How can you fix something when you don’t know what exactly is broken? When our car is acting up and making abnormal noises, we stop and ask ourselves what can be the cause of the problem? Is it being caused by a problem with the engine, a malfunction with the starter or fan belt? Often times when we notice something is wrong with our bodies we think of all of the possible things that can be wrong. If you are experiencing pain in your stomach you may be wondering is this a stomach ulcer, is it a gallstone, could it be pancreatitis? Each of which have very different treatments to fix the problem. Identifying the cause is the best way to effectively treat the situation. Receiving a proper diagnosis is at least half of the treatment process. Dr. Karl Jung, the famous professor, said “the cause of suffering is the pain which we do not understand”.
Pain is often experienced in many different ways and for many different reasons. When people feel pain, it is easy to say that pain is the problem when it is just a symptom not a diagnosis. Meeting with a physician is important because it is always best to treat the cause and not simply the symptom. If you have a bacterial chest cough, do you want cough medicine or an antibiotic? Cough medicine will help in the short term to treat the symptom, but an antibiotic will help treat the cause. If you have low back pain, is it caused from a compression fracture, muscle strain, herniated disc or referred from a liver tumor as examples? Taking medicine such as Tylenol may be a temporary fix to curb pain but may make other causes worse which is why it is pivotal to treat the cause rather than the symptom. Not only is it better to treat the cause over the symptom many times it is the safer option as well.
Physical examinations are a great way for physicians to work with you to discern the cause of most problems and to treat the cause rather than them symptom. Dr. Robert O’Leary, board certified in
Pain Medicine & Physical Medicine & Rehab, stresses the importance of being able to know the cause of the problem, work with your physician to diagnosis the problem, and determine the proper course of treatment and prognosis. Dr. O’Leary states that this is incredibly important to those with serious pain and impairment to heal. Listening to the patient on when the problem started, what may have caused it, what makes it better or worse and then some other past medical history related to their past or current medical/surgical/family history and medications also greatly help physicians discern the cause many problems. An imaging study like x-ray, ultrasound or MRI may contribute to narrowing down the specific cause if not initially evident. Once a specific cause or diagnosis is confirmed then a focused treatment plan can be developed.
Having that plan itself is usually a great relief. It is like being given a map or navigation aid to a person who has to go to a new destination without having any directions.
Next time you find yourself treating the symptoms, reach out to a physician to schedule an appointment so you and the physician can treat the cause rather than the symptom. To schedule an appointment please call (239)348-4221 or visit our website Physiciansregionalmedicalgroup.com.
Physicians Regional – Bonita Springs
24231 Walden Center Drive
Bonita Springs, FL 34134
(239) 348-4221
Physiciansregionalmedicalgroup.com