Physical pain is something that a lot of us feel in different times of our lives. Whether it’s our back aching, muscles feeling sore or even a headache, we usually don’t think much about it. In many cases, we’ll just take some kind of medicine and get over it sooner or later. At least, that’s the “normal” approach.

But pain isn’t exactly normal. Most people don’t experience pain every second of the day and it’s not something healthy people deal with regularly.

In fact, pain happens when there’s some kind of tissue damage in your body. Sometimes with pain, it signals us to do something about it, and in some cases this can be an immediate reflex. For example, if you touch something that’s hot, you feel pain in your fingers and your muscles immediately contract to pull the hand away to limit damage.

But the pain in your body can’t exactly be avoided like this. This is why it’s helpful to be more aware of the pain we experience, what’s causing it and what you can do to limit it.

How Do I Know When Pain Isn’t “Normal”?

It’s a good idea to get used to different kinds of pain and where they come from so you know what the right reaction is. For instance, if you’re feeling a headache then you can trace back a few hours or even a day to see what could have caused it. A great example of this could simply be a headache. Some people forget to drink water throughout the day which leads to dehydration and ultimately a headache. If the pain isn’t bothering you much, make a note of the possible causes and try to fix them. It could just mean that you’re not drinking enough water or it might even be caused by stress. If this helps you take care of the pain then you’ll know what causes it. In the future, you’ll know how to deal with the pain and you can get a better understanding of it.

What can you do about the pain?

In most cases, you should be speaking to a doctor if you’re experiencing long-term pain or debilitating pain that limits your actions. Certain types of pain, such as from your body or joints, could be fixed by visiting a chiropractor or looking at lifestyle habits such as your posture when walking or sitting. Since pain is subjective, everyone experiences it differently and there are no two solutions that are the same.

However, regardless of the pain you experience, you should never overlook it and treat it as normal. Yes, there are certain types of pain that we’ll always experience in our lives. For instance, working out will make your muscles sore and walking for a long time will hurt your feet. However, if you experience unexplainable pain or debilitating pain that prevents you from doing your daily tasks, you should absolutely speak to a specialist as soon as possible and stop ignoring it.