I have chronic pain and my pain gets worse when I increase my activity. I’m taking pain medication which helps me to do more, but how do I know that I’m not causing more damage?
In Acute Pain problems, such as a sprained ankle or a burn, the pain is a “signal” to the person that something is wrong and alerts that person to stop doing a certain activity. In Chronic Pain problems, the pain is no longer a helpful tool. Because of an abnormal process within the nerves, pain is being produced even though there is no longer ongoing injury to a particular body part. Using medication in order to decrease the pain and increase activity is a very important part of getting better. As a person moves around more, those abnormal pain signals can “die out”. You should always talk to your physician for specific directions regarding your condition.
