Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is when the pain lasts longer than 3 months. Sometimes chronic pain can occur: without a known cause. after an injury has healed. after a condition has been treated
Chronic pain is a serious health condition that affects many people. Chronic pain can last for months and months and can seriously affect your physical and mental health. Chronic pain affects everyone around you. If you suffer from chronic pain and need some help, please contact us. We will do what we can relieve your pain and help you get your life back on track.
What exactly is chronic pain?
Any pain that lasts beyond the expected period of healing is termed as chronic pain. Pain that lasts for more than 2-3 months would be considered chronic. It can occur without a known cause and can interfere with your everyday life, routine, ability to work, relationships, and affect sleep patterns.
How can chronic pain be treated?
How can chronic pain be treated?
The treatment approach to chronic pain largely depends on what biological mechanisms are at play. Our treatments aim to de-sensitise the nervous system and promote active self-management. Our treatments may include but are not limited to:
Active exercise-based approach
It is important to note that chronic pain often has a large psychological component. When there is a psychological component, we would advise counselling to help manage resulting psychological distress.
How is it different from acute pain?
In acute injury, the amount of pain that you feel is proportional to actual or potential tissue damage. Acute pain has a protective function. If you accidentally place your hand over a hot stove the pain that you experience makes you pull your hand away instantly, thus protecting it from harm. In chronic pain conditions, this one-to-one relationship between the amount of pain and tissue damage doesn’t work. The pain processing systems in your nervous system malfunction in such a way that you experience significant pain in situations where you should feel either no pain or very little pain. Chronic pain sufferers often find unharmful mechanical stimuli such as touch, pressure, and movement to be distinctly painful. It is somewhat akin to the engine light in your car coming on even when there is nothing wrong with the engine.
What causes chronic pain?
There is no single cause for chronic pain. Often, changes that occur with normal aging and wear and tear may cause chronic pain. Another cause of chronic pain is nerve damage or malfunction of the nervous system. Experts say genetic conditions can be inherited also.
What are some examples of chronic pain?
Fibromyalgia, Myofascial Pain Syndrome, Chronic Whiplash Injuries, Headaches, Arthritis, Back pain from Spine condition, Diabetes, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS, formerly termed RSD), post-operative pain lasting longer than 6 months, repetitive strain injury (RSI), and chronic neck and back pain are some examples of chronic pain conditions.