Introduction
Chronic pain can feel like an unending battle, especially when traditional treatments—like back surgeries and antidepressants—frequently fall short. With a 40-60% failure rate for surgeries and the uncertainty of pain relief from many prescribed and over-the-counter medications, for many, the path to relief often seems elusive if not dismal. The risks of addiction and devastating side effects from conventional treatments further compound the struggle. It's completely understandable why as many as 75% of chronic pain sufferers seek alternative treatments beyond what traditional medicine has to offer.
The desire for rapid pain relief is universal; it was certainly my goal after suffering for over a decade. As a physician and surgeon, I believe in traditional medicine, but it was falling short when treating chronic pain. This led me to empower myself to explore alternative treatments and integrate the best of what I found to complement traditional medical approaches. Through this process, I discovered that the success of both traditional and alternative treatments often depends on factors beyond the treatment modality itself. By embracing a holistic approach, you can find the path to relief and reclaim your life from chronic pain.
What This Blog is About
Today, we will review and summarize: "How Primary Care Can Better Treat Chronic Pain," by Lindsay Kalter, published in Medscape on February 15, 2024.
- We'll learn the key points from the article.
- Then, we'll examine the role of the subconscious mind in the results.
With this understanding, you'll discover why medical, surgical, and alternative therapies often fall short in providing the desired pain relief. It's time to shift our perspective on chronic pain, uncover the mindset needed to alleviate it, and find rapid, effective, and long-lasting methods without the risks of side effects. This might sound too good to be true, but it's not. You can access the PainXero Community and its resources to be on the path to a pain-free life.
Article Summary
Lindsay Kalter's article explores how primary care can improve its approach to treating chronic pain. Key points include:
1. Insufficient Training
Primary care physicians often receive inadequate training in pain management, averaging only 11 hours during medical school.
2. Multidisciplinary Approach
Experts recommend a multidisciplinary approach to pain management, including physical therapy, medication, injections, and alternative methods like yoga and acupuncture.
3. Types of Pain
Pain is categorized into nociceptive (tissue injury), neuropathic (nerve injury), and nociplastic (abnormal pain signal processing) types, each requiring different treatment strategies.
4. Challenges in Management
Non-pharmacologic management, or "fluffy stuff," like meditation and massage therapy, can be effective but often lack insurance coverage. Medication and procedural options remain important, but a balance of treatments is essential.
5. Empathy and Listening
Effective pain management involves understanding and empathy from clinicians, who need to listen to and validate patients' experiences.
Subconscious Mind's Perspective
These are all interesting observations; however, I see things from a different perspective. As a retired surgeon and medical hypnotist, I have a deep understanding of both acute and chronic pain. They are completely different and cannot be treated the same. I delve into these differences in detail in my online courses. Many people, including physicians, do not understand that you can't simply treat the "pain" in chronic pain; you must address the physiological, psychological, and social interactions that make up human biology. Everything we do and think is influenced by our subconscious mind, the mind which runs the body's physiology. This mind-body connection is why the placebo and nocebo effects are so powerful in humans. Let me explain.
A placebo is any intervention or action that has no therapeutic effect on its own but can lead to real improvements in a person's emotional or physical state simply because they believe it will help. This highlights the significant role the mind plays in influencing physical health and well-being.
A nocebo is any intervention or action that leads to a negative effect on a person's emotional or physical health, not because of the intervention itself, but due to the expectation and belief in a negative outcome. This effect demonstrates how powerful the mind can be in influencing emotional and physical well-being, where expecting a negative outcome can actually cause adverse symptoms or worsen a condition.
Now, here is an interesting observation I commonly saw while as a practicing physician and surgeon. When a person volunteers for a clinical study, takes an over-the-counter medication, chooses surgery, or undergoes other medical interventions for chronic pain, they already have certain expectations of the outcome. The placebo or nocebo effect will always influence the results. For example, these expectations might include:
“The pain will go away. Let’s do this.”
“I’m not sure if the pain will go away, but I’ll try it.”
“I don’t think this is going to work, but I’ll try it.”
When we have a conscious thought, we can analyze the options as true or not. However, it’s human nature to replay the same thought or story repeatedly in our heads. Once the subconscious mind locks onto one of these options, it becomes reality. This is what I call Mental Expectancy: "What the mind expects, the mind accepts." Mental expectancy plays a huge role in our lives, including the results of any medical, surgical treatment, or self-treatment, because it taps into the placebo and nocebo effects that all humans experience.
There is certainly more to this discussion than I can teach in a blog, however Mental Expectancy explains why clinical research results from one author are often difficult to reproduce by another and why animal studies fail to correlate with human results. Researchers tend to think it’s a difference in the biology of animals (research rats, dogs, monkeys) vs humans, which does indeed play a role; however, in my experience, Mental Expectancy is a far greater factor. The subconscious mind plays a huge role in the outcome, especially in regards to chronic pain management.
I have an entire online course on Mental Expectancy in the PainXero - Mastering Chronic Pain Course. For now, let’s recognize that there is a mental expectancy impact in this study and create some actionable steps you can take today to help self-manage your pain.
Actionable Steps You Can Take Today
1. What Are You Thinking?
Become aware of your thoughts and expectations regarding pain relief. Are they positive, negative, or conflicting? Recognize and adjust your expectations to be positive and aligned with your goals.
2. Embrace Positivity
Be 100% committed to maintaining a positive outcome for what you desire. Remember, “What The Mind Expects, The Mind Accepts.” By expecting to be pain-free, you'll notice a significant decrease in your pain levels. Conversely, doubting the effectiveness of a treatment can hinder your progress. Understand and embrace that your subconscious beliefs can significantly impact your healing process and are the key to your well-being.
3. Learn Self-Hypnosis
I cannot stress this enough and it will truly change the quality of your life. Self-hypnosis allows you to tap into the power of your subconscious mind, reinforcing positive expectations and rapidly reducing pain perception. You can find a hypnotherapist in your area to experience the power of your subconscious and learn self-hypnosis. Or you’re welcome to join the community at and attend our weekly online group self-hypnosis sessions. You'll quickly be on the path to a pain-free life, experiencing the power of your subconscious through the mind-body connection.
Embracing a Path to Pain Relief
Imagine a life where chronic pain no longer controls your every move—a life where you harness the incredible power of your subconscious mind to find lasting relief. The subconscious mind is a powerful pharmacy within you, serving as the gateway to healing and well-being. At PainXero, we provide the tools and guidance to make this dream a reality. We believe in empowering you to self-manage chronic pain and achieve rapid relief in a way that complements your physician's medical and surgical recommendations.
Join us at PainXero and begin your journey towards pain relief. Through our online classes, expert podcast interviews, informative blogs, group self-hypnosis sessions, effective mind-body techniques, live Q&A sessions, and a supportive community of like-minded individuals, we help each other navigate the path towards a pain-free life.
Say yes to a new way of living. Say yes to PainXero.
Visit PainXero to start your journey today with a complimentary online self-hypnosis group session. Experience firsthand how quickly you can achieve drug-free pain relief through the power of the mind-body connection.
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