Pain Myths And Facts: How Bad Information Hurts Us All (Literally…)

New doctors are learning old (and racist) myths

So yes, just those two myths cause unnecessary pain and suffering at a level that is frankly hard to wrap your mind around. And that just scratches the surface of harmful myths about pain.  We could (and will more soon!) get into how myths and false beliefs play a major role in how systemic racism plays out in health care. Case in point? A stunning 50-73% of medical students and residents in one study endorsed false beliefs about racial differences in pain. That certainly plays a role in the fact that pain is consistently under-assessed, underestimated, and under-treated in the black population. This is true for both adults AND children.  

The myth that pain is a purely biological process and simply the result of body tissue damage creates suffering and cuts off treatment options every day, especially for those millions of people with chronic pain. Understanding the truth that pain is a biological, psychological and social experience opens up all sorts of opportunities for treatment and healing. 

The pain experience is unique to the individual

Assuming pain is the same for everyone is a another major harm causing myth that blocks opportunities for treatment and healing…couldn’t be further from the truth! Sex, age, gender, mood, hormones, previous pain experience, trauma history (and on and on and on) all change how we experience pain. It’s as unique as the person themselves, and treating everyone the same is, bluntly, totally nuts and can blind people and providers to more effective treatment. This plays directly into the ridiculous but stunningly common myth that if something hurts you more that doctor thinks it should, it means you are wrong and crazy. This myth has facilitated medical gaslighting throughout human history.  

That myth that even the best of doctors know all there is to know about pain is a dangerous game. After all, the stats would say that the average number of educational hours in pain over the course of medical training in the United States is just 7-10 hours.  To put that in context, veterinarians have to have 150.

Not long ago while I was doing some consulting work, I stood in a room of about 50 medical residents and fellows (doctors near the end of their training).  I asked if any of them could tell me about the biopsychosocial model of pain. THREE people raised their hands, even though it is absolutely the established way pain is now understood among experts. I told them the above stat about pain education hours in med schools and asked if any of them felt they had had more than that. Not a hand went up. I then asked what was the number on reason they were going to be called to the bedside in the hospital that day. Then I asked what was the number one reason that patients were going to come to their outpatients clinics. Pain, of course, was the answer to both.  Clearly, the medical training system needs to do better.  It’s not that docs and medical providers don’t care…they certainly DO care…but they often simply don’t know. 

Your voice is NECESSARY.

Which brings us to our last harmful myth of today: that doctors will be mad and upset and not provider the same level of health care if you speak up and tell them what you or your child needs to be more calm and comfortable. Assuming we are all the lovely, respectful humans most of us are, they won’t. You and the medical team have the same goal: to help your child have the best, most comfortable experience possible with the best health outcomes. They are going to need your voice and your thoughts to do that.  This is why we at the Meg Foundation talk about the need for effective family advocacy so much:  your voice is NECESSARY. 

And if you come across that rare doc does get upset?  Well, you’ve just learned something about them…namely, that you need to find a better doctor. There is way too much ego going on in that situation.