Patients who suffer from chronic pain often find little relief working with traditional medical doctors and physical therapists. If that’s been your experience, reach out to us! We specialize in helping patients like you. With our individualized approach and unique manual therapy tools, we’ve helped patients with chronic pain find relief and get a diagnosis. Often we find that these chronic problems are nothing more than simple problems managed poorly!
Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than 6 months and can last for many years. Acute pain can last for hours or weeks, but chronic pain will not go away. Although the intensity of your pain may decrease, it will eventually return but there is a way to get lasting relief for chronic pain.
How is chronic pain different from other types of pain?
We’ve all had sprained ankles and pulled back muscles. And while those incidents are never pleasant, the pain rarely lasts more than a few weeks at most. Chronic pain, on the other hand, can go on for months or even years, especially when you can’t find the proper diagnosis or treatment for it. Apart from the longer timeframe, chronic pain sufferers usually have one or several non-injury conditions, such as a degenerating disk, aging joints, or a pinched nerve.
Most importantly, chronic pain differs from acute pain in that it sometimes can’t be measured or even found through traditional testing like X-rays or MRIs. Of course, sometimes inflammation can be detected with these diagnostic tools, but several studies even outline the gross inaccuracies of imaging studies to diagnose pain conditions in the first place. Often, it’s a physical therapist who is best able to determine the location and extent of the damage.
What are some common forms of chronic pain?
As you might imagine, there are many chronic pain-causing conditions that don’t go away on their own. Among the types which will be helped by the right physical therapist are:
- Neck and lower back pain
- Herniated discs
- Fibromyalgia
- Sciatica
- Arthritis
- Headaches
- Pelvic Joint Pain
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- Frozen Shoulder
- Foot Pain
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Tennis Elbow
How can physical therapy help my chronic pain?
The type of chronic pain you have, as well as its underlying cause, will determine what sort of treatment your physical therapist will recommend. That might involve working as part of a medical team for cases such as diabetes-related pain, or when physical therapy is attempted in hopes of avoiding surgery.
Among the techniques a physical therapist will employ to help relieve pain, as well as improve range of motion, are manual therapy, in which your physical therapist will stretch and apply gentle pressure to target problem joints and muscles. Teaching you posture and movement techniques to reduce pain is often a key part of chronic pain therapy, as are exercises for improving strength and flexibility.
When you need help dealing with — and often eradicating — chronic pain, call us for a consultation. Our highly trained team of physical therapists is here to help.
Types of Physical Therapy for Chronic Pain
A series of different kinds of manual therapy are the single greatest tool in the arsenal against your pain. PTs also use muscle-strengthening and stability exercises to relieve your long-term discomfort. Before we can create a strategy, we will evaluate your range of motion, joint mobility, muscle quality, poor habits and comfort level.
Physical Therapy solutions can include joint mobilization, soft-tissue techniques, cupping, dry needling, and decompression therapy depending on your needs. You can also do the exercises and stretches that you learned in physical therapy at home to help reduce your pain. These chronic pain treatments can be done regularly and will improve your quality of life.
You can trust the Physical Therapy specialists
Our experienced physical therapy team has been helping patients eliminate chronic pain for decades. Our specialists are licensed to provide exceptional and personalized care to reduce pain and restore function. We can help reduce chronic pain and our staff offers the best in hands-on treatment and a variety of options for patients. Call us today to book your appointment.