The Two Things You Need to Know About Pain: It’s Not What You Think
Have you ever left a doctor’s office more confused than when you walked in? Maybe you were told you have ‘muscle pain,’ ‘nerve pain,’ or ‘spine pain,’ as if naming your discomfort would make it easier to understand or treat. We often think that pinpointing the exact source of pain will lead to a quick fix. But pain is more complex than that. It doesn’t always work the way we expect.
For example, when we feel pain in our back, it’s natural to blame it on an injury to our spine. However, many people don’t realize that our spines are incredibly strong and built to resist injury. Most of the changes we see in our spines on MRI and X-ray as we age are entirely normal and happen to everyone. These changes usually have more to do with our genetics than any injury. For instance, did you know that our spinal discs reach their largest size around age 13? After that, it’s normal for the spinal discs to start shrinking—a process doctors call “degeneration.” This might sound alarming, but it’s just a natural part of aging. You might also see things like disc bulges on a scan, but these are common and often have nothing directly to do with the pain you’re feeling.
