When you think about chronic pain, you usually think of a person having back pain or an illness, injury, or health condition that causes pain. However, there are many reasons why you might have chronic pain.
Chronic pain is pain that persists after 12 weeks despite treatment and medication. Most people will get back to normal after an injury or illness, but chronic pain will persist despite normal recovery times. There are many different reasons why you can be experiencing chronic pain.
Insomnia
Do you have trouble sleeping? If you often find yourself unable to nod off despite counting sheep and dousing yourself in lavender, then this could be causing your pain. Sleep deprivation can cause an increase in pain sensitivity and is a cause of musculoskeletal pain.
C-Section
When you have a c-section, you undergo major abdominal surgery. A c-section wound will feel sore for around 7-10 days after birth and is usually relieved using over-the-counter pain medication. However, years down the line, your scar could be causing your pain. This is because nerve endings around your scar are regenerating and, as such, can cause you pain.
Smoking
We all know smoking is bad for our health, and while smoking doesn’t cause pain, smokers can be in pain due to the effect smoking has on their bodies. Smoking has been linked to systemic inflammation. Specifically, this means that smokers can feel more pain due to poor health brought on by smoking.
Medication Overuse Headache
Commonly referred to as a rebound headache, taking too much medication can result in chronic headaches. When you take too many painkillers, it is possible to pre-empt the production of your body’s own pain-fighting molecules. The result of this is that when you stop taking analgesics, the pain will be worse than originally taking the pain medication.
It is similar to withdrawal symptoms and is usually presented as headaches, but it can cause widespread pain across the body too.
UTI Pain
Many people experience pain that is associated with UTIs at least once in their life. UTIs can be the cause of back pain, but the pain goes once the UTI is treated. In some cases, frequent or unresolved UTIs can lead to chronic bladder pain or lower back pain even if the infection has been treated.
Posture
Did you know poor posture can lead to pain across the body? Poor posture puts extra pressure on your body and can lead to many different health conditions, including chronic pain.
Sitting or standing with your back rounded or hunched can lead to premature wear and tear. This is because you are throwing off your body’s natural position – in taller people, this is especially true as they contort their bodies to accommodate for the lack of height in their surroundings.
As more and more people sit hunched over phones, laptops, etc., the resulting poor posture can cause chronic pain.
It is important to discuss any chronic pain you experience with your doctor to get to the cause of the pain and get the right treatment to ease or eliminate any pain you may be feeling.
If you are experiencing chronic pain, we are here to help. Genesis Pain Clinic has the expertise you need to help with all your chronic pain issues. To learn about what we can do to help, call us today at 913-871-9888.