Pain Relief Medication

What is pain?

Pretty much everybody experiences pain from time to time, however, for some people the pain is ongoing and lasts for weeks, months or even years. Pain could be short term (such as pain caused by an injury or accident) or long term (which is known as chronic pain). Because pain can affect your daily life so heavily, it’s important to identify the cause and to treat it with the appropriate method.

Depending on the cause, the pain you feel can differ greatly. Pain can be very sharp and give you a shooting, stinging or sore feeling, or much duller with feelings like throbbing, aching, burning and stiffness. It’s not just the pain itself though that sufferers have to worry about; pain can stop you from sleeping, which can cause a lack of energy, weakness and feeling very tired. It can also stop you from going about your daily life and can keep you from doing the things you enjoy, leading to frustration, mood changes and depression.

What causes pain?

The way that we experience pain is when a series of messages make their way through our nervous system. When there is damage, inflammation or irritation somewhere in the body, pain sensors in the area send electrical signals to the brain that it translates as pain. You experience this pain in different areas and at different intensities, because the brain acts like a control centre, sending you the necessary pain strength based on how serious the problem is, and where it’s located.

Once the source of the pain is resolved (an injury repaired, for example), the signals stop and you no longer feel it. However, chronic pain is when the signals keep going, despite the problem having healed. Chronic pain can often affect those with underlying medical conditions, such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes. It can also be caused by a past injury or surgery, nerve damage, or fibromyalgia (a condition that causes muscle pain through the whole body).

How do I treat pain?

Pain Relief Medicine

Treating pain can be quick, easy and effective using painkillers. Painkillers don’t work by fixing the problem itself, but by blocking the pain signals to the brain so that we don’t feel what we should. This allows the body to heal (as it usually would), without having to experience ongoing discomfort and suffering while it does. At UK Meds, we stock a number of effective painkillers that are suitable for a number of conditions and available to purchase safely and reliably with our online doctor service.

It’s important to note that ongoing use of medium strength painkillers can lead to dependency and addiction. If you’re worried you may be experiencing this then you should contact your doctor.

As well as medication, there are things that you can do to try and ease your pain. Applying heat or ice, depending on the type of pain, can prove effective. Heat is good for anything related to your muscles (such as aches and stiffness), as it increases the blood flow and helps the muscles to relax. Ice is the better method for anything related to injury, as it calms down the damaged area and reduces inflammation.

Exercise can also help, as it keeps your muscles and joints strong and releases endorphins, which are your body’s natural painkillers. Depending on the cause of your pain though, exercise may not be suitable and even if it is, you should only do gentle exercise until you have healed. If exercise is not an option, then eating your favourite food or doing something you enjoy can also help to release endorphins.

More Information

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