The Quick Fix Mentality – Dealing with Pain

Posted on 05. Jan, 2009 by Keith Scott in Back to Health

People deal with pain in different ways. Some people will deal with it head on by figuring out what is wrong, getting some kind of therapy and making themselves better. Others work through it and just live with it, and many people use the quick fix options that are readily available through the local pharmacy, or family doctor.

The problem with the quick fix option is that it rarely works for long-term pain management. People may feel better immediately afterward, but in my experience, the pain and problems just come back.

The “Advil diet”

I am not picking on Advil, in fact, insert any other over the counter pain medication (i.e. Tylenol, Aleve, Aspirin, etc…) and they all work basically the same way. Over the counter pain meds do work and they work pretty well. The problem is that people rely on these medications only, to deal with their physical problems and pain. People will tend to live on the “Advil Diet” throughout each day. Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months. I know people that pop Advil like vitamins throughout their day. Not only is this ineffective over time, it is not healthy.

Muscle Relaxers and “Shots”

Other people will opt to use their doctors for their pain relief. I think it is always a good idea to check in with your doctor when you are not feeling the right way. Again, however, the quick fix mentality is what many doctors live by with their patients. Very quick to hand out meds, and give shots to get fast relief, but rarely with any follow up on how to deal with the actual cause of the pain or the problem. Shots work, almost too well. The problem is that people walk away feeling great. 3 days later, the pain is back, so they go right back to the doctor to get another shot. This scenario can go on for months and even years.

No real progress if any has been made with the actual physical problem. In fact, most of these problems will get worse over time by following this type of routine.

Pain Hurts!

Pain sucks. There is no better way to put it. When you have pain, you want to do almost anything to get rid of it. For that reason, I don’t blame people for wanting a quick fix. I understand it completely. At the same time, most things that make us feel good quickly, are rarely good for us. At the end of the day, we are no more healthy then we were when we started and in many cases, we are worse off.

Quick fixes are just that. They are a Band-Aid approach to dealing with problems and pain. The shot, the Advil, and the Muscle relaxer will not always be there, but the pain sure will if it is not dealt with. Besides, the more you use these things the less effective they are.

Why you hurt

There is always a reason for your pain. If you have chronic pain, you owe it to yourself to figure out why you hurt and then deal with it effectively…long term. This doesn’t mean that you need to totally give up the pain meds if you need them and your doctor prescribes them safely. It just means that you need to find out why, and deal with the how to getting better, for good.

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Tags: Dealing with Pain, Pain Management