- Every day, 60% of men and women experience some pain.
- Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined.
- 80% of the people in the United States will develop chronic pain at some point of their life.
- 1 in 3 Americans lose more than 20 hours of sleep each month due to pain.
- Chronic pain is the most common cause of long-term disability.
- Pain costs an estimated $100 billion each year.
So what can you do about Chronic Pain and is it actually curable?
I think it all starts with what you believe. You see, if you believe your back hurts because of a genetic flaw, you won’t look at any treatment/program or specialist that says otherwise. But what if your pain isn’t caused by a genetic flaw, but something treatable? You’ll never explore those ideas if it’s not within your belief system. That is why I believe we must first examine our beliefs about our bodies and our pain.
I encourage you to take a couple minutes and write down 5-10 beliefs you have about your body and your pain. Once you have your list continue reading below.
The Egoscue Method and Oregon Exercise Therapy is based on certain beliefs that Pete Egoscue and I have. Let’s call these beliefs “Pain Free Convictions.”
- You know more about your health that anyone in the whole world.
- Your instincts will guide you if you listen to them.
- The body has no design flaws.
- Pain is merely a signal – the body’s voice. It should not be feared and will not if you are listening to your instincts.
- Effective therapies treat the whole body as a unit.
- Age is not the determining factor in health.
- Your attitude must be positive.
- Thoughts unexpressed are detrimental to good health.
Which of these statements challenge your current beliefs?
Do you see any of your current beliefs that might be worth reexamining?
Let me know what you discover by commenting below.