It is estimated that over 6.5 millions Canadians are suffering from chronic pain. Since chronic pain stems from many different causes there can be no ‘cure’. Despite its causing suffering, pain is a critical component of the body's defense system. So pain is good, contrary to etymology. The word "pain" comes from Latin poena, meaning punishment, but pain is not a punishment; ignoring it is a crime and suppressing it is a sin.

Imagine pain like a cartoon. Your migraine is like a giant club smashing you on the head. Fybromyalgia (debilitating pain in the muscles, tissues, nerves and/or joints) would look like a slew of arrows jutting out of various extremities and organs. Imagine people walking around with arrows jutting out of their bodies. Could you ignore that?

Have your heard the term, ‘it’s all in your head’? Pain actually is in your head, part of the body’s warning relay system to minimize detected physical harm. So if pain is a ‘red light’ telling you not to cross the street into traffic, living with pain is equal to ignoring an oncoming 18-wheeler. Coping with pain is not removing pain. If we don’t live with it, we tend to mask it.

One of the most popular ways of dealing with pain is taking drugs from your doctor, who doesn’t get it. Going back to our cartoon, this would look like a giant red cape around the person with the protruding arrows. We can’t see the arrows, so they’re gone. This is not removal but an illusion. You are simply shutting off pain receptors to the brain. Drugs act like a gag on someone who is screaming. You’re still hurt; you just can’t hear it anymore.

We need to understand that pain is a symptom, not the disease. Our bodies are highly efficient and adaptive machines. Trauma, injury, and especially stress affect how well that machine runs. When things go wrong, the body responds with ‘pain messages’. Pain becomes chronic when those messages are repeatedly ignored. When your body is under stress (imagine continuously running red lights) your ability to sift through the ‘noise’ becomes impossible. You need a translator.

‘New Medicine’ is at the forefront in non-invasive treatments for chronic pain. Some of the more common therapies include: acupuncture, chiropractic, biofeedback and reikki. New technology has made assessment and ‘feedback’ faster and even more effective at reducing or eliminating chronic pain. Quantum biofeedback uses an in-depth computer program to identify possible causes for your pain, like diet, stress, and your environment.

You can live a clean, healthy, pain-free life. Don’t shut off your brain, shut of the reason behind your pain!