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You are here: Home / Articles / When Chronic Pain Is Personal

When Chronic Pain Is Personal

December 16, 2016 • By Karen Appold

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On a bad day, Dr. Brasington has found himself saying to certain patients, “I’m sorry, but I’m having trouble following what you’re saying. My back really hurts today, and I just took some medicine, so I am really fuzzy headed,” he recalls.

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Coping with Chronic Pain
As someone with chronic pain, Dr. Brasington has had to come to grips with having a condition that will never go away. He suggests patients find some comfort in the fact that pain management medications can help them cope.

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The acceptance factor is another component. “Although physicians tell patients they must accept having a disease, it’s a lot harder to actually do it. But I can say I understand, because I have a chronic problem, too,” he says.

But for Dr. Brasington, having to accept living with a chronic condition isn’t as difficult as dealing with a family tragedy that occurred more than a decade ago. To cope, Brasington has had a conversation with himself that went something like: “You have to accept that this happened. I don’t like it, and I can’t change it. But it has happened.

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“The only way to move forward is to accept it,” he says. “And if I can accept this [loss], I can accept other things I don’t like.”

Editor’s note: Since publication of this article, Dr. Brasington has had spinal surgery scheduled for late January. We wish him a speedy recovery!


Karen Appold is a medical writer in Pennsylvania.

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Pages: 1 2 | Single Page

Filed Under: Conditions, Professional Topics, Soft Tissue Pain Tagged With: Brasington, Chronic pain, Medication, Musculoskeletal, Pain, Rick Brasington, work-life balance

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