Pain, your personal check engine light

Pain, at its most basic level, is the body’s warning system. Pain signals us that something is not right. Think of pain as a check engine light for your body. Just as your check engine light displays on your dashboard when something is wrong with your car, pain pops up and says, “Hey, something ain’t right”.
 
Now, sometimes acute injuries can lead to pain and that pain is clearly telling us that we are hurt and you know exactly why you are hurt.  Other times, however, pain in our body is more like that check engine light in our car because it tells  us that something is wrong, but it doesn’t tell us what is wrong.  When your check engine light goes on in the car or you start experiencing a new pain in your body, what do you do?
 
The common approaches to handling check engine lights and pain in our body tend to be very similar.
 
Here they are:

Ignore it.
Let’s face it, you need your car to get around. You’re very busy with work, family, hobbies, etc. because  honestly, who isn’t super busy these days? You know that taking your car in to get fixed takes time. You will probably have to be without your car for hours, days, maybe even weeks. You realize you definitely don’t have that time to spare right now, so the easiest solution to the check engine light is to just ignore it.
 
You treat your body very similarly sometimes. You get pain telling you, “Hey, something ain’t right”, but do you listen? Of course not.  Ain’t nobody got time for that. You have to work, you have to take care of the kids, you don’t want to miss out on our workouts or hobbies, and you sure as heck don’t want to sit out of the big game or competition. So what do you do? Ignore it and keep on keeping on hoping that by some miracle your pain goes away.
 
Try to fix it on your own.
You know a few things about how cars work so maybe you try your hand at getting rid of that pesky check engine light. You change the oil, you check the other fluids and top them off, you spray some WD-40 on that one part that’s been squeaking recently. Okay, those things didn’t work, so now you take to social media or the internet for solutions. You search and ask around to everybody and their grandma for a diagnosis as well as quick fixes or do-it-yourself solutions.
 
The good news for you do-it-yourselfers is that there is so much good content and knowledge being shared online these days by very reputable sources that you can likely find a diagnosis or a solution to your pain or problem. The bad news is that for every reputable source, there are probably 25 self-proclaimed “experts” who have no idea what they are talking about.  So if you don’t find the right diagnosis or solution from a reputable source, you are likely going to be wasting your time or quite possibly making the pain or problem worse.
 
Reset it.
You know another very simple solution to the problem. You reset the check engine light. This can be done in a couple ways. You might just disconnect the battery for a few seconds and then reconnect it which magically makes the check engine light disappear in most cases, but for how long? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? No matter how long it stays off you know that the problem is still there, but you don’t have to have that check engine light shining in your eyes. The other way to get rid of the check engine light is to take it to your favorite auto parts store and the employee can check the code, tell you what the problem is, and they may even say “Oh, that’s most likely just a sensor and nothing detrimental. I’ll clear or reset it for you and you can keep driving, no problem.” So you got rid of the check engine light, but the problem isn’t fixed.  How long can you make it until the light pops back up?
 
Resetting our pain is sometimes as simple as not doing the thing that causes your pain. You can choose to do this yourself or sometimes you decided to see your physician about your pain and they suggested to take time off from your activity and rest. So now, you’re not doing your workouts, sports, hobbies, or other activity that caused you pain and you haven’t had pain. Great, your pain is gone, but exactly like your car’s check engine light, how long is it going to stay away? In this case, your pain is likely gone until you start that activity up again or maybe you can get back to the activity for a few days or weeks before your pain returns. That’s because by resting or “resetting” your pain you didn’t do anything to address the underlying cause of the problem.
 
Get it diagnosed and fixed.
 
Maybe this is the very first step you take when the check engine light comes on or maybe you work through the other solutions, but those all failed so you find yourself here. No matter how you got here, this is likely going to be the most efficient and effective way to get rid of that check engine light. You find a professional with the training, knowledge, and tools to help get your car fixed and running good as new. Sometimes this can be quick and easy and other times it can take a few hours, days, or maybe even weeks depending on the severity of the problem and complexity of the solution. The good thing about this option is that you know your car is getting fixed and fixed right, and if the problem starts to arise again you know just who to take your car to.
 
If you have pain telling you “something ain’t right,” getting it diagnosed and having someone help you remedy it is probably your most efficient and effective option to continue doing or getting back to the workouts, sports, hobbies, or daily activities that you love. Just with getting your car fixed, the solution to your pain or problem may take a couple hours, days, or maybe even weeks, but it saves you from the stress and frustration of battling with it on and off for months or years by trying to address it with one or all of the other three options discussed above.  Your pain or maybe a new pain may creep up every now and then, but by taking this approach you now have an expert resource to help nip your pain or problems in the bud and keep you healthy, happy, and doing the things you love.
 
That pain you’re having is your personal check engine light.
 
What are you going to do about it?

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