YOU may have done it: shrugged off someone鈥檚 complaints of pain when there seems to be nothing physically wrong with them. That鈥檚 true for professionals, too: doctors may dismiss people who complain of chronic pain, particularly if they are or . Any treatment tends to involve powerful, and potentially lethal, painkillers. That鈥檚 fuelled a crisis of huge proportions. In the US, where opioid prescriptions are rampant, there were around 50 deaths from overdose per day in 2014. And opioids don鈥檛 treat pain, only blunt how acutely it is felt.
There may be a way out. The key is to recognise that chronic pain has observable, measurable and potentially treatable effects on people鈥檚 brains (see 鈥�Hurt blocker: To treat chronic pain, look to the brain not body鈥�).
That should force the medical profession to take complainants seriously. Understanding that the brain鈥檚 wiring is implicated in chronic pain offers hope that some people could be treated with meditation or exercise.
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It鈥檚 important to be clear this is about the brain, not the mind. People with chronic conditions often resist them being described as psychological, for fear they will be dismissed. Whether those fears are well founded, in this case, that would be a misunderstanding 鈥� and a tragic one.
Going beyond drugs to treat the agony of chronic pain and itch
Pain and itch share many pathways in the body and brain. Understanding the complex origins of these sensations could lead to better treatments for both
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淢ake the pain stop鈥�
