I know this may sound crazy, but it is so true. Many of us may be looking at pain as a problem or experiencing fear wondering where the pain is coming from, when actually pain can be a blessing. A warning sign that something is not right. Although it can definitely be frustrating, it’s really like your check engine light in the car. When it first comes on it’s a general warning letting you know something needs to be addressed. If left unaddressed or covered up, a simple need for more oil may lead to something as chronic as a blown engine. Migraines, back pain, stomach cramping are each signals letting you know something needs to be adjusted. If we keep about our general programming running through the pain or just throw a few Ibuprofen in to cover it up, we tend to create much larger problems.
Many times we do not intend to ignore the pain and we head to the doctor to find out what is going on. Our physician is trained to check our blood work, look at the site of the pain and to give us solutions to get rid of the pain. But lets say you have something like chronic stomach pain. This can be triggered by many causes. Your physician will most likely give you a few recommendations such as taking an over the counter Pepto Bismol, prescribe a muscle relaxer or maybe even further testing such as a Colonoscopy. If the Colonoscopy comes back with no chronic findings other than a spastic colon and inflammation in the intestines, your physician will most likely diagnosis you with something comparable to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He or she may recommend a few dietary changes and prescribe a specific medicine to keep the symptoms manageable.
Although you appreciate knowing nothing life threatening has developed such as Cancer, have you really fixed the problem? What caused the pain in the first place? We know the pain is there, we know there is inflammation, but did we find out what caused the inflammation or are we still ignoring it? Many times we are told stress caused our stomach pain, migraine etc. or maybe something we ate. This is most definitely true, but did you determine what in your diet was causing the problem? Were you taught how to manage the various stressors which led up to a more chronic symptom? If you did not find the underlying cause and you were unable to make changes in your behavior which kept symptoms at bay, this means you did not fix the cause which triggered the warning light. You basically just threw a towel over it so you can’t see it or feel it anymore.
This happens many times when it comes to gall bladder pain. Although someone may have demolished their gall bladder to the point of needing surgery, there is a reason it went bad in the first place. There is a reason it started to create pain. If we just live with the pain or just cut it out, we generally forget to look for the cause. If we continually just look for instant pain relief, but do not ask why or do not look deeper into what we’re doing to the engine, we’re basically just cutting the wires to the warning lights versus truly fixing the underlying problem. These short term fixes or “quick” fixes can and will lead to more chronic conditions such as hypothyroid, MS, stroke or even cancer. Many times we do not even know more chronic conditions are developing, because we have cut out or medicated the tools which were designed to warn us something was still not right.
Pain can be felt in different forms such mental pain, physical pain, emotional pain or even numbness.
Although we may need medication or a surgery to fix the acute problem, we truly need to ensure we are addressing the underlying cause to prevent further damage. Of course if someone smacks you in the knee with a bat, we know a simple pain reliever, rest and possibly surgery will get you fixed up. But if you have been taking medication to address symptoms such as stomach pain, heel pain or back pain which came on without direct trauma, it is critical to find out what you may be doing to cause the pain. You may have a muscle imbalance above or below the pain or you may be having stress from overexercising or prolonged sitting. Digging deeper to find the cause may take a little longer than a medication, but you will see the results will be longer lasting and you will drastically decrease your chances of a more fatal outcome.
This is what we specialize in as CHEK Practitioners and Holistic Lifestyle Coaches. Our training teaches us how to discover the cause, manage it and make it part of our everyday lifestyle. We assess daily lifestyle habits, nutritional choices, movement patterns and overall stressors to find the cause or causes of a persons overall symptoms. We refer our clients to physicians to ensure our steps and the client’s choices are leading to the correct outcomes such as managed blood pressure, blood sugar and proper healing. We also refer to physicians to ensure there are no underlying pathologies needing immediate medical attention. But helping you efficiently determine the cause to many symptoms and then teaching you how to manage your daily choices, allows us to help you achieve your FULLEST life! This helps create a healthier you, reducing your physician’s liability when treating you, reducing your medical costs and improving your overall well being. If you are ready to address the cause of your pain or overall symptoms contact us today at info@gimefitness.com or 352-428-6368. We look forward to complimenting your physician’s efforts and helping you take control of your daily choices.
Leave a Reply