Back Pain Secondary Gain

In my own experience working as a trial preparation investigator in New York City, I saw many blatant instances of secondary gain demonstrated by plaintiffs in civil personal injury lawsuits. In some cases, the plaintiff was obviously aware that there was gain to be had from their pain, but in others, the person seemed completely oblivious to the fact that their pain was likely inherently related to their present course of litigation and treatment with a doctor who was a puppet under control of their lawyer.

Back Pain Secondary Gain vs. Primary Gain

The subconscious mind fears the release of these repressed emotions and the havoc they may cause in the patient’s consciousness. It is for this reason that the subconscious institutes any of the overwhelming number of psychologically-induced pain syndromes which have become such an epidemic in our healthcare system today.

Back Pain Secondary Gain Motivations

True secondary gain is not consciously caused by the patient in an attempt to benefit from the pain. The patient may or may not realize the benefits of secondary gain, but they do not consciously cause it to be.

This is not the same phenomenon as a patient who pretends to be sick or exaggerates a condition on purpose, in order to gain a particular objective. Instead, the recognition of benefit from pain is subconscious and driven without the patient’s conscious control.

Recommendation on Back Pain Secondary Gain

A great number of patients with chronic back pain are actually suffering from psychosomatic primary gain as the one and only source of their physical symptoms. Medical science does not recognize primary gain as the cause of most back ache conditions, which accounts for its dismal treatment statistics. Accepting the role of the mind in the enactment of physical symptoms is the first and most difficult step for patients to accomplish. However, this realization is vital if they are to be permanently free from their tormenting pain conditions.