As a result, many individuals are misdiagnosed as having this “scapegoat condition,” leaving individuals with very real physiological, structural, and medical conditions undiagnosed.

Unfortunately, although solutions are available, they are still relatively unknown. As the medical community begins to educate itself so they are better prepared to deal with this condition, we are beginning to see the first steps towards a more holistic approach to this problem. Psychosomatic medicine has been talked about for centuries, even Sigmund Freud was fascinated by it in his day, but it is only in recent years that we are seeing any real movement to deal with this ongoing epidemic. Treatment-resistant chronic pain sufferers, particularly those with a long history of unresolved and undiagnosed pain, are most likely to present with a variety of medical conditions, including ulcers, colitis, and depression, to name a few. The combination of unresolved neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica and depression leads to profound consequences for the individual, family, community and even the state. The effects of this poorly understood and often misdiagnosed condition or set of conditions run throughout the system, with ramifications far beyond the medical in nature.

The underlying disease has been diagnosed

Ultimately, and until the underlying condition is diagnosed, treated, and eliminated, the symptoms must be recognized and alleviated. For this reason, it is advisable for the individual to embark on a comprehensive, individualized and medically supervised program to address both the expressed symptoms and the as-yet-undetermined causality. Exercise in and of itself will have a Rückenschmerzen unterer Rücken remarkable and immediate effect on most people. An exercise program that is properly conducted and monitored will not only work wonders to reduce stress, it will also help improve self-esteem and confidence. During exercise, especially until the muscles have adjusted to the new routine, certain other measures must be taken. The additional treatment strategies that should be initiated along with the exercise program should include a stretching program, 2 to 3 times a day (see: “Simple and Light Exercise Program for Sciatica Relief…Part I & Part II”). Self-education, both individually and in a group, will also improve understanding, self-knowledge and self-esteem. Most importantly, either individual or group therapy should be initiated to address the underlying issues contributing to the unresolved and/or misdiagnosed psychosomatic pain condition. The concerto of bad back strategies will work wonders to alleviate the symptoms and ultimately lead to a solution when used in conjunction with a solid therapy program to understand the underlying stressors that lead to the back pain complex of neck pain, back pain and sciatica.

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