Chronic Pain
Pain is the body’s way of alerting you to a problem that needs to be fixed. The pain response is initiated by nerves that send a signal to the brain. The nerves may be responding to an acute injury to bodily tissue or a disease process that has affected the tissue.
When the pain can be “fixed” through treatment and the body itself (i.e. a laceration), the pain has been beneficial. The pain told you to limit activity in that area and allow for healing. Without pain, the injury would simply get worse and possibly cause debilitation.
But what if the pain is chronic? What if the pain stems from a condition that cannot be “fixed” or at least fixed completely? Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than 6 weeks, intermittently or continuously. There are many conditions that can lead to chronic pain including migraines, arthritis, chronic back or neck problems, fibromyalgia and other disorders of the human body.
Chronic pain sufferers usually experience a vicious cycle called “chronic pain cycle” that worsens their condition, exacerbates their pain and lowers their quality of life. The cycle begins with anxiety caused by the pain. The anxiety worsens the pain and intensifies fear of the physical condition that causes the pain. The worry and fear may lead the person to limit activity, which is where the cycle begins.
Lengthy periods of rest and inactivity decrease the person’s fitness level. Strength, endurance and flexibility are diminished, which gives rise to a loss of confidence and actual physical ability to accomplish tasks.
You may begin to set lower standards for yourself on what you feel are your personal capabilities. You may begin to feel frustrated and perceive yourself as “useless.” Your self-esteem may drop and depression can result.
Since chronic pain may ebb and flow, during times when the pain is lessened, when you feel a little better, you may overexert your now weakened body to try to prove to yourself you can “get the job done” OR you may simply want to knock out as many tasks as possible while you do feel well.
This overexertion with a body that is ill-prepared (decreased endurance, strength and flexibility) can exacerbate the condition that is causing the pain in the first place. This of course can lead to the pain returning and in many cases, to a higher degree.
Obviously, it’s important to follow through and/or explore any treatments for the condition that is causing chronic pain and limiting the quality of your life. One on one Therapy, exercise, dietary changes and supplementation can often improve the condition and automatically lower the incidence of chronic pain.
In many cases of chronic pain, the key to improving the quality of your life is to take part in pain management. Pain management and relief for chronic pain patients in Clearwater, FL is right around the corner with Frank’s perfect skill set that marries several disciplines and brings you the best of many specialties that are highly effective in restoring musculoskeletal health and relieving pain.
Examples of pain management therapy and therapy designed to improve musculoskeletal health and thus decrease pain are neuromuscular therapy, trigger point therapy, massage therapy, myofascial release, active isolated stretching and various muscle energy techniques.
Feel free to click around the site and learn about what Corrective Therapy Pain Relief Center can offer you! Be sure to play the patient testimonial movie to hear how Frank gave his patients a new lease on pain free lives!
