In a never-ending battle with her own body, Jerika Gajewski decided a positive attitude is key to mastering the pain. Otherwise, she said, you give in to depression. Gajewski loved to dance, shovel snow and rearrange her household.
In a never-ending battle with her own body, Jerika Gajewski decided a positive attitude is key to mastering the pain.
Otherwise, she said, you give in to depression.
Gajewski loved to dance, shovel snow and rearrange her household. Now she can’t even vacuum, and aches when she brushes her teeth.
“I’ve been fighting with chronic pain for five and a half years now. It never goes away completely,” she said.
“There are days where the pain wins me over, but as long as I have more days where I win, I’m okay.”
Her pain runs from her upper neck to her shoulders, mid- and lower back, and down to her leg and under her right arm. She said it’s not a sharp pain, but it could be described as dull and constant, and sometimes feels like an electric shock.
The causes of her suffering are many. She has osteoarthritis, sciatica (a nerve pain), and myofascial pain syndrome, causing unexplained pains to radiate from certain trigger points to broader areas of her body.
A number of rear-enders probably contributed to the problem, she said, adding that she also suffers from degenerative disc disease.
Gajewski is 55 years old. When she sits, she uses a recliner, trying to find the right angle to take pressure off her body. She said she is the most comfortable when she walks.
“If there was something that could get rid of it completely, that would be beautiful. But what I found over these five and a half years is that you have to come to terms with it,” she said.
Claude Roberto, president of the Edmonton Alberta Nerve Pain Association, said chronic pain is a big issue, and the numbers of people affected by it are growing.
Not all cases are as extreme as Gajewski’s, but the result is the same: pain that lasts for weeks, months or a lifetime.
Chronic pain affects about six million Canadians. It is caused by damage to the nervous system, and through injuries to the brain or spinal cord. It can also be a phantom pain, experienced by amputees, or caused by illnesses such as diabetes, cancer or arthritis.
Often, something as simple as falling off a bicycle leads to lasting nerve damage. Sometimes it’s a car accident, as was the case with Roberto.
She said patients spend a lot of money trying to pinpoint the problem. They become depressed and lonely, often lacking support from doctors and family members who don’t understand or can’t explain the cause of the problem.
“It’s very hard to treat and hard to explain because it’s invisible,” she said.
The Nerve Pain Association’s website compares pain to having a sunburn under the skin or a feeling of tingling, shooting, stabbing or shocking.
Treatments range from acupuncture, massage, physiotherapy and relaxation methods to the use of medication such as morphine, narcotics and opiates. But Roberto said the body develops a natural dependence for the medication, causing it to be less effective over time.
The first week of November is National Pain Awareness Week, and she said the association tries to educate and help the public by meeting with people to talk about the pain, to help them find ways to cope, and to offer support groups.
“We tell them where to find a list of doctors and how to find solutions. We suggest therapies and breathing exercises, going for a massage,” she said.
“Sometimes when people get distracted they don’t feel the pain as much. And if they don’t have the money to go to a massage, they tell us their story and they feel a bit better.”
Gajewski has tried a variety of treatments: acupuncture, massage and physiotherapy, cortisone and trigger point injections. Even nerve burning.
One procedure that helps her is Intramuscular Stimulation.
The treatment uses a needle similar to those used in acupuncture. It goes deep through the muscle and stimulates a reflex causing the muscle to relax and release pressure on the nerves.
“There are times where it is my saviour. The other treatments, you can’t have them very frequently and then I rely on Heidi to get me through.”
Her physiotherapist, Heidi Fedoruk, said chronic nerve pain hits about one out of five people. She said many patients come to her St. Albert clinic Leading Edge Physiotherapy after dealing with the pain on a day-to-day basis, incapable of solving the problem.
“We see a lot of people coming through our doors who are at a loss, who have nothing to validate their pain,” she said.
“Saying that you have it does not identify the cause. There are many causes and the most important thing is to look at accurate diagnosis.”
Fedoruk said some chronic pain is caused by recurring injury. An example is that of a soccer player, who continuously sprains his ankle causing damage to the tissue.
A possible treatment is to stop ongoing injury and help the healing of the tissue to cure the chronic pain so it doesn’t come back.
Fedoruk added that emotional factors such as stress, diet and lifestyle changes can affect the pain as much as the actual physical injury, and should not be ignored.
“People can come in and they’ve spent thousands of dollars first and then find out that there are easier ways to make it manageable,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s inaccurate assessment and diagnosis. The doctors are busy, they are crunched for time, they tried a prescription and you still come back with the same pain.”
Gajewski said a lot of people glance over when she tries to explain her condition. They are nice but they cannot understand her because they cannot see what causes her pain.
She said she’d be lost without her husband, who took over many of her household chores.
“That’s a big portion, to have someone who understands. He doesn’t have the pain and you cannot appreciate it until you are in it but he’s very supportive,” she said.
