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Revolutionizing Spine Care…Changing Lives

Chronic Back Pain and Depression

Is chronic back pain making you depressed?  Dr. Andrew Block explains.

Chronic pain is a problem affecting nearly 1/3 of the population in the US and depression is one of the problems which can accompany chronic pain. Statistics show about 85% of patients who have chronic pain experience symptoms of depression.

Some symptoms of depression include:

  • Sleep disturbance – which includes sleeping too much or too little
  • Appetite disturbance  – eating too much or not eating enough
  • Loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities
  • Withdrawal from other people
  • Shortened sense of future or a fear of dying
  • Loss of motivation

These symptoms plus a whole host of other symptoms make it very difficult to recover from chronic back pain.  In fact, there are a lot of indications chronic back pain and depression have primarily the same symptoms and they feed off of each other.  For example, when someone is hurting – they don’t sleep well, they lose their motivation and their enjoyment in life, which in turn creates depression and enforces chronic pain.

Fortunately there are many types of treatment available for chronic pain with depression.

Some treatment options of chronic pain with depression include:

  • Anti-depressant Therapy –  Anti-depressants help to relieve the symptoms of depression but because the same biochemical pathways are involved in depression and chronic pain the anti-depressant medication can also have a secondary effect providing some pain relief.
  • Cognitive Therapy – This type of therapy involves helping the patient observe their surroundings and find things they enjoy in their situation even though they are in pain. This helps the patient to be optimistic and the focus is not so much on the pain but the gains and good things in their lives which remain.
  • The above treatments can also be combined with physical therapy exercises and rehabilitation to further help the patient learn ways to manage their pain.

If you are experiencing depression related to chronic back pain, don’t despair.  There are many treatment options available to help you.  Call us today and we can help get you the treatment you need.

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