It is estimated that around 50 million people in the United States suffer from chronic pain. Chronic pain can interrupt your day-to-day work and recreational movements, and it may have a deep effect on your capacity to concentrate, relax, and enjoy life.
Many treatments are available for chronic pain. Physical Therapy is an option for managing chronic pain and regaining mobility.
If you have chronic pain, working with a physical therapist can relieve your pain, and your therapist can give you techniques to keep the pain away. So, what does physical Therapy for chronic pain look and feel like, and what can you desire from PT for chronic pain?
What Is Chronic Pain?
The straightforward definition of chronic pain is pain that has been present for more than 12 weeks. However, it can be more complex than that, and the most helpful way to understand chronic pain is to learn about its cousin: acute pain. Acute pain comes on unexpectedly and lasts for a few weeks.
For example, if you hit your thumb with a hammer, this causes acute pain. The pain is sudden and intense, and you can quickly determine the cause of it. Your thumb becomes red, swollen, and painful. After a few weeks, the pain subsides as your thumb gradually heals.
If you accidentally hit your thumb with a hammer again, it may become red, swollen, and painful. However, if the pain persists long after the visible signs of injury have disappeared, it could be an indication of chronic pain. In such a case, your thumb would still hurt even after the tissues have healed. Movement of your hand could also exacerbate the pain.
Chronic pain can be a complex issue to deal with. Sometimes, you may experience pain even when there is no tissue damage. This can make finding the best treatment for your condition difficult, and medicines may only sometimes be effective. It can be frustrating to deal with pain that lasts long after the tissues are healed, and finding answers to why this happens can be challenging.
What to Expect
When attending Physical Therapy for chronic pain, your first session will be an initial evaluation. You will meet your physical therapist during this session and examine your condition.
Your therapist should ask questions -Is your pain present continuously or intermittently, and how does it impact your life? What makes it better or worse? Your physical therapist should also ask about any prior treatments you have received and the effect those treatments have had.
They could examine your overall medical history. They will perform different tests and efforts to get a sense of any impairments that may be contributing to your pain, including:
- Range of motion
- Posture
- Strength
- Balance
- Endurance
Once your PT evaluation is finished, your physical therapist should work with you to set realistic and attainable objectives for Therapy. Goals may contain pain relief, extended range of motion, improved strength, and enhanced functional mobility. Finally, your treatment can start.
PT Treatments
When you attend physical Therapy for chronic pain, you may undergo various treatments that may be used to reduce pain, enhance your mobility, and help you fully function. Physical therapists often use common medicines for treating chronic pain patients. These medicines can help alleviate pain and improve the patient’s condition.
- Exercise: Exercise should be your primary PT tool in treating chronic pain because it can help your body improve strength and mobility.
- Ultrasound: Ultrasound is a deep heating modality you may encounter while in PT. It is applied to your skin, and as your body’s tissues are heated, it improves circulation and blood flow.
- TENS and Electrical Stimulation: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a therapeutic modality that uses electricity to decrease pain signals from your body to your brain.
- Massage: Some physical therapists use massage methods to reduce pain by enhancing muscular blood flow and relieving tightness.
- Dry Needling: Dry needling is a more unexplored treatment some physical therapists utilize to reduce painful muscle knots and trigger points. This treatment uses tiny needles (such as acupuncture needles) to pierce muscle tissue and knots, reducing the pain in these spots.
- Heat or Ice: PTs often use modalities like heat and ice to help reduce pain and inflammation. These treatments have not been proven to be helpful with patients dealing with chronic pain, but they are often used as adjunct treatments during your PT sessions.
- Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE): A new study indicates that teaching patients about their pain and why it is happening can positively affect their rehab. Your physical therapist may spend time familiarizing you with why you have pain, how your pain might occur, and things you can do to take control of your pain.
All in all
If you have chronic pain, you may find that it is not easy to function well. Managing chronic pain can be a challenging task as there are many options available, each with varying degrees of effectiveness. Physical Therapy, which includes exercise and pain neuroscience education, can efficiently reduce pain and improve mobility.
Tags: chronic pain in Michigan, physical therapy for chronic pain, chronic pain relief in Michigan
