Chronic pain is such a condition that occurs only when the brain concludes that there may be a threat to the well-being of an individual, which is based upon the signals that it receives from the body.
According to an estimate, about 50 million people in America are seen to be living with chronic pain. Chronic pain can significantly affect your daily work or recreational activities. It can also profoundly impact the ability to concentrate on your daily activities while relaxing or enjoying life.
Physical therapy for pain relief at Lake Havasu City, AZ can be beneficial in providing relief to patients who are suffering from the pain.
Chronic pain lasts for more than 12 weeks in an individual’s body. It can be not very clear and would prevent you from moving usually. Also, dealing with chronic pain may sometimes be perplexing for your healthcare provider. The causes of chronic pain may vary widely. Certain medical conditions in your body are more likely to cause chronic pain. Some of them are as follows:
- Trauma/injury
- Diabetes/Mellitus
- Fibromyalgia
- Limb Amputation
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
While there are also some other diseases such as arthritis or cancer that can cause ongoing pain in your body.
Signs And Symptoms Of Chronic Pain
There has been researching that has found various signs associated with chronic pain. Some of them are as follows:
- Fearfulness – It is effortless to start feeling a sense of fear for increasing pain due to chronic pain conditions. As a result, you may begin to start avoiding any activity. You may find that you must rely more on family members for help with daily functions.
- Body Stiffness – When you try to become more active. Stiffness may sometimes make you feel as if you cannot perform your daily activities.
- Deconditioning – Not being able to move your body is very intolerant when you are trying to become more and more active. Also, if you have to remain active for a more extended period, your muscles may become weak and shrink from not using it. It may lead to an increase in your risk of falling.
- Decrease In Circulation – Lack of activity may lead to a reduction in blood circulation, which is very much needed for your cells. The tissues present in your body may not get the much oxygen they may need. As a result, they may become unhealthy. It can make you feel tired with less energy.
- Weight Gain – Decreasing the activity level may lead to unwanted weight gain. The added amount of pounds and inactivity can lead to an increase in weight. Added pounds and idleness can aggravate the symptoms of various other activities such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Chronic pain is also commonly associated with anxiety or depression.
How Can Physical Therapy Help In The Treatment Of Chronic Pain?
Your physical therapist would first try to diagnose the cause of your chronic pain properly and try to find solutions to improve the quality of your life and thus help you get moving. Variousphysical therapy treatments for treating chronic pain may involve the following:
- Stretching And Flexibility Exercise – These exercises can help you move more efficiently with minor discomfort. Your physical therapist would design a specific plan of graded exercises for gradually increasing the ability of your movements. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to treat chronic pain in physical therapy. Graded exercise can help you improve your motion and coordination by reducing the strain and stress on your body, thus decreasing your pain.
- Manual Therapy – Manual therapy consists of specific gentle hands-on techniques which may be helpful for the manipulation or mobilization of the tight joint structures and soft tissues. Manual therapy is beneficial for increasing the range of motion and improving the quality of tissues and thus reducing pain.
- Heat Or Ice Therapy – Modalities like heat and ice often seem to be used to decrease pain and inflammation. These treatments are not seen to have been more effective for the patients to deal with chronic pain, but they have often been used as adjunct treatments during physical therapy sessions.
- Dry Needling – Dry needling is a new treatment employed by some physical therapists to decrease the painful muscle knots and trigger points. The treatment may involve using tiny needles such as acupuncture needles for piercing the tissues in the muscles and knots to help you get relief from the pain.
- Education – Education is to help you improve your knowledge and understanding of chronic pain. Physical therapy for chronic pain relief involves the therapist making you understand the causes of chronic pain and what can be done to provide you relief from the pain. Your therapist would also teach you how to manage your pain and help you work towards performing daily activities without any pain.