An article in a recent MNZ Magazine (Massage New Zealand Magazine) quoted a reference from a research article from the NZ Medical Journal, “In NZ, one in six adults have ongoing pain”. Let’s say you have a staff of 60 people, that means that 10 people at your workplace right now are in pain. Seriously, that figure is crazy!
In our little health & wellness world it is relieving to see that there is finally a shift in the thinking of how to treat/approach a client with pain.
Let us put it like this – up to now the thinking was that the worse the pain, then the worse the pathology or injury must be. But if you have ever had a paper cut or stubbed your toe, then that theory gets well and truly thrown out the window!
In reality pain can be quite complex, there is a biological aspect (anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology), Psychological (thoughts, emotions and behaviours) and Social (work, culture and relationships). All of these aspects play a significant role in a persons pain experiences. What is extremely pleasing from our point of view is that this shift in thinking is demanding healthcare clinicians to broaden their scope of knowledge, skills and perceptions.
In a nutshell it means, that instead of just being given a pill to mask pain, there is a lot more effort being put into identifying the how, what, where and whys.
Pain is incredibly interesting. This is one of the aspects of my job that I enjoy. Ahhh let me explain myself on that a bit further. What I mean to say is that over the course of one day I could have 3 clients all walk in the door telling me that they have pain in their neck. But the hows, the whys, and the wheres as well their history and their biomechanics will show me and tell me their own unique story of their pain.