Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain

Serving Portland OR | Vancouver WA

Everyone has felt physical pain at some point in their life. Maybe it was a deep cut, or a broken bone. These types of injuries usually heal, leaving you pain-free and fully recovered. Chronic pain is any pain that lasts longer than twelve weeks. You feel the effects of an injury or illness long past the typical healing time. Chronic pain can also be a result of a long-term illness or other condition, and it’s long-lasting effects can be debilitating. Chronic pain treatment can depend on your specific injury or illness, and whether or not a cause can be identified.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

When you feel pain, it’s because your brain is sending signals of pain to the area of the injury or damage. With typical injury pain, your body stops sending those signals after you are healed. With chronic pain, your body does not stop sending those signals, even after you’ve fully healed. While no one is sure why these pain messages keep on being sent by the brain, there are a number of injuries and conditions that can be linked with chronic pain, including:

• Past injuries
• Previous surgeries
• Migraines
• Nerve damage
• Arthritis
• Back problems
• Infections
• Endometriosis complications
• Fibromyalgia

Sometimes there’s no clear cause with chronic pain. The basic mechanism is what is most important: your brain can’t stop sending pain messages.

Chronic Pain Symptoms

Chronic pain can be difficult to diagnose, especially if it’s a result of a condition with little known cause, like fibromyalgia. If you feel these types of chronic pain symptoms on a regular basis, it’s time to consult with a doctor or physical therapist:

• Throbbing
• Sharp twinges
• Stinging
• Shooting
• Burning
• Soreness
• Stiffness
• Dull aching
• Squeezing

Because your body is not meant to be in pain for such a long period of time, your pain symptoms can also be accompanied by fatigue, difficulty sleeping, appetite changes, mood changes, and a general feeling of weakness.

Physical Therapy for Chronic Pain Management

The medical community strongly recommends physical therapy for chronic pain, partly for physical therapy’s ability to heal, and partly because of the current opioid crisis in the United States. Our physical therapists can help identify the underlying cause for your persistent pain with a comprehensive evaluation. This will include a review of your past medical history, a functional movement assessment, neurological screening, length tension/ muscle coordination, joint mobility examination and special tests. A complete picture of your situation and how your body is responding will go far towards implementing a individualized treatment plan to make you more functional.

There is a lot of evidence suggesting that physical therapy, if performed during and after the healing process, can prevent, eliminate, or alleviate chronic pain. If you’re concerned about your pain, call the physical therapists at New Heights. We will work with you, helping you and your body with chronic pain management. Whether you’re suffering from fibromyalgia, or an old auto accident injury, we want to reduce and alleviate your chronic pain.