Flare-Up
When I looked up the phrase 'flare-ups' the description was defined as 'a sudden outburst of something, especially violence or hostility' and I thought, I'll say!
To me it means, coping with pain when it's at its worst.
I've accepted that flare-ups are part and parcel of persistent pain now, but it's still one of the hardest aspects of living with chronic pain.
Even when you think that you have begun to manage your pain with different techniques, medication or for me, the avoidance of chairs, the next flare-up is just around the corner waiting to ruin your life.
Generally when you see a chronic pain warrior smiling, it's not because we're not in pain, it's because we're happy we're not experiencing a flare-up in that split second, and to us we feel what I'd describe as 'normality'.
Flare-ups refer to periods of intense pain which are felt more severely to the normal day-to-day chronic pain, and the worst part is, we usually have absolutely no idea what's caused it. I haven't run any marathons in my sleep lately, nor have I joined the theatrical cast of the Riverdance, so why does it feel so bad some days compared to others?!
Ultimately those that suffer from flare-ups will never find out why.
The main flare-ups from my condition come from bursitis. Now I doubt you'll ever need to know this, and it's unlikely to form any questions in your next pub quiz, but I'll summarise it for you anyhow.
The bursae are thin, small fluid filled sacs (behave!), and they sit at points of friction on the joints. They provide a cushion between the bone and muscles or tendons around that joint, and there are 160 of these little buggers in the human body. Most people will never even realise you have a single one.
When they are aggravated however, some become inflamed, enlarge, and the surrounding area becomes extremely sensitive and painful. I can certainly vouch for that!
I use anti-inflammatory gel, constantly apply ice and I've even had cortisone injected directly into one of them. Unfortunately with my hip bones at the wrong angles, regardless to what I try, my body will continue to anger them with what feels like every movement I make.
Some days or even weeks are worse than others, but when you're having a flare-up, every little problem will seem 10 times larger as all your energy goes into trying to ignore your agony. That well known black cloud starts to circle above you and it's almost impossible to channel any of your remaining personality to the surface.
10 years ago if I heard the word 'flares', I would automatically think of the iconic 70's bell-bottoms, but now I think of all those poor chronic pain sufferers having a bad day, week or lifetime.
I spend my days trying to keep my eyes open, and then at night time, I can't sleep a wink.
Even when I do get to sleep, I roll onto those dreaded bursae and it wakes me up, and so the hamster wheel continues.
To me it means, coping with pain when it's at its worst.
I've accepted that flare-ups are part and parcel of persistent pain now, but it's still one of the hardest aspects of living with chronic pain.
Even when you think that you have begun to manage your pain with different techniques, medication or for me, the avoidance of chairs, the next flare-up is just around the corner waiting to ruin your life.
Generally when you see a chronic pain warrior smiling, it's not because we're not in pain, it's because we're happy we're not experiencing a flare-up in that split second, and to us we feel what I'd describe as 'normality'.
Flare-ups refer to periods of intense pain which are felt more severely to the normal day-to-day chronic pain, and the worst part is, we usually have absolutely no idea what's caused it. I haven't run any marathons in my sleep lately, nor have I joined the theatrical cast of the Riverdance, so why does it feel so bad some days compared to others?!
Ultimately those that suffer from flare-ups will never find out why.
The main flare-ups from my condition come from bursitis. Now I doubt you'll ever need to know this, and it's unlikely to form any questions in your next pub quiz, but I'll summarise it for you anyhow.
The bursae are thin, small fluid filled sacs (behave!), and they sit at points of friction on the joints. They provide a cushion between the bone and muscles or tendons around that joint, and there are 160 of these little buggers in the human body. Most people will never even realise you have a single one.
When they are aggravated however, some become inflamed, enlarge, and the surrounding area becomes extremely sensitive and painful. I can certainly vouch for that!
I use anti-inflammatory gel, constantly apply ice and I've even had cortisone injected directly into one of them. Unfortunately with my hip bones at the wrong angles, regardless to what I try, my body will continue to anger them with what feels like every movement I make.
Some days or even weeks are worse than others, but when you're having a flare-up, every little problem will seem 10 times larger as all your energy goes into trying to ignore your agony. That well known black cloud starts to circle above you and it's almost impossible to channel any of your remaining personality to the surface.
10 years ago if I heard the word 'flares', I would automatically think of the iconic 70's bell-bottoms, but now I think of all those poor chronic pain sufferers having a bad day, week or lifetime.
I spend my days trying to keep my eyes open, and then at night time, I can't sleep a wink.
Even when I do get to sleep, I roll onto those dreaded bursae and it wakes me up, and so the hamster wheel continues.
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