At some stage in your life you will experience pain. Everybody’s experience with pain is different. Each experience you have with pain, along with your beliefs, strength and mental health will shape how you experience pain in the future.
Pain
If you have been told that your pain is all in your head, then they are correct. That is not to say that you don’t have pain or that your pain is not real. Our body does not have actual pain receptors. We have receptors for pressure, temperature, movement and chemical changes; this information is sent to your brain and it formulates a response. I.e. you put your hand on something hot and the brain takes in the information, makes your hand hurt so you move it away quickly.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is pain that has been consist for 3 or more months. It is not an accurate picture of the health of the muscles, tendons, ligaments in your body. Pain is a protector of your body. So what if your body is producing unnecessary warning signals?
Chronic Pain is a complicated response to an injury. If you are having pain long after your muscles, bones and ligaments have healed, then this is no longer a useful process by your body. Changing this process can be a long journey. This is why your beliefs about pain are so important to your recovery. For instance, if you believe that pain means that you are doing your body harm, then you will stop the movement or action that is causing that pain. Whereas in reality, stopping moving is often the worse thing you could do for chronic pain.
Physiotherapists like to use a phrase, “motion is lotion”. There is a wealth of evidence to prove that exercise is good for you. When you are in constant pain it is often hard to know where to start. A good physiotherapist can help you start your journey. To find a physiotherapist that is right for you, visit our team. They have a lot of experience and understanding about chronic pain and can offer you a perspective you may not have considered before.
Resolving chronic pain is a long process and every body’s journey is different. Some will be able to resolve the pain, others will just be able to do more with the same level of pain. Your journey will be helped by an understanding GP, a specialist for your partial injury and a physiotherapist with good communication to other parties, to ensure all round care and appropriate treatment.
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Need to see a Physiotherapist? Book an appointment now with one of our team by calling 0410 559 856.
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