The More You Do, the More You Can Do
If a patient experiences severe pain and is therefore unable to function normally, he or she may be overcome with depression and inertia. However, this does not have to be so, as the following case study demonstrates:
Male, age sixty-nine. Diagnosis: painful lumbosacral diabetic neuropathy since 2001. Electrical-shock pain down the leg, severe back pain, painful knee and leg, pain spreading to the opposite side, unable to walk without crutches
This patient, a lawyer, had severe pain and hyperesthesia in his right leg, from the groin to the knee. The low back on his right side was constantly and extremely painful, his right leg was becoming weak, and he had to use a crutch to walk. The pain was intolerable and he became severely debilitated.
For many months, this patient was unable to work or socialize, due to pain. He felt that he was unable to perform normally in society and began to retreat; avoiding any activity that he believed was impossible due to the enormity of the pain. Physical movement was difficult, and his voice became tired and weak.
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He commenced physiotherapeutic pain control in October 2002 and was encouraged to continue working. He experienced positive results. “I forced myself to make an effort to work and to interact normally within my family,” he said. He found that the pain became less obtrusive, and he was eventually able to cope with a normal working day and lifestyle. Allowing himself to return to work and becoming involved in active therapy provided a “distraction” that enabled the patient to focus on other activities rather than pain, which, in turn, began to diminish in its importance and effect. He had greatly improved by December 2002, just two months later.
