The Purpose of Pain – Does it Have a Purpose?

Pain is … well… never a welcome feeling for anyone to experience. Have you ever wondered what the purpose of pain really is?

Pain is not something that is meant to torture us. Instead, it is sending us a message that something in a particular area of our body is not as it should be.  Nobody wants to suffer in pain but pain is necessary. Not feeling any pain would actually be much worse. It is hard to believe but it is so true.

Pain’s Purpose:

What pain does it is it causes you to pay closer attention to something in your body that is no longer working correctly. In other words, the function of the organ or body part has ceased to do what it is supposed to do. There could be any number of reasons for this. Pain is a warning that a limit has been reached in terms of the functionality of the area in question. It means that the body has reached its limit of what it can handle and it is not able to adapt any further.

Pain is certainly not subtle in many cases and indeed, it is not supposed to be.

Its goal is to make you sit up and take notice of it, and from there to take appropriate action to improve the health situation. Once something is done (i.e. a proper diagnosis followed by a treatment plan) then the pain will subside and will cease to bother you further. You will have taken care of the medical issues at hand. Pain is the body’s cry for help!

The body uses pain to alert you that what is needed is a change of action or approach to your health. It is a sign that something is not right! Pain should never be ignored because it is actually doing you a tremendous favor.

Pain does not always set in immediately. There could be something wrong with one of your muscles for instance and you do not realize it until the pain is suddenly overwhelming you and you can think of nothing else. In many cases the pain starts out very small and builds because nothing is done to remedy it.

In many ways, pain is a good thing because it indicates that a problem exists somewhere in your body.  You may misinterpret the source of the pain however, as sometimes it is not the targeted area that radiates pain but an area that is in close proximity to it.

We can get into trouble if we refuse to acknowledge the pain or if we look for ways to make it go away without addressing the underlying cause of it. Many people resort to popping pain medication to relieve the pain they are suffering from. All this does it is temporarily makes the pain disappear. However in the long-term, the body’s organs, such as the kidneys and liver, will pay the price for the pill popping habit used to self-medicate.

Numbing the body with drugs is never the long-term answer. It may be convenient or easy at the time, but it is unhealthy and ultimately, very expensive as well. Drugs are able to mask the pain but not make the problem go away. What is needed is a holistic approach to dealing with the health problem that has brought on the pain and discomfort. If pain persists seek medical advice and ensure the root cause of the issue is uncovered.

Becca