When you suffer from chronic pain, it can be because structural tissue is damaged or inflamed, and your body continues to experience pain. It is common for joint or nerve damage to cause chronic pain. Chronic pain can be debilitating, forcing a person to stop working or doing activities they used to do in the past.
Chronic pain may have an impact on your mood and make it difficult to concentrate. You may experience muscle weakness or have trouble walking. Each day can be challenging emotionally and physically as you try to cope with chronic pain that has no relief.
Fortunately, it is possible to find treatment for chronic pain. There are several treatment options available at our New York pain management center that may help relieve the symptoms of chronic pain without drugs or surgery. In this blog, we'll show how untreated chronic pain affects your life.
Chronic Pain is Devastating and Life-Altering
Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensation or emotional state associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage. Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting three months or longer.
The impact of chronic pain on your body can be devastating and life-altering. In fact, it's estimated that more than 100 million Americans are affected by chronic pain — and 75% of those individuals don't receive relief from their symptoms. It's important to understand what happens when you have unrelieved chronic pain, so you know how to best manage your symptoms and live your life without unnecessary suffering.
Chronic Pain Cause Difficulties and Pain in Everyday Activities
Chronic pain often makes it difficult to do everyday activities such as walking, sitting, standing, and lifting objects. As a result, you may find yourself avoiding certain activities or tasks that once were routine parts of your life. This can cause more stress and anxiety about the future because you worry about having enough energy to get through each day.
Chronic Pain Causes Weight Gain
People who have chronic pain often struggle with weight gain and obesity over time because they're less active and have trouble sleeping due to their pain. For example, if you're unable to walk for exercise or engage in other forms of physical activity due to chronic back pain, you will likely gain weight over time.
Chronic Pain Causes Sleep Problems
Sleep is essential to good health and well-being, but chronic pain can make it difficult for some people to fall asleep or stay asleep throughout the night. The constant stress caused by pain can also cause people to wake up on a regular basis throughout the night due to muscle spasms or other issues related to their condition. Sleep problems can cause fatigue during the day and increase stress levels — both of which can make dealing with pain even more difficult than they already are.
Chronic Pain can Lead to Depression or Anxiety
Depression and anxiety often accompany chronic pain. If these feelings continue for months or years, they can make it harder for you to cope with your daily activities. In fact, people with depression or anxiety are less likely to stick with treatment plans that include exercise as part of their treatment plan — which is necessary for long-term improvement.
Chronic Pain can Affect Social life
Chronic pain can make you tired and moody, which can affect your relationships. You might feel less like going out with friends and more like staying home to rest. If your friends are understanding, they'll understand if you cancel plans or need to leave early when they're visiting.
Chronic Pain can Lead to Poor Work Performance
Chronic pain can make it difficult to concentrate at work or school because of physical distractions such as throbbing discomfort or emotional distractions such as worry about how much longer the pain will last. Your ability to perform well at work may suffer because of these factors, which can lead to a decrease in income or even losing your job altogether.
Chronic Pain can Cause Weakness
The more pain you have, the less energy you have. The more energy you have, the more active you can be. If you're not active, it will be harder to lose weight and keep it off. And if you're overweight and inactive, your risk of developing diabetes and other chronic diseases increases significantly.
Chronic Pain can Lead to Loss of Independence
Chronic pain can make it harder to perform everyday activities such as driving or cooking. This can lead to a loss of confidence and an increase in anxiety. You may find yourself depending on others for assistance with basic tasks or activities of daily living, such as bathing or dressing. This can lead to feelings of depression and isolation — which, in turn, may make you less likely to try to get help or seek treatment.
Don't Let Chronic Pain Rule Your Life
In other words, chronic pain can be so dangerous because it can literally impact every aspect of your life. From the moment you wake up in the morning until the moment you go to bed at night, pain may be there with you – impacting your ability to visualize how your day will play out or diminishing your enjoyment in doing the things that used to bring you joy.
Though it may not be an excessive burden on your life yet, with time, it could become one. That's why it's essential not to let chronic pain control your life because no matter how badly you want it, it will not vanish without a proper treatment plan.
Pain is a complex and highly individualized experience, which means that treatment must also be individualized. Suffering from unrelieved chronic pain may not be easy, but there are things that you can do to make your situation more bearable. In doing so, you may find the key to improving your sleep and your outlook on life.
Just as we are not all the same, no two people live with chronic pain the same way. Therefore, it's important to obtain treatment for chronic pain as soon as possible. Treatment options for chronic pain are available at our New York pain management center, and it begins with a comprehensive examination to identify and address its causes.
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