Many people undertreat their pain out of fear that they will become dependent on or addicted to the pain-relieving medication they are taking. But according to Green, it's rare to develop an addiction when you have acute or chronic pain or even cancer-related pain, unless you have a predisposition to addiction or a history of it.
When using painkillers, the idea is to stay ahead of the pain, Warfield said. You want to take a medication before you get pain, and take it exactly as the dosage directions are written, say it's every six hours, whether you're feeling any discomfort or not. If you get ahead of the pain, this prevents the body from releasing all sorts of substances that make pain worse.
Warfield also said there's no need to feel as though you just have to live with pain. She suggested seeking out a pain clinic, where even if "we can't help you get rid of 100 percent of the pain, we can help a great amount and also help you to cope with it."
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