We've heard the saying, "It's all in your head." When it comes to how we deal with pain, our individual expectations of recovery can influence greatly how much pain we feel.
A new study by Geoff Bostick, a physical therapist at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, focused on whiplash and how people deal with that injury. He concluded this injury is misunderstood by health care professionals who focus on test results without accounting for how individual patients think and feel about their pain.
For six months Bostick tracked 72 people who were in motor vehicle accidents. He found that people who had negative expectations of recovery felt higher levels of pain. The interaction between what's happening in our heads and what's happening in our bodies is what Bostick calls the biology of pain processing.
Whiplash injuries can be difficult to treat. Often an X-ray or MRI will show there is no pathology, yet the patient continues to feel pain, which points to issues beyond physical tissue damage, Bostick found.
Which Injuries Are Behind the Pain?
Headaches are most often caused by injuries to the upper cervical disc, facet joint or other joints higher up the spine in the neck known as the atlanto-occipital and atlanto-axial joints.
Arm pain may originate from a herniated disc due to nerve compression.
Pain between the shoulder blades is usually known as "referred" pain or pain felt somewhere else on the body than the injured area but which isn't caused by pressure on a nerve.
Among whiplash victims, low back pain is very common. That's because whiplash injuries most often occur to discs, facet joints of the lower back or sacroiliac joints. The medications prescribed for whiplash may cause problems with concentration and memory, irritability and depression.
A Psychological Component to Getting Better Faster?
Doctors who get to know their patients as individuals often see faster recovery. Melissa Mucci, a young woman who suffered a whiplash injury in an auto accident, said she's thankful Bostick spent getting to know her situation before treating her.
"Geoff was able to get what I was going through," Mucci said. "He took the time to understand me and took my pain seriously. His exercises and teaching motivated me to help myself get better, and I did."
If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact an experienced attorney in your area. Insurance companies do not have your best interests at heart. They may try to get you to settle your case for less than it is worth.
