I started treating myself, but the pain is increasing. Why?

Let's state this clearly from the start. Treating illnesses requires expertise; this is what a doctor studies for 6 years at university and then practices for several more years as an intern.

Even their recommendations do not always bring the expected result; if you, as a layperson, start a treatment, there is a greater chance that something will be done incorrectly.

You can avoid mistakes if you only begin treating your complaints after an investigation and with the method recommended by a physician appropriate for the condition.

What should I do if the pain increases?

If you proceeded this way, then increased complaints after the first treatments usually need not cause alarm.

If you apply the treatment appropriate for the diagnosis, for the proper duration and in the correct way, then this is likely the consequence of the healing process starting.

This often does not happen without notice!

It's like giving a push to a standing swing — it begins to move. Under the influence of the energies introduced by the treatment, your disease is “pushed” out of its previous static, frozen state.

Why does the pain increase?

Healing processes that support recovery start one after another. In the first step, the blood circulation in the tissues usually increases. Faster blood flow then “washes out” the accumulated waste products from the inflammation, also called toxins, and “takes them away to be disposed of.” The entry of these toxins into the bloodstream triggers the pain.

These pains generally disappear after a few treatments (because the toxins in the affected area have been "used up"). From then on the treatments no longer cause pain and their beneficial effects begin to emerge.

So if you are sure you applied the treatment appropriate to your complaint, for the right duration and correctly, the increase in pain should not surprise you. A good treatment cannot harm you — continue the treatment calmly. Your pain will start to decrease after 2–3 days.

However, if the pain has not eased by the 4th–5th day, consult the professional overseeing the treatment and discuss your complaints — the treatment will likely need to be modified.

It is not surprising that the ideal method, treatment or dose is not found immediately!

That is how medicine works. The human body is an extremely complex system and what will work best for you depends on many factors — you cannot predict it with 100% certainty in advance.

Healing work is nothing else than systematically, step by step, finding the treatment that suits you best. There can be "detours" that sometimes swing things to the right or left, sometimes reverse course.

The treating physician or therapist must be able to "read" the signs. They can only help you if you turn to them with your complaints and questions. This, of course, is a matter of trust.

Based on the above, a good treatment has an effect on your body and an early sign may be that your complaints increase. If this is only temporary, there is nothing to do other than continue the treatments.

However, there are many cases when the increase in complaints is caused by a poorly chosen treatment, overtreatment or incorrect application.

Poorly chosen treatment

Every medical tool has its area of use. There are conditions for which it is suitable and ones for which it is not. Just like a fork is not suitable for eating soup or a spoon is not ideal for carving a roast turkey.

Generally, ignorance or lack of knowledge causes the wrong choice of treatment.

For example, your neighbor's leg pain was reduced by heat therapy, and so you start using it on yourself.

Fair enough, but your neighbor had a flare-up of an old rheumatic complaint and heat therapy, which relaxes joint ligaments, was appropriate for that.

You, however, twisted your ankle and it is bruised and bleeding inside, and that is causing the pain. Heat is not good in this case — on the contrary, it increases bleeding, swelling grows, and your complaints worsen.

What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another!

This can be avoided if you do not start self-treatment uninformed! Begin home treatment only after your complaints have been investigated and a competent person has recommended the method and shown you how to apply it to your specific complaint.

Overtreatment

Another characteristic mistake is overtreatment. Excesses are rarely useful. Certainly not for most physiotherapy treatments.

The energies delivered by the devices initiate healing processes (cell energy production or the production of proteins and substances necessary for regeneration, etc.).

If you apply a treatment for too short a time, it has no time to act. If you use it too much, it can halt these processes or even cause harm.

Think of sunbathing, for example. If you lie in the sun for hours, your skin will burn. If for 5 minutes, it won't even warm up. The beneficial effect is usually from a 20–30 minute sunbath (of course optimal time can be influenced by many factors).

If, for example, you do a softlaser treatment and you think that instead of the recommended 5 minutes you'll keep the laser beam on one spot for 30 minutes because you have time and your favorite show is on, then you are making a mistake. This is typical overtreatment.

An excessive amount of energy (similar to sunburn) stops cell function — you treated for a long time but the effect is zero or even harmful.

How to avoid overtreatment: listen to the experts and apply the treatment for the duration recommended. More is not always better!

Incorrect application

Pain can also increase if you perform a treatment incorrectly. For example, therapeutic ultrasond must be moved slowly and continuously over the treated area. If you point it motionless at a single spot — even if you observe the prescribed time and intensity — the ultrasond energy concentrates in one point, which can even damage the tissues.

How to avoid this?

It couldn't be simpler! Don't do what you don't understand ignorantly!

Inform yourself! Ask your treating physician or physiotherapist — in any case, ask a competent professional — about how to perform the treatment correctly.

And then follow the instructions!

You can also get help from my blog posts and videos about what to consider regarding specific treatments and what ensures risk-free application.

All this so that you experience beneficial effects, not an increase in complaints.

 Watch my video on the topic (click the play button) or scroll down to read.