Woman suffering from stress grimacing in pain

Not All Pain is Equal—Here’s Why

If you suffer from pain, then it might seem as though every day is the same.

You wake up in pain, go about your life in pain, and just keep on going. Then one day something else happens: you have a new type of pain. For example, if you suffer from back pain due to degenerative disc disease, then you might be used to feeling that ache every single day. However, if your ankle hurts one day, or you fall and twist your knee, then you are still in pain – only it’s a new type of it.

What do you in this situation? Do you continue treating this new pain like you do the old one? Or do you go to your doctor to see what can be done? The correct answer here is the latter option.

New injuries Mean Different Treatments

A new injury, such as a hurt ankle, whiplash, or even a twisted knee, must be examined and diagnosed. You can’t assume that just because you go through life with one type of pain, you must be forced to live with another. That’s not the way that it works. Each and every new injury or just a new type of pain (not caused by an obvious injury), must be examined and treated.

Why? Because you shouldn’t have to endure that pain—not when you have options.

Different Types of Pain Are Treated In Different Ways

Since no two types of pain are the same, neither are their treatment options. For example, if you have a burning sensation in your back, then you have nerve pain. The best ways to treat nerve pain are with special medications or even a heating pad. The ache of a sprained ligament needs to be treated with NSAIDs to reduce the swelling, followed by an ice pack, and elevation.

It’s important to recognize that the overall type of pain determines the exact treatment that you’ll receive, and that pain treatments aren’t universal.

Not Every Type of Pain Is the Same

Of course, there are different types of pain. Some types are excruciating, leaving you unable to concentrate, focus, or even go about your daily life without feeling like you’re suffering. Other types of pain are simply minor aches, and others yet are burning sensations, numbness, tingling, or even weakness. All of these are types of pain and each must be treated in very different ways.

All of these types of pain vary in intensity and in affliction, so their treatments are where they differ. Here’s one way of looking at it: a scraped knee is different than a badly cut finger. While both need to be treated, they cause very different types of pain. One, the scrape, gets a good cleaning, some antibiotic ointment, and a bandage. The other will need stitches, followed antibiotic ointment and sometimes a bandage.

Experiencing Chronic Pain? We Can Help

Every type of pain is different, which is why there is more than one way to treat them. If you suffer from frequent pain and one day have an entirely new type of pain, then you need to get to a doctor.