For those dealing with chronic pain, it can be a heavy burden to carry physically and emotionally. After years of pushing through pain, numerous medical visits and experiments to help, nothing seems to move the needle substantially. That is largely due to our traditional medical system falling short of true patient care and not providing the time to truly listen to a person.
Chronic pain is multifaceted; if only the physical pain is addressed, it's not accounting for the entire picture. Other factors to include are sleep, nutrition, past medical history, stress, mental health, social circumstances, resources available, and environment. All of these contribute to our overall balance, function, and healing.
What is chronic pain?
Chronic pain is pain lasting for months or years that seems to worsen over time. Whereas acute pain is a sudden onset that lasts for only a few days to a few weeks. In instances where there is an acute injury, such as a car accident causing neck pain, that then persists for months is when acute pain transitions to chronic. What adds to the complexity of chronic pain is that the nervous system becomes heightened, trying to protect the body but then begins to fire signals of pain from non-painful instances even after the tissues have healed. While pain signals, when firing properly, are a protective mechanism and good for our safety, when the system malfunctions it becomes problematic.
What to do:
Find providers that take the time to listen to your story, analyze the whole picture, and offer suggestions other than pain meds and to "limit" your activities...indefinitely. While there is a time and place for those measures, when dealing with chronic pain- doing nothing is not the answer. There is no magic pill, and it does take time and consistent effort, but with the right team to help guide you in all the different areas listed above (sleep, nutrition, etc.), you'll finally be able to find new ways to get relief.
As Physical Therapists we focus on the movement modifications, retraining the brain, and a long term plan to get you back to activities you enjoy. At Powerful PT we use a combination of hands on treatment, like massage and stretch, along with specific movement progressions- while also discussing your lifestyle and realistic time for a home program. Our sessions are always an hour, one on one. If you or someone you know is dealing with chronic pain, contact us at 631-201-4499 or fill out the form below to get started on your recovery today.
Movement Is Medicine