Myth: People Who Say They Have Chronic Pain Are Really Just Lazy Fact: Because chronic pain can be especially bad one day and better then next, people are able to function well one day and on their bad days may appear to be using their pain as an excuse not to work, when in fact they don’t want to press their luck. “When you have those good days, you may want to limit your activity because the last time you overdid it and made the pain worse,” says Cowan. “People with chronic pain are not lazy or malingering. They are fearful, and that fear tells them, ‘If it hurts, don’t do it.’ When you have chronic pain, you need to listen to your body and not push too hard.” Read More ivillage/17-myths-about-chronic-pain/4-b-450609#ixzz2YDCK51kH Sign up for iVillage Special Offers Myth: Chronic Pain Is Constant Pain Fact: More than two-thirds (69 percent) of people with chronic pain have flares of their pain with periods of remission in between, according to a survey by the American Pain Society. “People with chronic pain have good days and bad days,” says Cowan. “There is an on-again/off-again ability to function. The pain goes up and it goes down. It’s never 100 percent consistent all the time. People get into trouble when, on their good days, because they feel better, they overdo, and then the next day they can’t move. If you have chronic pain, you need to learn to pace yourself to maintain your functioning.” Read More ivillage/17-myths-about-chronic-pain/4-b-450609#ixzz2YDC2Venv Sign up for iVillage Special Offers
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 22:14:54 +0000