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Pain lasts long after traumatic injury

reuters.com — A surprising number of people -- more than 60 percent -- still suffer significant pain a year after a traumatic injury in a car crash or other cause, showing the need for better pain treatment, researchers said.

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  • Mechmuertos, on 03/18/2008, -0/+35How long does the pain of a broken heart last? *sniff*
    • jm4847, on 03/18/2008, -0/+19Forever :(
    • jpt62089, on 03/18/2008, -2/+3Consider yourself lucky! You should be dead right now! Hearts just don't break and live at the same time ya know!
    • Llanowar, on 03/18/2008, -0/+7Forever is the pain of a broken heart.
      Only the writing of crappy poems will ease the pain a bit.
      • tonaros, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3My heart
        Breaking
        Crying
        Bleeding
        I can't believe it's over
        It was so amazing
        So magical
        So good
        I can't take the pain now that it is over
        It is like a train driving into the sunset
        And the steam is my love
    • adml_shake, on 03/18/2008, -0/+5Until you see her knocked up and find out the guy that she dumped you for ran out on her when he found out. Suddenly your day seems a little brighter....
    • 65daysofstatic, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2It usually goes away after the second bottle of Jack Daniel's.
  • allowners, on 03/18/2008, -0/+9Shoulder injuries suck, I had significant pain several years out from mine.
    • McGrude, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3I still have shoulder pain once or twice a month after 17 years from a motorcycle accident.
    • pegisys, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3I'll call your shoulder injury and raise you a fractured eye socket, or what ever it's called, the part of the face around the eye.

      When ever my sinuses get clogged it feels like I'm about to die.
  • jm4847, on 03/18/2008, -9/+6Just take some vicodin and shut up.
    • skatastrophy, on 03/18/2008, -0/+8They took mine away for my back, now I just deal with the pain. It's been 9 years... Pretending that it doesn't hurt works most days, but it really sucks all the time.
    • BadseedJR, on 03/18/2008, -1/+8I will take vicodin but I will most definitely not shut up.
  • techresearcher, on 03/18/2008, -1/+1Ouch. Pity.
  • vladimirpoopen, on 07/24/2008, -4/+2Great... more reason for them to give us drugs. But it's already in our water
  • razorsharpwit, on 03/18/2008, -5/+1Time heals all wounds, it always shows the truth.
    • bromac, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1No, it doesn't.

      Actually, as you get older, those old war wounds get worse.
    • 65daysofstatic, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1If I ever get hit by a car I'll make sure to ask for two cc's of time.
  • allahuakbar, on 03/18/2008, -3/+4Poop.
  • invisiblehat, on 03/18/2008, -9/+5These people that 'feel pain' for years after they heal because they get addicted to pain killers. By remaining 'in pain', their doctors continue to prescribe the Vicodin or Oxycontin they so desperately need.
    I am speaking from experience. During my cancer treatment I became pretty heavily addicted to Vicodin, and convinced myself that I was in pain and that I needed it for nearly a year after I actually did. Thankfully I finally kicked that nasty *****.
    • down4twenty, on 03/18/2008, -1/+5so let legit people hurt just because some people like to abuse painkillers? why dont we just start taking licenses away cause some drunks ran into a light post or take away your school degree cause someone in your class cheated on their exam
    • VladislavIII, on 03/18/2008, -0/+5Real men just slug back the whiskey and bite on a stick.
    • CodePoet82, on 03/18/2008, -0/+6invisiblehat:
      Just because you had phantom pain from an opiate addiction doesn't mean that everyone else who has pain for years over an injury has the same problem. I've got some pain from a shoulder injury going on 2 years after a motorcycle accident, and I only had about three weeks worth of painkillers over the surgery. There's no way this is fake pain over an opie addiction. Sorry, but you're incorrect.
    • pegisys, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1I still have pains from an injury and never taken any drugs for it, while what you say is true it doesn't make it the norm.
    • KloroFormd, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3My uncle has a steel cage holding his lower back together.

      When you catch someone with a gun to their head because the painkillers don't help, you believe them when they say it still hurts.
    • moxley, on 03/18/2008, -0/+5I have to say "invisiblehat" that your post is one of the more ignorant ones I have read today.

      Just because YOU used "pain" as an excuse for maintaining your addiction says NOTHING about the pain other people do or don't feel. If this country wasn't caught up in FAILURE of a scam against it's own people called "The War on Drugs" maybe your pain would have been treated appropriately in the first place - and had you become addicted - you could have been treated appropriately for that as well.

      It is the opinion that you offered that is one of the many things that those would would like to restrict access further to opiates and othe medications crucial for chronic pain management use (because they certainly don't use facts or the results of studies or proper pain management protocols) to do their political bidding.
  • RipThe5y5tem, on 03/18/2008, -1/+13In other news, the Earth does, in fact, orbit the Sun.
  • dudefaceguyman, on 03/18/2008, -1/+8...

    How is this not common knowledge? I guess since I have a light case of a brittle bones disease I have more experience in that department. Though I thought other people knew..Traumatic injuries never heal 100%. Backs/Joints/ect especially..
  • bgmowen, on 03/18/2008, -4/+2No ***** sherlock.
  • kpythias, on 03/18/2008, -5/+0Yeah and that pain is called addiction withdrawls.
    • bromac, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1No, it's called pain from trauma.
    • BOFH2, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1If it were withdrawals the pain symptoms would stop after a period of time or would abate when given more pain killers. However I have never experienced withdrawal symptoms from any pain meds. Each person is different, my brother for example was addicted to morphine. I took it for a week and when it was gone I was done, pain was still there but not as bad.
  • D3koy, on 03/18/2008, -6/+3Quit whining, would you rather have died?
    • bromac, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3No, but don't talk down to people, *****.

      Would you like people to inflict the pain onto YOU for that comment, then walk away and say "Look, be happy I didn't kill you."

      It's not pleasant. I'm happy I'm alive, I'm not happy I get to live the rest of my life in pain.
    • rakaur, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Some people would rather die than be in pain for the rest of their lives. I can assure you a large percentage of people with severe chronic pain have considered suicide. Have you ever broken your arm? Imagine living with the pain you felt when you first broke it all day, every day, for the rest of your life. Maybe then you'll understand how people like us live. You can't move, you can't get out of bed, you can't play sports, you can't go out with your girlfriend, you can't go out with your family, you can't live life, so where's the point in trying?
  • VladislavIII, on 03/18/2008, -4/+2I may suffer some sort of trauma in the future, so can I start my pain meds now?
  • Typhoon2009, on 03/18/2008, -1/+1Bit o' scotch, gin, rum, vodka, Bailey's, etc all do ya good, or so my father says.
  • Treoinmypocket, on 03/18/2008, -2/+1If

    "In many instances, the injury heals and the pain persists. That's the story that needs to be told," Rowe said."

    then the injury has NOT healed properly. It may be a mystery to these brilliant morons but pain actually has a cause, it doesn't exist in a vacuum.

    • CodePoet82, on 03/18/2008, -0/+0Treoinmypocket:
      Yeah, you're correct, but with a lot of injuries what can be done about them with modern medicine? Generally if you've messed yourself up bad enough, they're just concerned with getting you put back together so you can get most of your function back.

      It seems to me that the point of the article is that more work needs to be done in determining how to repair injuries in a manner to help reduce future pain.
    • parax, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2It's naive to think that pain means that an injury hasn't healed. Phantom limb pain is the perfect example of that, feeling pain in a body part that isn't there. Just as it's possible to be injured and not feel pain, it's possible to feel pain without being injured. Pain is an entirely mental experience. PT and knee surgery may repair an injury while not alleviating the mental sensations.

      The problems with pain treatment and pain management are largely due to the fact that no two human brains are alike, but the treatments are designed to handle all people like their pain is identical to another person's pain. In the case of opiate therapy, there's been plenty of studies to show that an amount of opiates that renders one person barely functional has very little effect on another person. Some people take a muscle relaxant and turn into gumby, for other people it doesn't even register.

      Pain does not mean the injury is not healed, it means the brain is still sending the signal.
  • bromac, on 03/18/2008, -0/+6Having had chronic pain from several injuries resulting from TWO consecutive car accidents, 5 weeks apart...yes it lasts for a long time.

    Having tried Percacet, alcohol, and just about every other pain killer out there, the best thing for the pain, muscle spasms, nausea, depression and what have you is: Pot. Seriously, muscle relaxant, pain killer, antinausea and antidepressant all ROLLED into one.

    I'd rather smoke a joint one in a while than be strung out on hillbilly heroin.
    • KloroFormd, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1You forgot anti-inflammatory.
    • mCanada, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2what's the final word on pot causing cancer (via smoking)? seriously? I'm not trolling, I've always wondered?
      • bromac, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3Having known a lot of people who've smoked pot for 20+ years, not one has developed cancer or emphysema. Compared to the amount of tobacco smokers who develop all sorts of nasty diseases.

        They did a study that found that pot has 4x as much "tar" as cigarettes, and the media jumped on this as proof that one joint's doing tons of harm to you. They didn't study what the constituents of the tar was.

        But if you actually smoke, you know damn well that the TAR is mostly cannibinoid RESIN, which is what you're paying for in the first place!
        • carpespasm, on 03/18/2008, -1/+2still, having it lodged in your lungs can't be good for them, even if it doesn't cause cancer.
        • bromac, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1No, it can't be good. Tar's an irritant, but the thing about pot is that it encourages coughing instead of paralysing the cilia, causing you to remove more of it. It actually helps tobacco smokers remove built up tar. Also, you'll absorb any cannibinoids, so more of that tar will be taken in. For the rest, I like to use a bubbler/bong/waterpipe or a vapourizer and it's much much cleaner.

          And, anecdotally, I know a lot of deathly ill tobacco smokers. A case of pot being directly linked to a death has yet to be brought before my eyes.
  • Dorian822, on 03/18/2008, -0/+4I was a passenger in a car accident seven years ago where I was put in a near fatal situation. I suffered extensive injuries and to this day feel tremendous pain, despite seeing doctors whose only consolation is not truly of any help. Muscle injuries as well as spine trauma has, in my experience, been very difficult to deal with.
  • defenestration, on 03/18/2008, -0/+6You don't just heal from spinal injuries. You build up scar tissue around the injury to protect it from getting worse and you adapt to it. That's it, unless you actually do something about it other than eating handfuls of painkillers. Something like going to a chiropractor, perhaps. Funny that a whole article about back pain and traumatic injuries from car crashes didn't once mention the one medical specialization that actually deals directly with that type of injury.
    • lordjeebus, on 03/19/2008, -1/+0Chiropractic isn't a medical specialty. However, fields like neurosurgery, orthopedics, physical medicine & rehabilitation, and pain medicine (practiced by various specialties including anesthesiology) all deal with the sequelae of injuries to the spine.
    • bromac, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Having seen a chiropractor regularly for my injuries, yes it helps. But the pain really never does go away.
  • moxley, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2Seeing as how the FDA bullies doctors in regard to pain management (due to the scam that is called the "War on Drugs") it is no wonder that there is not adequate pain relief. DOctors are many time afraid to follow proper protocols for fear of having licensing issues with the FDA.

    • sgtpppr, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1Too bad most doctors immediately resort to 'pain management' as a beginning and an end to treatment. These things have causes. Some causes can't be fixed, but many can. Instead, they just put you on vicodin and tell you that you have to come back once a month...for the rest of your life...simply to adjust your medication.
    • BOFH2, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1They just modify the protocols. It comes down to 4 weeks after the 3 ortho surgeries I have had in 2 years(50% torn labrum, screw insertion then screw removal from foot) that you are done with pain killers; according to my doctors.
    • zerobackup, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1I work in a pain clinic, and I must say most patients do not want to try anything other than pain killing drugs. The doctor recommends physical therapy and they freak out. I blame it on people expecting instant gratification.
      • rakaur, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1While this is true to a certain degree, people that have been in pain for long periods have probably exhausted multiple treatments. Narcotics were my last resort after anti-inflammatories, physical therapy, muscle relaxants, electrostimulation, and probably more.

        Narcotics allow people in pain to live a somewhat healthy lifestyle. This should not be frowned upon. People that are dependent on insulin in order to lead somewhat healthy lifestyles aren't frowned upon.
  • DavJoh, on 03/18/2008, -0/+0hmm, did u see last video news?: http://video-info.info//Pain_lasts_long_after_trau ...
  • sgtpppr, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2There is very little money in cures...only in treatments. Obviously, there is no cure for pain, but modern medicine is so obsessed with alleviating symptoms that they ignore causes.
  • bmdubya, on 03/18/2008, -1/+2Legalize it! Oh, *****, I thought this was an article about legalizing medical marijuana. Well, legalize it anyway!
  • stb71, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3I have had chronic pain for 5 years now since I had surgery to remove a tumor from my spinal cord in my neck. I have a lot of nerve pain now that has gotten worse. On a scale of 1-10 the pain is normally 6 to 8. Pain killers make the pain tolerable so you can try to have a somewhat normal day. Unless you have had chronic pain it is hard to understand that it doesn't go away. You may have hurt your shoulder or something and it got better so it is hard to relate to someone who ends up with chronic pain that is there 24/7.
    • toomanytuxedos, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2Fibromyalgia FTW. Since most people are going to be ignorant on here, sorry to hear that *can relate*.
      • ever, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3Another fibromyalgia case here _o/.. Took years to find out wth is causing my pains, after some ENMG + tons of other studies they found out the reason. Too bad fibromyalgia doesn't really have a specific cure of any sort. Sigh. Living with a 24/7 physical pain is a drag. The hardest part for me has been learning to live with it. Physical pain causes a lot of mental issues as well. I've had constant physical pain, muscles spams and whatnot for years and the hardest thing is to learn to live with it. It's one of those things where one would have to "try" it out for at least a few months to really realize the impact it has.
        .. and please don't bitch about my English, I'm waaay far from the USA :).
  • carpespasm, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1Broke a leg several years ago after being hit by a truck. My knee is still wrapped in an ace bandage because there's screws from the rod still in there.
  • shadowspawn, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3Pot does work, but only when combined with an analgesic such as aspirin or ibuprofen. I hated the vicodin. Oh it sure as hell worked, but I got a "habit" from it. What sucks about pot is that it clouds the mind more than the hydrocodone's, but it's not addictive.
  • Ferre1, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1More reason to re - legalize weed. :-)
  • noctu, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1I would like to see a strong pain killer that wont get me stoned or slow me down.
  • clearlyrebel, on 03/18/2008, -1/+1These people should read "Dianetics". It tells you why this happens and how to fix it.
  • IdevInull, on 03/19/2008, -0/+2No, what it means is better and more complete rehabilitation needs to happen. The current state of rehab is dismal.
  • vassar, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1QUESTION:

    Is there a difference in pain in person who was not at fault for the accident VS. at-fault person?

    Seems like most (?almost all) people with pain after an accident were not 'at fault' for the accident.
  • rakaur, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1I was diagnosed with a chronic pain disease in my early 20s. It's a type of spinal arthritis that may eventually fuse my spine. Some days the pain is merely intolerable, and other days it sucks the life right out of you. I've spent many nights rolling around the floor in agony.

    I went to my primary care and he got me scans that showed nothing, and referred me to a pain specialist. That guy didn't believe me, and made me do very painful physical therapy for many months before seeing me again, only to tell me that I just needed to exercise more (I'm 6'3", 160lbs, former cross country runner). I told him I can't because of the pain, and he put me on naproxen and cyclobenzaprine. The muscle relaxant did nothing, and the naproxen only helped an insignificant amount.

    So now I'm seeing a rheumatologist wants me on a TNF-a inhibitor like Enbril or Humira, but they're both several thousand dollars per month and I have no insurance. Instead I'm stuck with anti-inflammatories like naproxen and narcotic analgesics like hydrocodone and oxycodone. When I'm working for nine hour shifts the analgesics do little to relieve my pain, and I've often taken so much they made me sick while still being in significant pain.

    There's pretty much no treatment, and I'm barely able to live a normal life (spending most of your days on narcotics is not a normal life). Like many in pain, I was treated as an addict, even though I'd never before touched narcotics. I'd never smoked anything, never taken anything that wasn't prescribed, and never even took a drink of alcohol until I was 21. I've been dependent on the narcotics for a while, but dependency is not the same as addiction.

    I just wish doctors knew that.
  • frozzenst, on 03/20/2008, -0/+0some people can 'feel' amputated articles of their bodies, so why not feel pain at places where there's reason to/
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