Q: Why don’t most doctors relate to generalized pain? I feel when I tell my doctors that I have a pain all over he doesn’t take me seriously. What can I do to explain my pain?

A: Ironically, generalized pain is one of the most common complaints to bring a patient into a

doctor’s office, yet can be the most difficult to diagnose and treat. Doctors can’t measure pain objectively the way they can blood pressure or cholesterol levels. So when pain doesn’t immediately respond to treatment, physicians and patients often accept it as just another symptom that has to be lived with.

Your concern is shared nationwide. A group of healthcare organizations are now uniting to standardize a method to assess and treat pain. The new protocol gives the patients rights to allow their pain to be assessed and managed appropriately as well as documented.

All doctors and hospitals are now required to abide by these new protocols. You can help as a patient by first, not suffering in silence. Surveys have shown that many patients don’t tell doctors or nurses about their pain for fear of being labeled cranky of difficult or because they assume that their discomfort will go away. In our office we have a large poster in the consultation room that says, " I thought it would go away". Pain is usually the last symptom to show up after a series of conditions or reactions occur improperly in the body. Pain is a protective mechanism of the body to let us know something is very wrong. Don’t mask or hide your pain, rather understand it is a message from your body to seek help or make adjustments.

Secondly, if your current treatment isn’t controlling your pain tell your medical doctor or your chiropractor. Lastly, make yourself educated about your treatment. Ask questions; learn about your medications and their side effects. It is true that addiction can occur from painkillers but patients can also build a tolerance and loose the effect of the medication.

Consider alternatives other than drugs if they are not working. Chiropractic may be the solution you are looking for.

Quote of the week: " Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right."

Henry Ford