In a recent study, it was found that about two-thirds of patients who had chronic pain also had chronic sleep disorders. Basically, the pain made it more difficult to sleep. But, because the patient couldn’t sleep, they also couldn’t get the relief they needed and so the pain never went away. It becomes a vicious cycle of pain-insomnia-pain.
If you’re suffering from chronic pain, you may feel hopeless. It’s understandable. But, don’t give up. Why not?
You Get Depressed
When you’re constantly in pain, eventually you will become depressed. Maybe you’ve already experienced this. Things seem hopeless and so maybe you start upping your pain medication, which makes you feel worse. Or, maybe you decide to start drinking because it helps numb the pain and distracts you from what you’re going through. It’s not a solution though, and you realize this.
A Greater Risk Of Car Accidents
When you’re in pain, and you can’t sleep, there’s a greater risk of you getting into a car accident (or any accident, really). The pain, in a sense, is causing your insomnia which causes your accident. According to a prominent car accident lawyer in Vancouver, a car crash resulting from insomnia can complicate existing injuries, making for a very complex lawsuit (it’s difficult to prove the extent of the new injuries caused by the accident and sort them out from the existing ones). At that point, you’ll have two problems to deal with – more injuries and a financial burden to sort out.
You’ll Never Get Rid Of Your Pain
Finally, if you let the cycle of pain-insomnia-pain continue, the simple fact is that your pain will never go away. Imagine that – your pain will stick with you for the next 10, 20, 30 years or more. Do you really want that?
Breaking The Cycle
Fortunately, there are a few ways to break the cycle of chronic pain. All of them, however, require some action on your part. As much as you may not want to hear it, chronic back pain is most easily solved by consistent and dedicated effort to lift weights. A simple program will help you regain lost strength in your back, easing pain, and making it easier for you to cope with any previous injuries you may have suffered.
A simple heat lamp can also help. Shine the lamp on the injured area and after about 20 minutes, the pain should start to subside. This is the effect of blood rushing through the injured area. Increased blood-flow brings vital nutrients necessary to heal the injury – this works especially well for muscle-based injuries.
If you have a tendon or collagen-related injury, your best friend will be vitamin C – the vitamin that is most responsible for tissue repair. Studies show that people who drink alcohol, are malnourished, or otherwise have a deficiency of the vitamin, or are sick or injured, need higher doses of vitamin C to help with tissue repair. In the absence of this vitamin, healing cannot occur.