The Hidden Side of Chronic Pain: Effects No One Talks About

Would it surprise you to learn that about one quarter of the population in the United States struggles with chronic pain? As eye-opening as this statistic is, what’s equally as concerning is that pain casts a much wider net over your health and wellness than you might think, especially when it’s chronic. 

As a practice devoted to helping patients find relief, our team of pain management experts here at Revive Spine and Pain Center has a very clear idea about the impacts of chronic pain, and we want to review some of them here. 

Since September is Pain Awareness Month in the US, we feel it’s important to shine the light on these side effects to underscore why seeking help for your pain is so crucial.

Chronic pain and your mental health

When people say that the pain is in your head, they’re absolutely right — all pain involves your brain. 

Where the lines get blurred is between pain and your mental health. There’s considerable crossover between chronic pain and mental health issues like depression and anxiety. 

For example, one meta analysis found that 40% of adults with chronic pain had “clinically significant depression and anxiety.”

The pain messaging in your central nervous system can very much affect other neural activity, such as mood regulation, and not in a good way. Let’s face it, pain of any kind does not elevate your mood, and when the pain is drawn out, you can get stuck in a mood dysregulation cycle.

As for anxiety, when you're in pain, your body enters a fight-or-flight stress state that can lead to issues with anxiety.

Chronic pain and sleep issues

Don’t underestimate the benefits of good, restorative sleep. When you sleep, your:

• Heart rate and breathing rates slow
• Brain makes memories
• Hormones rebalance
• Body repairs itself on a cellular level
• Immune system strengthens

For people who struggle to get 7-9 hours of restful sleep each night, these nighttime activities in your body might not be taking place. So, in addition to feeling tired all of the time, a lack of sleep due to chronic pain can affect your cognitive function and tax other areas of your health, such as your cardiovascular health.

Chronic pain and your immune system

We touched on this earlier, but when you have chronic pain, your body is in a stress state, which means your stress hormones have taken over. When this happens, resources that should go to boosting your immune system are being depleted by the stress response.

As a result, people with chronic pain often have weakened immune systems, making them more vulnerable to health issues, creating a vicious cycle of poor health.

There are other side effects of chronic pain, but the above should give you enough cause to seek solutions for your discomfort. And that’s where our experienced team comes in. We’ll work with you until we resolve your pain and improve your health — on every level.

To break free from chronic pain and improve your quality of life, please contact us at one of our conveniently located offices in Marlton, Hamilton Township, Northfield, or East Brunswick, New Jersey, to schedule an appointment.