Waking Up in Pain?

​Do you ever wake up in pain? Waking up in pain can cause significant panicking, stress, and frustration. Pain is tricky because it signals that something is off. Unfortunately, we often think it's something serious and arrange to see a doctor for injections, medications, or surgery.  We offer some different advice for those times when you wake up in pain. 

First, just because you feel pain doesn't mean that you damaged anything and that the solution is injection, medications, or surgery. Sometimes, pain tells you that you need to move differently or that your body is under too much stress. When you are stressed and panicking, your heart rate increases, you breathe faster and shallower, and your body releases cortisol which can intensify the pain signal. You may be tempted to stay in bed and limit your movement, but this is one of the worst things you can do.  Movement is medicine, even if it's gentle or a short walk to release endorphins. 

You may be thinking that your pain is caused by the way and position you sleep. We have found that sleep position doesn't necessarily correlate with the pain. Usually, we find that something you did during the day irritates your body and finally catches up to you, so when you wake up, you feel it. When you come to see one of our physical therapists, we will ask you many questions to see if we can find the cause of the problem. We do not just treat symptoms.  Often where you hurt is not where the pain is coming from. Where you feel the pain is usually compensating for another boy part that is not doing its job. Let us identify where the pain is indeed coming from. 

Avoid injections, medications, and surgery. Give us a call today at 520-459-1386 to find the root cause of your pain so you can wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle a new day.