Pain Is Only a Symptom

Pain. It’s a powerful word that creates strong feelings.

Think back to the last time you experienced pain. If you’re like most people, you probably remember some event that caused it—a paper cut, a sprained ankle, or a skinned knee.

Most people believe that back pain operates the same way - that it’s caused by some isolated event. They “throw out” their backs, for instance, experience pain, and then have a back-pain problem. Since the pain happened rather suddenly, they imagine that if they can get rid of the pain, they’ll get rid of the problem.

Like many things in life, the real story is more complicated. Back pain is just a symptom that can be caused by many different things.

Two people can feel the exact same type of back pain for two entirely different reasons. 

If they were both to undergo the same treatment, one may start to feel better but the other may not. It all depends on why the pain exists in the first place.

Let’s say you have a dog, and one night that dog comes in whining. You know he’s in pain, but you don’t know why. Pain is just a sign that something is wrong.

Next, you may notice he’s limping, which is a good sign that the pain is probably in his leg somewhere, but you still don’t know what’s causing it. To find out, you need to do some investigating.

Most likely, you would call your veterinarian and work toward finding a solution. You would not, in most cases, give the dog a pain reliever or a massage and then forget about it. Even if your dog felt better the next day, most likely you would still want to be sure his leg was all right. Unfortunately, you might not treat yourself with the same care.

Many traditional back-pain treatments focus primarily - if not exclusively - on just getting rid of the pain.

In the process, they fail to identify the underlying cause of that pain. Of course, it’s great to have pain erased or, at least, diminished. But easing the pain without solving the problem means one thing - the pain comes back.

That’s why a lot of people seem to frequently “throw out” their backs and experience persistent, recurring back pain.

Pain Is a Message… So Listen!

Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is out of balance, or “messed up” in some way. That may not be the technical term doctors use, but it’s the most accurate one I can think of!

Through pain, your body is trying to send a message that something is wrong and it needs help. When the message is silenced but the underlying problem is ignored, the communication has failed. Consequently, your body starts to “yell” louder by giving you more pain - recurring and more severe pain.

Your body is trying to tell you something, but you aren’t listening!