Physical Therapy Facts About Pain

May 13, 2019

 
If you’re in pain, you may be looking for long-term relief that doesn’t involve the use of prescription medication such as addictive opioids. Why have opioids proven to be so detrimental in the efficient long-term treatment of pain? The answer can be found by first understanding the mechanics of pain and the human body.

Top 10 Things to Know About Pain

Following are 10 facts about the connection between pain and the brain that physical therapists around the country agree will help patients understand the important role of physical therapy in medication-free chronic pain management:

  • Pain is a protective device
  • Pain doesn’t give specifics
  • Pain is complicated
  • Pain depends on experience
  • Pain and how our brains react to it prevents us from getting better
  • The brain tells us where we think the pain is
  • The brain tells us how much danger it thinks we are in; not always how much danger we actually are in
  • The brain recognizes the potential for pain
  • The brain tries to protect us from more pain
  • The brain gets better at creating pain the more we feel pain

What These Facts Mean for Your Health

When your body is constantly in a state of high alert – either because it’s busy looking for pain or it’s busy reacting to pain – roadblocks can often be created to offset the effective treatment of your pain. That’s why physical therapy is such an important treatment option over often-addictive prescription medication. The primary purpose of physical therapy is to treat chronic pain by identifying why the pain is happening in the first place. In addition to helping patients correct their movement patterns and strengthen any tissue damage, the goal is to also teach the brain how to respond to potentially painful stimuli without exaggeration or misinformation.

Managing Pain in Clovis, CA

Pain is an extremely common condition that almost every person will experience at some point during life. If you’d like to learn more about physical therapy as a treatment alternative to prescription medication, Green Sports Medicine would be happy to get you added to our schedule for a consultation. Call us or email us now for an appointment.