I usually avoid reading anything in the “Torygraph” because it’s likely to put me in a bad mood (that applies double to The Daily Mail, known in journalistic circles as “The Daily Fascist“). But occasionally something will catch my attention on Google News and without thinking I’ll click on the link.
Case in point: There was a study out today about the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioural therapy in dealing with chronic back pain. The Telegraph’s lead?
Back pain may be all in the mind, according to researchers who recommend sufferers should seek psychological counselling.
Funny that, because the Independent article on the subject says this:
Zara Hansen, a member the research team from the University of Warwick said: “We are not saying back pain is all in the mind. It is very much a physical problem but the way you understand it affects the way you manage it.
Having suffered chronic back pain that became increasingly debilitating with my periods over the years and escalated to the point of sciatica, I’ve had my share of doctors and nurses suggest there’s nothing wrong with me except my desk job, as if I had nothing better to do with my time than subject myself to humiliation.
When laparascopic surgery a year ago removed bleeding endometriosis from my uterosacral ligaments (the sacrum being the base of the spine) and relieved the pain, I wanted to go back to those so-called medical professionals and give them what for. I often wonder how many other women have needlessly been condescendingly turned away with another pack of worthless paracetemol because their GPs and physiotherapists and orthopaedic surgeons haven’t done their research.
In the last year I’ve been able to work and travel like a normal person and — almost — forget what it’s like to be brought to tears trying to walk across my tiny living room. But last night on the Tube heading back from work I was suddenly struck with pain, not so much in the lower back but in the middle of my spine. It was there again as I sat at my desk this afternoon, and tonight as I stepped out of the building and walked down the street, shoots of pain from my pelvis down my leg caught my breath with each step and I hobbled towards the station, home feeling like a million miles away. Was that in my mind, hacks?
Tags: endometriosis
