How Chronic Pain Affects Your Body and Mind

If you are a victim of chronic pain, you are no stranger to some of its effects. But do you know how pain affects your body and mind? Understanding how your body processes pain can help you understand the methods used to combat it. Our pain center staff works with you to identify your pain triggers and give you the relief you need.

How Your Body Processes Pain

What causes you to feel pain? Pain starts at the source of an injury or inflammation following your body’s automatic response. Your body stimulates pain receptors following an injury, which in turn release chemicals. These chemicals messengers go directly to the spinal cord where the pain message is then carried from spinal cord receptors to your brain. The brain receives the pain message from the thalamus and sends it to the cerebral cortex–the area of the brain that decodes and processes the message. Your brain interprets the pain message, and reacts by sending the pain message back to the area of your body that hurts. This whole process happens instantaneously to protect your body from harm or actions that could put it at risk.

Chronic Pain Doesn’t Give Your Brain a Break

Chronic pain suffers account for more than 1.5 billion of our worldwide population.  According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, in the United States alone, 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.  Research shows that people with chronic pain have a portion of the brain that is always active–the region associated with mood and attention. This constant brain activity can rewire nerve connections and put you at greater risk for mental problems.

Pain Distracts

Your brain is busy distributing and interpreting pain signals denying other regions of your brain the help they need to manage your body properly and effectively.  Research suggests that the ongoing sending and receiving of pain signals can actually cause mental rewiring to occur that can negatively impact your brain causing attention deficits and mood imbalances.  Homeostasis just can’t be obtained with chronic pain interfering.  Memory sharpness and acuteness suffers along with your ability to compute and process simple mental commands.

Symptoms Related to Chronic Pain

New research by scientists at Northwestern University in Chicago may explain why people who have chronic pain also suffer from seemingly unrelated problems such as:

• Inability to Sleep Properly
• Less Mental Focus
• Mood Swings
• Depression
• Memory Issues
• Brain Fog

Treatment for Chronic Pain Management

Texas Spine & Sports Therapy Center is committed to offering our patients non-narcotic, non-invasive methods to treat your chronic pain symptoms.  Allowing your body the power to control the majority of your healing and symptoms can provide you the long-term results you need without the risks and side effects of other methods.  Consider the following approaches we offer for chronic pain.   We work with you to discover what treatment method, or combination of treatments, work best for your body and symptoms.

• Diagnostic testing.  Eliminating your pain requires that we first identify the trigger. We provide in-depth testing through X-rays, MRIs, ultrasound and full nutritional and allergy testing to help get to the root of your pain.
• Chiropractic care.  A combination of treatments–including spinal adjustments–ensures your nerves are firing appropriately and helps relieve compressed nerves.
• Massage therapy.  Massage eliminates tension, increases serotonin–your body’s natural painkiller–and facilitates blood flow for naturally healing. Massage therapy elevates your mood as cortisol levels decrease enabling you to fight through and handle your pain better.
• Electrical stimulation.  Soothes irritated nerves that have been damaged. It also relaxes muscle spasms, increases local blood circulation, maintains or increases range motion, and stops localized nerve pain and irritation.
• Spinal manipulation.  The American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society included spinal manipulation as one of several treatment options for practitioners to consider when pain does not improve with other methods.

Free Consultation With Our Pain Management Team

Our team of pain management specialists understand that with the demands of work and family, you just don’t have the time to be sick or hurt.  We know the value of your time, so we make sure that your issues are diagnosed accurately and efficiently. If you’re suffering from chronic pain and need solutions now, call Texas Spine and Pain Center for your free consultation at (512) 806-0015. Together, we can help you rediscover the pain-free life you deserve.