The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as "An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage.” The IASP further goes on to explain six key notes regarding pain:
- Pain is always a personal experience that is influenced to varying degrees by biological, psychological, and social factors
- Pain and nociception are different phenomena. Pain cannot be inferred solely from activity in sensory neurons.
- Through their life experiences, individuals learn the concept of pain.
- A person’s report of an experience as pain should be respected.
- Although pain usually serves an adaptive role, it may have adverse effects on function and social and psychological well-being.
- Verbal description is only one of several behaviors to express pain; inability to communicate does not negate the possibility that a human or a nonhuman animal experiences pain.”
To help you both better understand pain as well as how you can overcome pain, the following resources are useful.
Overlooked Approaches to Managing Pain
In the second article in a series of articles on low back pain published in 2018, the premier medical journal The Lancet found that the combination of manual therapy with psychological therapies was beneficial for patients with persistent low back pain and/or radicular pain. The specific psychological therapies that were found beneficial include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CPT)
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
- How to do progressive muscle relaxation for anxiety
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
