When working with pain management doctors Los Angeles, you may find yourself describing how your pain has seemingly moved and spread from the initial site. Understanding why this occurs is key for understanding how to heal more effectively from lingering pain. If you’ve been experiencing pain in a particular part of your body, keep in mind that pain can spread due to over-compensation, use avoidance, and through the concept of referred pain.
Overcompensation
Pain management doctors Los Angeles may see patients that describe pain in their left knee, that has since spread and is now in their back or hip. This is directly related to overcompensation. It is a natural human reaction to avoid pain as best as we can. Therefore, if we are experiencing pain while walking, we change the way we walk to avoid the unpleasant stimulus as best we can. Think, for example, a limp. As you compensate for the pain in your one leg, you put more pressure on the opposite leg, as well as your back from the posture you assume as a direct result of limping. This sudden and drastic change in posture and movement causes further irritation and discomfort throughout various parts of the body, such as the lower back. This is why, if you experience sudden or severe pain, it is important to visit a pain clinic Los Angeles for help. An LA pain management clinic can provide you with a plan to mitigate the existing pain without sacrificing the health of other areas in your body.
Avoidance
Pain avoidance is very similar to overcompensation in terms of how pain ends up spreading. In this case, imagine a situation where you are experiencing severe pain in your right hand. Despite significant pain, you still have tasks that need to be done, so you begin to do those tasks solely with your left arm. The sudden over-reliance causes stress and eventual pain, as your left arm was not accustomed to this workload prior to the injury. The key difference here is that, in contrast to overcompensation, with avoidance, you completely avoid usage of the area in pain rather than just lessen the usage.
Referred Pain
Referred pain involves the connections of the nervous system between body parts rather than how we use our bodies in order to explain the spread of pain. For instance, roughly 25% of people experience vision problems after receiving whiplash. Severe neck pain can often lead to eye pain and pressure, headaches, or jaw pain because of the way the nerves in the neck are interconnected. However, due to the complexity of referred pain and the challenges of understanding how sections of the body are intertwined, it is best to visit pain management doctors Los Angeles. Pain clinic Los Angeles specialists can explain to you exactly why your pain may be felt in areas other than the one directly affected and can offer suggestions on how to fix the lingering results.
Pain Management Doctors Los Angeles | Interventional Pain Doctors
If you’re looking for pain management doctors Los Angeles to better understand and recover from your long-lasting pain, Interventional Pain Doctors is here to help. Our team, including Dr. Nicholas Fuller, Dr. Chad Heng, Dr. Daniel Loder, and Dr. Jeffrey Jeng, is comprised of highly trained, experienced, and certified professionals. For more information on how Interventional Pain Doctors can help you, visit our website today and learn about all of our available treatments.