It happens to us all as we get older. Your neck hurts, which makes your shoulders hurt, which can radiate down your back or arms and then just seems to become a chain of never ending problems. Where is the pain starting? Where is it ending?! This is actually called “referred pain” and, believe it or not, is actually not your body trying to fight against itself. It can oftentimes be your body trying to tell you that there is a more serious underlying issue occurring in one of the areas where you feel pain. Should you be worried about referred pain? Where is referred pain the most common in your body? How can you treat it? Keep reading to find out!
Examples of Referred Pain
We briefly explained referred pain above, but let’s dive a little deeper. Cleveland Clinic describes referred pain as, “having an issue in one area of your body but you feel the pain in another area.”
It’s likely that you have experienced this phenomenon before, even if it wasn’t a ‘serious’ pain. For example, when was the last time you had a brain freeze? This is a virtually harmless pain that you feel in your head when you feel extreme cold in your mouth.
Another example of referred pain could be when you have kidney issues but feel the pain in your lower back. Or, when you have an earache because of teeth or jaw issues.
Where Can Referred Pain Occur?
Referred pain can occur just about anywhere in your body. However, certain parts of your body are more likely to experience it than others. This is due to the interconnection of nerves that send signals to your brain. As pain signals are sent to your brain, they travel along nerve pathways, which can make it difficult for you to tell where the pain is starting and ending.
Many people tend to feel this type of pain in their upper back, shoulders, arms, and teeth/jaws. It can feel like an “expanding pressure” and can be radiating, burning, dull, and difficult to pinpoint or even explain.
Depending on where you feel this pain, it can indicate a few serious issues elsewhere in your body. For example, referred pain in your upper back could mean pancreas issues. In your arm, however, could mean shingles, fibromyalgia, or even a heart attack.
Diagnosis and Treatment
We do want to emphasize that not all back or arm pain means something serious. If you are concerned about referred pain, please consult a doctor. They will be able to give you a physical examination, ask detailed questions about your pain and medical history, and potentially run further tests to determine what actions need to be taken.
If you are diagnosed with referred pain, the way to treat it is simply by going after the cause of the pain. For example, if you have referred pain in your arm and your doctor diagnoses you with fibromyalgia, you will want to treat the fibromyalgia to alleviate the arm pain. Other home remedies include taking over-the-counter pain relievers or coming in to get a massage to reduce inflammation, promote relaxation, increase circulation, and more!
Book a Massage to Manage Your Pain Today
Delaying treatment for referred pain can lead to chronic pain later on. If you think about it, you’ll be tensing muscles more, putting more stress on your joints, and just overall not having a good time. Your range of motion will be limited and, ultimately, you will have a lower quality of life.
Our goal at Muscle Anthropology is to do our part in ensuring that you have little muscle tension, improved circulation, and no pain! Once you step into our office, we will curate a massage plan for you. At the end of your plan, our goal is to never have to see you again. Unless, of course, you want to treat yourself to a day of relaxation! Be sure to look through our other blogs to find out just how many ways massage can change your life. Then, book a massage for yourself to kiss your pain goodbye!