Chronic Pain: Why Physical Therapy is an Effective Treatment
Chronic pain is a condition that can dramatically affect and limit an individual’s activities, physical function, work, and daily life. For too long, chronic pain was treated with pharmacological methods and prescriptions for opioids became pervasive. In 2016, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a recommendation that the preferred treatment for chronic pain is non-pharmacological methods, particularly physical therapy and exercise interventions.
What is chronic pain?
Chronic pain affects one-third of the American population. It is defined as pain that persists for more than three months. After an injury heals, the body continues to send pain signals to the brain. The pain can be constant, may progressively worsen, or reoccur intermittently.
Common sources of chronic pain include:
Cancer pain
Arthritis pain
Neurogenic pain (pain caused by nerve damage)
Neck pain
Limb amputation
Fibromyalgia
When an individual suffers from chronic pain, the pain centers of the brain cause the individual to feel pain even if there are no new causes of pain occurring in the body. Due to constant pain signaling, the brain, nervous system, and cells that conduct sensation in the nervous system are on “high-alert” and become more sensitive. This sensitivity maintains chronic pain symptoms. The pain sensations in the brain remain continuously activated, causing the brain to interpret all sensations from the problem area as danger and therefore painful, even where there is no longer any tissue damage in that area of the body.
How does physical therapy treat chronic pain?
Physical therapy is a safe and effective method of treatment for chronic pain and allows for long-term pain management with no dependence on medication or surgery. Physical therapists work with patients experiencing chronic pain to lessen and reduce their pain level for the long-term, restore them to the highest possible level of activity, and improve quality of life.
Physical therapy treatment for chronic pain involves:
Therapeutic Graded Aerobic Exercise
Pain Education and Pain Management Strategies
Body Mechanic Instruction
Strengthening and Flexibility Exercises
Therapeutic, graded exercise under the supervision of a physical therapist allows the patient to gradually increase their aerobic ability, improve movement and coordination, reduce stress and strain on the body, and decrease pain. By carefully introducing graded exercises, the brain is trained to sense the problem pain area in the body without eliciting and increasing hyper-sensitive pain messaging.
Manual therapy involves hands-on techniques to manipulate and mobilize tight joints and soft tissues in order to increase range of movement, improve tissue quality, and reduce pain. Dry needling involves the use of filiform needles to deactivate trigger points in the body to reduce pain. Trigger points are hyper-irritable taut bands of muscle that contribute to chronic pain by creating tenderness at the trigger point and producing referred pain.
Aquatic therapy in a heated pool is also used to treat chronic pain. Water therapy decreases the amount of stress on joints and helps a patient move more easily to build strength and balance. The hydrostatic pressure water exerts on the body also helps reduce swelling and joint inflammation and eases stiffness.
At Mangiarelli Rehabilitation, we understand that chronic pain can be a debilitating and difficult condition. We are here to help you manage and reduce pain. We help you achieve greater mobility, activity, and freedom from pain in your life. For each patient with chronic pain, we provide an individually-tailored treatment program, specific to your needs, limitations, and health goals.
