Your Pain is Not Your Gain

Your Pain is Not Your Gain

By Stephanie Hoffman MS, PT

My Audi is only four years old, yet already shows degenerative signs of aging. The hoses are thinning (arteries and veins), tires need replacing (new orthotics) and the brake pads have worn out (cartilage thinning in the knees). I figure in human years, my Audi is forty years old (that translates at a 10:1 ratio and dogs are a 7:1 ratio. Please don’t fact check me). So as we turn 40, there is a peek-a-boo view at what our weaknesses are. Just as my Audi’s check engine light appears as a symptom, my body also shows the wear and tear of the many miles I’ve accumulated. The only difference is my body doesn’t have the same engineering set up with display warnings in the dashboard.

A common question asked by my patients is “What do you do when you (the PT) are in pain?” I usually chuckle because they would die if they knew the extent to which I go to avoid pain and feel good—unusual amounts of time in the ocean, either surf, swim or paddle, all three on a good day, premeditated to get that end result of euphoric endorphin release.

Because my pain is not my gain!

It does nothing for me, in fact, it tweaks with my chemistry in a bad way—short with the halted traffic light that takes forever to change, furrowed brows in the surf as someone drops in on me, and complaints that my burrito has too many beans. So prevention of pain, for me, is a big deal.

Instead of a German-engineered warning system in our dash, we are equipped with subtle, yet palpable and often audible, signs and symptoms that balance has been disrupted. A small twinge of a headache, an ache between the shoulder blades, pain in the arch or forefoot, cracking joints as you walk up stairs. These small noises are attempting to reach your consciousness. The sensory and auditory cues are all there.

Pay Attention!

My Audi will simply stop working if I ignore all those flashing lights in the dash, but us humans have the capacity to work beyond the warning signs, which can lead to cumulative strain and dysfunction. The end result is often so severe, so painful that the ominous path becomes unavoidable: MEDS (prescription and over-the-counter pain killers, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, mind-altering chemicals…). But the meds only work short term, which then take us down the next inescapable path of MORE MEDS.

Don’t get me started on side effects. Reference “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.”

In short, your pain exists for a reason. Listen and learn from its penetrating message. Are you tired? Are you weak? Maybe a new routine is needed. Attention span and behavior have a mutual relationship, so changing the way you do things could invoke a more positive outcome. Reducing your pain and ultimately eliminating your pain, without medications, can be an empowering process. It takes time, quiet and a good grip on reality. Take the time, find the quiet and define what is important for you, because in the end, your pain is not your gain, and it may even rob you of the quality of life you deserve.