Injuries: See a Doctor or Tough It Out?
New York Times, Published by Gina Kolata
In a recent article published in the New York Times, author Gina Kolata makes firm arguments as to why individuals should avoid going to see the doctor for your sport and exercise woes. She states that aches and pains due to exercise are common, and should be toughed out or ignored unless the problem becomes more severe or does not go away after terminating the activity. Her reasons? First, Kolata states that the co-pays often associated with going to the doctor are a literal way of adding insult to injury. Second, Doctors do not often know how to cure the aches and pains. And third, she states that "Sometimes going to a doctor for a diagnostic workup can be precarious, with scans that can show all sorts of apparent abnormalities and injuries that are not causing any problems." (Kolata, p.1, 2010).
Her second point of argument is one that I would like to discuss. In her article she provides evidence from a doctor that she interviewed. Dr. Thompson argues that he himself experienced foot pain, and instead of continuing to work through the pain after 4 years, he consulted an orthopedist. After a round of cortisone injections and shoe inserts, the problem did not subside. But after consulting a fellow friend that works as a podiatrist for the Celtics basketball team, he was told that taping his foot would be a better solution. Since the day he began taping, the problem vanished. When he stops taping, the problem resurfaces. Although this is good supporting evidence for her argument, for anyone that has taken an athletic injuries class, the evidence is feeble. Personally, even I knew that taping is an effective way to ease the pain of plantar fascitis. What this shows is that no matter whom you go to see for your problems, you as the patient need to be aware of current treatment and prevention techniques. Do your research; don't blame the doctor for not knowing exactly how to fix your problem, they might not be familiar with the condition. Take your aches and pains upon yourself and surf the web prior to getting it checked out by a doctor, that way if you do end up spending the co-pay, you will have made your visit worthwhile.
Kolata's third argument for avoiding the clinic comes from issues with MRI's and the pitfalls of the advancements of technology. A study by Dr. Matthew Silvis was conducted on 42 male hockey players, 21 professional and 21 college athletes. The study provided insightful evidence that showed that although none of the players claimed to have any clinical symptoms or showed any level of pain, 70% of the MRI's exposed ligament and or cartilaginous abnormalities. This research does beg the question, how much can we rely on an MRI for a diagnosis? But it also points out that the issues never would have been noticed without the MRI. The best answer to solve this problem comes from simply being a good doctor. Don't rely on the MRI, but also use your clinical knowledge and the evaluation to come to a strong diagnosis. As for the study, the results were disturbing, but as an athlete myself, I was not surprised. Personally, after doing gymnastics for 17 years, I know that there were a slew of things wrong with my body during competition season. Did I ever get MRI's to find that out? The answer is no. As an athlete, you learn to tolerate a certain level of pain and your body and brain adjusts to this pain, meaning that when you should actually be hurting, you are conditioned to think that you feel fine. I would be pleased to see this study conducted on individuals without serious athletic careers. Although athletes are usually deemed more "in tune" with their bodies, they also tend to ignore or write off pain. The conclusion to this argument is that a condition that might not feel serious to a professional hockey player, might seriously affect an individual with a "blue collar" career.
So what's the take home point? Nobody makes the decision but you. If you are experiencing pain that you haven't felt before, if it's severe, if you're worried about, or if you don't want to endure any more discomfort, see a doctor. They might not give you a solution, but it is their job to try. Is this outcome frustrating to you? Remember that even though it's their job, it's your body. Do some research on your own first. It can't hurt to come to the appointment prepared, and your chances for a logical diagnosis and solution could be much greater.
I think when it comes to injuries and pain, the regular population lacks experience. Athletes hurt a lot, and get injured quite often, and yes, there is a difference between being hurt and being injured. As athletes, we understand why we hurt, in most cases, and that is why we are able to push through the pain. However, for the general population, pain may not be something they are accustomed to and therefore they jump the gun when they experience it. I understand that everybody is different and there are different levels of pain tolerance, but people have to understand why they feel what they feel. If they are sore because they went to the gym and did squats for the first time in ages, they have to be aware of the damage they just induced on their muscles and understand that they really are not injured. For some its common sense, but in some cases, its lack of common sense.
As a society, we seem to be gravitating towards less interaction with medical practitioners. Many tests can lead to false disgnoses and undue stress and worry. With today's soaring medical costs, who can afford unnecessary visits to the doctor? It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with common injuries and remedies that you can do at home.
I found this topic very interesting. Who really is more susceptible to pain, an athlete or an average Joe? Being close to athletics my experience tells me that athletes are more apt to jump back out and play after an injury that might sideline someone else for a week. Perhaps athletes are taught to ignore the pain and continue to play through it like a winner. Not only do I think athletes have a higher pain tolerance I think that they are taught from little on to be strong and brush off the pain. It is also interesting to consider the new health care plan with this article. Will individuals start to use a hospital more for sport injuries now more than before?
I think part of the problem is our take a pill and fix it society. Rushing to the doctor is a personal decision. Regardless of whether you are an athlete or "average Joe", you are the only one who truly knows if something is wrong with your body.
I agree that doing some research first will help you be more knowledgeable. Unfortunately doctors have less and less time to spend with patients, so if you muddy the waters with what you believe to be the problem, you could be biasing them to treat you that way regardless of the actual underlying problem.
Many years ago while camping in the boundary waters I had an accident while portaging a canoe. My leg immediately began to hurt, but being an athlete I shook it off. When it continued for several weeks after returning I went to the doctor. I explained what happened and went on to say that it was similar to, but not quite like the muscle twinges or pulls that I have experienced in the past. Three different doctors agreed that it must have been a pull. Finally after weeks of physical therapy and experiencing such severe pain I could not sit for more than 10 minutes, I went to an urgent care clinic and was diagnosed with a bulging disk. One week after back surgery I was up and about with no pain at all.
I went in with a preconceived notion of what it might be and three doctors agreed. Since then I tell the doctor what the issue is, listen to their ideas then comment on what I think it might be and how it fits in with their diagnosis. Additional medical problems have been solved much sooner and with less pain. While it pays to be knowledgeable, sometimes too much knowledge is a bad thing.
Each person knows their body better than anyone else, so individuals should be responsible for making an appointment and going to see a doctor if that is what they feel. Although, I feel that there is a certain protocol of going to the doctor, getting a prescription, and then taking pills for any diagnosis. I feel that doctors get into this routine, and do not often check for other possible causes. However, I understand that the body is an incredibly complicated network and it would be impossible to check for all possible causes in one appointment. I would agree with the "tough it out" idea, however, when you can't go any longer, it is definitely time to get checked out by a doc.
I feel that this was a very interesting and actually very common article. Many people are unsure when to go seek a doctor and do see them without first doing research on their own. It is so important to have knowledge about what exactly is going on with your body and act accordingly. I also agree with the fact that many doctors are not trained for every type of injury and misdiagnose patients. Do research then if problem still requires other attention make sure the professional you are seeing is trained in the area you need.
I know that growing up my parents would always say I should go to the doctor if anything hurts. I would always want to tough it out and keep playing which I usually ended up doing and then go to the doctor. I know that doctors specialize in their area, but I still find it hard to believe that they have all the answers considering I have chronic knee pain and all they can say is that I may have sprained it, which I have at least 3 times. So usually I end up just living with the pain unless it becomes unbearable.
I too believe that a person has to be in touch with how their own body feels, you live in it so take care of it. However, with rising healthcare costs some people (such as college students) can find it hard to justify the need to go in and get checked out. This fact along with the idea that the doctors may not have an answer or worse, the wrong answer to alleviate pain makes it hard to go in. I absolutely agree that with the easy access to the interweb, it is possible to "self-diagnose" a recouring injury. At the very least have a good guess as to what the ailment is and help the doctors move in the right direction.
You mean don't blame your doctor for "not knowing" the cheaper solution. Lets face it if everyone could just tape themselves up Doctors would be out of a job. However toughing it out may not always be the best solution. Instead of going to the doctor first talk to someone such as your coach our peer. hopefully they have had some experience with what ever your ailment is which could prove useful. As for the third argument about the number of irregularities in the MRI in athletes I would like to point out that its not exactly surprising considering the fact that everyone probably has some irregularity somewhere.