Sufferers of chronic pain have long been told it's all in their head. We now know that's wrong

[Jilly_in_VA]

It started with headaches and neck pain, but no sooner had Tricia Kalinowski’s physiotherapist come up with a strategy to tackle these problems, then another area of her body would start to hurt: her lower back, her hip or her jaw.

“The physio was chasing the pain up and down my body,” says Kalinowski, 60, from Minneapolis, US. Eventually, she was referred to an oral surgeon, who believed the root cause of these issues was a problem with one of the joints in her jaw, so she underwent surgery to replace a thumbnail-sized disc.

Unfortunately, the replacement was defective, triggering an immune reaction that resulted in the loss of several inches of jawbone. It took 13 rounds of surgery to fix the damage – the last of which was performed in 2015. “The irony to all the surgeries is that I still have headaches, I still have neck pain, and nobody really knows quite what to do about it,” she says.

To most people, pain is an unpleasant but short-lived sensation, occurring as a result of illness or injury. Although some people may experience ongoing or chronic pain, the assumption is there must be some kind of underlying physical injury, such as a crushed nerve, or an angry, inflamed joint.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/28/sufferers-of-chronic-pain-have-long-been-told-its-all-in-their-head-we-now-know-thats-wrong
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This is a long article but worth the time it takes to read it. I'm fascinated with neuroscience and have been since I retired, so I ate it up. I invite anyone with chronic pain, or who knows or lives with someone dealing with it, to read it.

[quaint]

1. Long article; this is pertinent.

Traditionally, doctors have divided pain into two categories: nociceptive pain, triggered by injuries such as bruises, burns, fractures, sprains or inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, and detected by pain receptors in our skin, bones and other tissues; and neuropathic pain triggered by damage to the nerves that carry sensory signals from these tissues to the brain and spinal cord.

But a few years ago, the IASP introduced a third category: nociplastic pain – pain arising from the altered processing of these sensory signals, without any evidence of actual or threatened tissue damage. One thing that can happen is that the pain signals carried by peripheral nerves from the skin, muscles, joints or internal organs to the spinal cord can become amplified, worsening the pain.

[Goonch]

2. What is chronic pain and how does it work:

[LakeArenal]

3. I have had young doctors and physical therapists

That I believe have no concept of chronic pain. They study it. But I find some to be utterly non-empathetic . One was more physical trainer than physical therapist.

[captain queeg]

4. I had a physical therapist following a back surgery who always endorsed pushing thru the pain.

She was a young woman. I’d tell her that the pain was too much but she’d ignore me. I’m no wimp, finally I could barely walk. After a lot of screwing around another surgery was scheduled and it turned out the previous surgery had become infected. I was in very bad shape before they finally discovered that.

[Jilly_in_VA]

5. Send her this article!

Hell, everyone with an unsympathetic know-it-all doc or PT should print this article out and hand or send it to them. Pain means something isn't right. The point is finding out what it is.

[RubyWilliams]

6. What is Neuropathic pain ? how to treat it?

Neuropathic pain is caused by damage or injury to the nerves that transfer information between the brain and spinal cord from the skin, muscles and other parts of the body. The pain is usually described as a burning sensation and affected areas are often sensitive to the touch.
Anticonvulsant and antidepressant drugs are often the first line of treatment. Some neuropathic pain studies suggest the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as gabapin may ease pain. Some people may require a stronger painkiller

[gopiscrap]

7. welcome to DU