What Are Your Body Pains Telling You?

Have you ever felt aches and pains in your body that no doctor could explain? No matter how many tests, MRI or CT scans you went through, at last everything would come out to be normal, and yet you would feel that sensation in your body. Then, this article is for you.

Medically unexplained symptoms are those that may look and feel like some physical ailment but the evidence of their presence is nil. For instance, you have a severe headache that is becoming unmanageable and is hindering your daily life but when you go for your check-up and the concerned doctor conducts some tests, all your reports come out to be usual.

In such cases, patients tend to get frustrated and may end up feeling that no one can understand their pain and discomfort, and families on the other hand may start believing that the patient is making a fuss without a reason, often causing rift and tension in relationships. 

But what is actually happening and causing so much distress to the patient?

During stressful situations, our body releases a chemical called Adrenaline. The job of this chemical is to prepare our body for any unexpected situation which sometimes might be fear causing. Therefore, creating a fight or flight response when the need arose. But in some cases, such as during exams, our body gets into this stressful mode creating adrenaline in the same amounts even when it is not required which in turn leads to increased heartbeat, rapid breathing, and much more. Hence, the amount of glucose generated through this is too much for the body to absorb and it ends up storing itself in our muscles, which then makes way for headaches, muscular stiffness, and more. 

It is important to understand that Mind and Body share a very deep connection, what the mind will feel the body tends to follow. 

Are there any types of medically unexplained symptoms?

Yes, there are some types, few of them are given below:

1. Conversion Disorder: Psychological stressors arrive in the form of physical symptoms which are often neurological in nature.
2. Somatoform Disorder: Stress is considered to be a major cause of symptoms induced.
3. Hypochondriasis: Patient tends to feel that they are suffering from a serious illness despite their contradictory test reports.
4. Fibromyalgia: Pains, aches, and tenderness throughout the body.
5. Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Troubles and symptoms regarding stomach.

In cases such, it is necessary to undergo all the investigations so as to rule out any physical malady and to help the clinician form a diagnosis of Medically Unexplained Symptoms. 

What are the steps that you can take for basic management?

1. Identify the stressors that become triggering. 
2. Learn skills to manage these stress-inducing situations
3. Focus on a solution-oriented approach and not the other way around.
4. Do not compromise on a healthy sleeping pattern.
5. Take extra care of what you eat.
6. Maintain a routine that is balanced with appropriate time for physical exercise.
7. Keep healthy relationships with people of your age as you may share similar stressors, and can provide each other aid in times of dire need. 

Medically unexplained symptoms can be emotionally exhausting for both the patient and family and may aggravate over a period of time. With appropriate help from professionals, these symptoms can be managed before arriving at the chronic stage.