-
Chronic Pain Treatment
Pain is the most common reason for seeking medical care. It is also the most common reason why people choose our physical therapy practice for help. If you are considering physical therapy for pain, this information can help.
Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Pain
Acute pain is common with tissue damage that may occur with a ligament sprain, a muscle or tendon strain, inflammation within a joint, or a tear of a muscle, tendon, or meniscus.
Subacute pain is pain that lasts for 3 to 6 months. Subacute pain is common with more complex conditions where there is prolonged healing (joint replacements and the pain associated with the recovery after surgery).
Chronic pain is pain lasting for more than 6 months. While the body’s musculoskeletal tissues may heal from an initial injury or degenerative change, pain may persist for months past the tissue healing process. Nearly 50 million American adults have significant chronic pain or severe pain, according to a new study prepared by National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). (1)
The Principles of Chronic Pain Treatment
New ideas studied by pain scientists suggest that there are four basic components to the successful treatment of pain.
- Pain education – pain neuroscience education (PNE) or therapeutic neuroscience education (TNE) helps patients understand that pain is an output from the brain, it’s complex, and not just in your head.
- Exercise – numerous scientific studies have demonstrated that paced & graded exercise can have an extremely positive impact on pain.
- Sleep Health – addressing sleep issues can also decrease pain
- Goal Setting – it took months, even years for your body and brain to experience the chronic pain. Setting specific, reasonable, and progressive goals are part of a successful chronic pain treatment program.
We’ve Only Scratched the Surface of All the Great Treatments Our Therapists Can Provide!
If you have chronic pain, we encourage you to set up an appointment with one of our physical therapists. We will take a thorough health history, perform a physical exam, create a custom program for you and help put you back on the road to recovery.
-
Fibromyalgia and Treatment
Fibromyalgia is a long-lasting or chronic disorder that causes muscle pain and fatigue (feeling tired). If you have fibromyalgia, you have pain and tenderness throughout your body.
How is Fibromyalgia Treated?
Fibromyalgia can be treated with medicines, lifestyle changes, and complementary therapy. However, fibromyalgia can be hard to treat. It’s important you find a physical therapist who is familiar with the disorder and its treatment.
Making lifestyle changes can also help you manage your fibromyalgia, including:
- Getting enough sleep.
- Exercising.
- Adjusting your work demands.
- Eating well.
You can also try complementary therapies such as:
- Physical therapy.
- Massage therapy.
- Movement therapy.
- Diet supplements.
Who gets Fibromyalgia?
Anyone can get this disorder, though it occurs most often in women and often starts in middle age. If you have certain other diseases, you may be more likely to have fibromyalgia. These diseases include:
- Rheumatoid arthritis.
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (commonly called lupus).
- Ankylosing spondylitis (spinal arthritis).
If you have a family member with fibromyalgia, you may be more likely to get the disorder.
What are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?
The symptoms of fibromyalgia are pain and tenderness throughout your body. Other symptoms may also include:
- Trouble sleeping.
- Morning stiffness.
- Headaches.
- Painful menstrual periods.
- Tingling or numbness in hands and feet.
- Problems with thinking and memory (sometimes called “fibro fog”).
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
Doctors don’t know the exact cause of fibromyalgia. Researchers continue to study fibromyalgia and think the following events may contribute to the cause of the disorder:
- Stressful or traumatic events, such as car accidents.
- Repetitive injuries.
- Illness.
- Certain diseases.
Sometimes, fibromyalgia can develop on its own. Fibromyalgia tends to run in families, and some scientists think that a gene or genes could make you more likely to develop fibromyalgia. The genes could make you react strongly to things that other people would not find painful.
Are there Any Tests for Fibromyalgia?
Currently there aren’t any laboratory tests to diagnose fibromyalgia.
Healthcare providers use guidelines to help diagnose fibromyalgia, which can include:
- A history of widespread pain lasting more than 3 months.
- Physical symptoms including fatigue, waking unrefreshed, and cognitive (memory or thought) problems.
- The number of areas throughout the body in which you had pain in the past week.
If you are looking for someone with experience treating fibromyalgia, we can help.
