When someone close to us is in pain or dealing with a difficult situation, we want to help them any way we can. Unfortunately, people aren’t always receptive to help. Sometimes they believe they know what’s best for their body, while other times they simply don’t want to feel like they are being a burden to others. This can make getting them the help they need more difficult. But if someone you know is dealing with chronic back pain and isn’t receptive to professional treatment, we want to share some tips for talking to them so they can learn a little bit about why seeking professional help could be the right solution to their pain.
Talking To Someone About Getting Help For Their Back Pain
We know that getting someone professional help when they are against the idea isn’t easy, and we don’t pretend to be professional psychologists. With that said, we’ve absolutely seen the benefits that simple spine care treatment at the hands of a professional can have on those with chronic or debilitating pain. So with that in mind, here are some of the talking points to bring up if you are trying to convince a parent or a friend to see a spine specialist.
- Know Exactly What’s Going On – The spine is one of the most complex areas in your body, and many conditions have symptoms that mimic one another. A pinched nerve, a shifted disc, a spinal fracture or narrowing of the spinal canal can all present with the same symptoms, which means it’s oftentimes tough to know how to best treat the condition unless you know exactly what’s going on. The first step in controlling back pain is by figuring out exactly what’s going on, and a spine specialist can provide you with a quick and accurate diagnosis.
- Get Them Back To Doing Activities They Love – If back pain has been preventing them from doing the things they love, let them know that treatment can oftentimes help get them back to these activities. If back pain has made it difficult to walk, run, bicycle or just play with the grandkids, you’re missing out on important parts of life. Treatment isn’t just about reducing pain, it’s about increasing your quality of life. You can get back to doing more of the things you love without back pain if you consider professional treatment.
- How You’re Affected By Their Pain – A lot of people with back pain don’t seek out help from others because they don’t want to be a burden to those around them, but what they don’t realize is that their pain is likely already becoming somewhat of a nuisance to their loved ones. Studies have shown that a spouse’s happiness level typically greatly improves as their partner’s pain levels decrease. You wouldn’t want to see your partner in pain, and you’d be happier if their pain was responding to treatment, so let them know that their pain is not solely their issue. It’s affecting you, and if they won’t seek treatment for themselves, they should seek treatment for their friends and family who hate seeing them bothered by back pain.
- Treatment Will Be Easiest Now – We don’t like to compare back pain to a more serious topic like cancer, but in terms of treatment success, both conditions are much more likely to achieve successful results if treatment begins earlier. If you keep putting off treatment and doing the same things that led to back pain in the first place, the condition will only worsen, and then it will become harder to treat. We understand that you may not look forward to treatment, but two weeks of physical therapy could save you from a surgery and six months of physical therapy down the road, so treat it now while it’s in its infancy. Talk to them about treating the problem before it snowballs.
We know that this isn’t going to be an easy conversation, but it’s important that you convey that you want to be supportive in helping them put their back pain behind them. Dr. Sinicropi and his team know that not everyone is happy to be heading to the doctor for their back pain, so we try to make the process as painless as possible. We’ll be happy to explain why treatment is so important and how simple it can be once we figure out what’s going on. For more information, or for help with your spine pain, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi’s office today.
