Chronic Pain Can Make Daily Life Problematic – Physical Therapy is the Solution
Solve Your Daily Aches and Pains with Us
Chronic pain affects more than 25% of the people in Canada, and 20-30% of the global population, as reported by the Canadian Institutes of Research. Moreover, experts predict chronic pain will increase in prevalence as people age into later adulthood. Finding relief for pain also continues to evolve, especially as health providers become more concerned over the use of narcotics and opioids to treat chronic pain. However, understanding more about chronic pain and obtaining physical therapy – like physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage therapy, athletic therapy – may alleviate your pain.
How can I tell if my pain is chronic?
Although pain is a natural way for the body to alert a person of a problem, it can rise to a heightened level. Chronic pain persists for weeks, months or even years. When pain is unrelenting, it results in severe impacts on daily life. Chronic pain may include pain associated with arthritis, cancers, infection, and even when no past injury or health problem exists.
Common chronic pain complaints include headache, low back pain, cancer pain, arthritis pain, neurogenic pain (pain resulting from damage to the peripheral nerves or to the central nervous system itself), psychogenic pain (pain not due to past disease or injury or any visible sign of damage inside or outside the nervous system). Furthermore, a person may have two or more co-existing chronic pain conditions. Such conditions can include chronic fatigue syndrome, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, interstitial cystitis, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and vulvodynia. It is not known whether these disorders share a common cause.”
Why did my chronic pain develop?
Treating chronic pain means managing the original cause if it’s still relevant. For example, someone living with tissue damage from a past fall or accident needs to address this if it continues to be a pain driver. It could be a herniated disk, muscle or nerve damage. The list is endless. Moreover, certain health problems may increase risk for damage to joints and muscles as well, contributing to a loss of motion and the buildup of tension.
For those without a root problem, turning to medications can feel like the only solution. However, a quick scan of recent news reports reveals many dangers exist in medication treatment for chronic pain, especially opioids.
Physical therapy and chronic pain relief
As opioid overuse became a public health crisis, health providers started to think about other ways to manage chronic pain. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other leading health organizations implore the use of non-drug approaches over the use of prescription painkillers. Unlike medications, which simply place a proverbial bandage over the issue, physical therapy works to address the root problem.
Even in the absence of damage to a joint or muscle group, gradually improving the movement and strength of joints and muscles encourages the body’s natural response to relieve pain and be healthy.
Solve the issue of chronic pain with physical therapy
Chronic pain does not always require the use of strong medication.
Instead, one or more of physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage therapy, or athletic therapy, combined with the understanding of the physical and non-physical causes of chronic pain may be the best solution. In fact, they carry less risk for injury, result in fewer side effects and eliminates the risk for addiction.
To learn more about how physical therapy could help with your chronic pain, schedule your appointment online today.