INVISIBLE DIAGNOSIS

Allodynia translates from Ancient Greek to “Other Pain”.

This type of pain is sometimes associated with fibromyalgia, neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, and migraines. The excerpt below describes a new treatment for migraines that treats the cause as tension.

Except from ‘The TBP Newsletter - September 2016 Issue’

INVISIBLE DIAGNOSIS

I’ve been thinking a lot about the cause of pain, and the way in which sufferers often never receive a true explanation of it. There may be an unspoken verification of that cause, which I refer to as an invisible diagnosis. The invisible diagnosis is known to the doctor, but never stated clearly to the patient. If you’ve ever asked to see your medical files, you quickly find out that they don’t want you read what they have written about you and your health. In many cases tension is the cause of the pain, but most patients will never hear this from their doctors. The patients will be offered a series of physical treatments for ailments that may be mostly somatic in nature. These treatments may alleviate the pain for a little while as blood circulation increases, but it most likely never resolve the true cause of the pain.

Some of us know that there are treatments, and therapies to reverse and overcome Tension-Based Pain, like TMR (Total Muscular Relaxation), and the management negative emotions. It is sad that there are many therapies to manage, even cure Tension-
Based Pain, but patients are more likely to find a needle in the proverbial haystack than be offered such a recommendations from their doctors.

I’ve been intrigued at the recent increase in the medical application of BOTOX (BOTULINUM TOXIN) for a myriad of tension based conditions. What Botox does when it is injected into the body is block signals from the nerves to the muscles.

Essentially, the BOTOX breaks the circuit, so that the injected muscle can no longer contract. This serotype interferes with neural transmission by blocking the release of the organic chemical acetylcholine, which is the main neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction (where the muscle meets the nerve). This therapeutic action causes muscle paralysis, which will cause the injected muscles to relax and soften.

Stop and think about that. We are so unwilling to get to the crux of our issues that we would prefer to paralyze parts of our bodies with poisons rather than examine the cause of our tension.

BOTOX is offered in several medical uses, such as certain eye disorders, crossed eyes (strabismus), uncontrolled blinking (blepharospasm), muscle stiffness/spasms or movement disorders (such as cervical dystonia, torticollis), overactive bladder, severe underarm sweating, as well as for cosmetic purposes; such as on forehead lines, crow's feet, and frown lines.

BOTOX may cause life threatening side effects that include problems with swallowing, speaking, or breathing. This is due to weakening of the associated muscles, and these effects can be severe, and may result in loss of life. Some swallowing problems may last for several months, and are caused by the unintended spread of toxin in the body. The botulinum toxin may affect areas away from the target sites, and may result in symptoms that include: loss of strength and all-over muscle weakness, double vision, blurred vision and drooping eyelids, hoarseness or change or loss of voice, trouble saying words clearly, loss of bladder control, trouble breathing, and trouble swallowing. These side effects are described on the WebMD website (http://wb.md/2cLITgE).

This BOTOX treatment requires a series of injections made directly into the head and neck to prevent headaches in adults with chronic migraines. So, there it is; the cause of migraines is Tension-Based Pain. If migraine headaches were not tension based; the treatment would not alleviate the pain.

Now we know that migraines are caused by simple tension, that begs the question, ‘Why do we spend tens of millions of dollars each year to solve the ‘mystery’ of migraine headaches when clearly we already know the cause?’ The medical community is aware that migraine headaches are caused by tension, and the physical muscle contraction, which is a reaction to stress. They are treating the body’s reaction to tension, but is this revealed to the patients?

It is sad to me that many medical issues could be more simply treated with relaxation techniques, as well as effective management of stress, and negative emotions, but for many health care providers the first choice is often expensive therapies that are short-lived, and may result in severe complications or even death.

Do you have an invisible diagnosis for your pain? Before accepting any potentially dangerous therapy, please make sure you understand the pathophysiology of your pain. Be sure to exhaust all of the simplest methods and therapies first to help you reduce your risk.

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