The Pain Experience
Pain is a part of life. It sounds like a cliche, but in reality, people experience pain all the time. When the pain becomes strong enough to interfere with life, we go to our doctors. During the ten minutes that the doctor has to address your pain, it is very likely that they will write you a prescription for pain medications and order physical therapy.
To give an example of how big the problem of pain really is, we can look at one specific type of pain. An alarming twenty-six million patients report frequent or persistent back pain. Unfortunately, most physicians’ methods for treating back pain, including surgery, are unsuccessful, either because they fail to address the underlying causes of pain, or because they ignore the psychological component that accompanies all pain. And, as we have seen all too often, the result of improperly treating pain is the prescribing of stronger and stronger opioids.
Whatever the reason, when pain is not adequately addressed, and an individual is left dependent on opioid pain medications to function, there will likely come a point in time when there are no more prescription opiates available, and the person must either choose to suffer with the pain, or to self-medicate with other, more harmful substances.
The Backstory
The number of pain patients continues to rise across the country. Most physicians treat pain by prescribing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or addicting medications simply because that is all they know. The number of pain management clinics across the country indicates how big a business pain has become. Unfortunately, most pain treatments fail to incorporate the mind-body connection when dealing with pain, or even identify a psychological component within their treatment of pain.
In 2000, such reports led the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (Joint Commission) to set new standards for pain assessment. This standard for evaluating pain became known as “the 5th Vital Sign”.
Even though the Joint Commission did not create the slogan, the Joint Commission did create the standard for a pain scale. Every patient was to be asked “What is your pain on a scale of 0-10, if 0 equals no pain and 10 the worst pain you have ever experienced?” The reason behind the pain measurement standard was the Joint Commission’s studies showing patients were being under-medicated for pain.
In 2016 Joint Commission started taking heat for the number of patients addicted to opioids. The Joint Commission stated it did not create “the 5th Vital Sign”. But they did create the standard for monitoring the pain levels of every patient, and their good intentions do not release the Joint Commission from the responsibility of the effects of that standard.
The Effects of Pain
The prevalence of pain has a tremendous impact on business. Half of the American population lives with chronic or recurrent pain, and that pain costs businesses in a big way.
In a study by the American Academy of Pain Medicine, 13% of the total American workforce experienced a loss of productive time during a two-week period due to common pain conditions such as headaches, back pain, and arthritis. Overall, workers lost more than 4.5 hours of productive time per week due to a pain condition.
The cost of lost productivity due to pain is estimated to be more than $95 billion per year.
There are also hidden costs that chronic pain causes as well. In fact, 17% of people change their jobs due to pain. Replacing and training new employees is one of the larger costs associated with human resources. With more than 100 million adults experiencing chronic pain in the United States, that adds up to a lot of people switching jobs and a lot of money being spent to train their replacements.
Treating the Cause
Pain contributes to many problems within our lives. Physicians and patients constantly search for pain relief, sometimes missing other contributing factors such as anxiety and depression. As a society, we need to look for positive solutions to these problems.
Hypnosis is one such solution. Hypnosis is one of the most effective and under-utilized tools for helping patients deal with chronic pain. The results are immediate, there are no harmful effects, and the patient is in control of when and where they use it. Hypnosis should be one of the very first treatment options made available to anyone suffering from chronic pain, offering an individual control over pain, emotions and ultimately, their recovery.
You may ask, why hypnosis? Hypnosis is a mind-body therapy that can harness the mind’s ability to influence the body’s physiological and neurological activity. So if a patient is able to change the mind and change the thought, they can change how the brain is wired - which in turn changes their body’s response.
Hypnosis can change the stress response by stimulating anti-stress hormones. By controlling the stress response, one can improve healing. It is a simple methodology that has been around for centuries, and it works.
While I never say hypnosis will take all of the pain away, patients do experience a greater reduction in pain with hypnosis in comparison to treatment in traditional pain clinics.
Now What?
If you are one of the thousands of Americans who live with chronic pain, or if you know someone who is, talk to your health care providers about all the alternatives to medications. Ask about physical therapy, hypnosis, yoga, and massage. Try these therapies out on your own.
Try to remember that, even though they are the medical professionals, your physician works for you, and if they aren’t working for you, you can find another one who does.
Despite all of the national attention being given to the Opioid Crisis, we will never solve the problem without giving serious consideration to how we treat pain in the first place.⧫
About the Author: Karen Gray is a Registered Nurse, Certified Hypnotist, and Director of Green Mountain Hypnosis. For more information on how hypnosis is used to manage pain and improve quality of life, email karengray@greenmountainhypnosis.com, or call (802) 566-0464.