Pain Reliever or Problem Prolonger?

When someone is in pain, the general goal is to get out of pain, but who really thinks about what consequences their pain relieving method has in the long run? Over time, anti-inflammatory drugs have become one of the staples in pain relief. More specifically non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are what most of the population grabs when they are in pain.

NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen and are some of the more familiar pain relieving drugs that are available over the counter. Because these drugs are so easy to get and because they provide relief by reducing pain, fever and inflammation, they are widely used.

However, just because NSAIDs are widely used doesn’t mean that they are harmless. Initially, these drugs do relieve pain, but in the absence of pain someone is more likely to be more active, injuring the problematic area even more. For instance, someone who sprains their ankle will not put pressure on it when there is a lot of pain, but when the pain begins to dissipate, they use their ankle more.

Now, using pain relievers in the event of an injury or pain is like trying to talk with a gag on. It is not very effective. The pain signal that is being sent out is telling the body the limits that body part can handle. When those limits are surpassed, more injury can develop.

The effect of hiding the signals are true regardless of what is used to hide the signals. Ice can have the same long term problems if it masks pain signals and that body part is pushed past its limits. Therefore, in the event of an injury or pain, regardless of how it is handled, remember to listen to your body and obey those signals!

Ways to avoid prolonged problems…

Listen to your body.

If you need pain relief, use something that will remind you that you used something to help with that relief. For instance, ice will leave you cold and numb so you know when its effects are wearing off.

If you do need to take any drugs, take the lowest dose you can and then build up from there (unless otherwise prescribed by your medial doctor). But ALWAYS remember you are taking pain relievers and act like you aren’t.

If you couldn’t handle the activity without the pain reliever, you shouldn’t be doing the activity with the pain reliever. Remember how important your health and well-being is rather than how important getting a job done is!!!