Making the pain go away
Chronic pain.
It is, by definition, a pain that persists or progresses over six months. It can feel so deeply rooted. It can feel so permanent and beyond repair. There is nothing else but THE PAIN.
Some facts about PAIN:
Ideally, pain acts as an alarm system. It tells the body to act accordingly to prevent further injury and start the healing process.
With acute pain, swelling and other hallmarks of inflammation are normal processes to help repair an area of injury. Typically, with rest, pain can improve as the tissue damage is repaired.
In chronic pain, the body becomes sensitized. This means the body reacts very easily to smaller triggers and sets off sometimes out-of-proportion inflammatory reactions. The original area of injury does not necessarily show the marks of inflammation but it can sure feel like it!
The factors that trigger pain are not just physical. Merely recalling details around the pain (the where, how, why’s) can make pain flare up. If you are feeling stressed with matters unrelated to the injury or pain, it feels like pain is worsening.
Chronic pain can be the sum total of the circumstances that built up to the pain or injury. These factors and the corresponding pain can be physical, mental, emotional.
Like a forest fire in the dry summer, chronic pain feels like it ignites in the muscles, nerve, connective tissues. But pain is NOT tissue damage. Pain is ignited through the body’s complex nerve system.
According to the Institute of Chronic Pain, it "is not long-lasting acute pain."
With physical therapy, there is hope.
Physical therapy can bring an understanding of tissue healing and body rehabilitation and of the nerve and brain pathways that mitigate pain. Integrating these concepts into your unique body patterns and neuromusculoskeletal “fingerprint” can bring about some new or adjusted movements. Your PT can guide and further refine your process in your particular phase of healing.
So, while there is still pain, there are broader dimensions to build up on: A little more range of motion, a little further venturing with daily activities, a testing of new limits in function. More physical movement will, in turn, stretch into new mental and emotional ranges.
Pain is still be present, but there is more detail to your body’s landscape.
Can chronic pain actually GO AWAY?
With movement, with mindfulness, with conscious reframing of your habits, it really is possible to smudge, blend, grow that relationship beyond pain.
So, yes, the scars and discomfort could still be present, but it becomes just one aspect, maybe a shrinking aspect against more vibrant and EXPANDED aspects of function and living.
This potential is there for everyone. Are you seeking help managing chronic pain?
Contact me and let me help you draw your healing path forward and beyond.
In the meantime, explore these resources on pain science: