Suffering from a back injury can leave a person with debilitating physical issues that they have to learn how to handle.
However, fewer people know about the potential mental and emotional toll of a back injury.
Chronic pain and its effects
The International Association for the Study of Pain discusses how back injuries can take a mental toll. This is due to the general problems associated with chronic pain.
Chronic pain exists in many forms. Many back injury sufferers will have their pain clear up without much issue, while others may spend weeks, months or even years learning how to cope with their pain.
Studies show a strong relationship between chronic pain and mental and emotional health, too. Unfortunately, a large number of chronic pain sufferers will also experience anxiety, depression and even trauma or stress-based disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder.
Emotional and behavioral changes
These issues often result in emotional and behavioral problems as time goes on, too. The loved ones of chronic pain sufferers sometimes report their loved ones seeming more negative and pessimistic. Their behavior may change as a direct result of having to live with constant pain, with seemingly no end in sight.
This also creates a financial burden, as sufferers may have to add therapy to the list of medical expenses they must cover. Therapy can help a victim recover emotionally and mentally, but will certainly create a financial drain at the same time.
Factors like these are important to consider when figuring out the overall path to healing in the aftermath of a back injury.
