#pain – Do I have chronic pain?

IMG_0946Chronic pain is pain that persists after the body should have healed. 1 in 5 Australians will continue to feel pain even after the healing process is complete. This pain may not be warning you of damage occurring in the body so there is no longer a direct link between pain and harm being caused by the injury or disease. Chronic pain is a complex phenomenon and may not be easy to treat. It occurs because of changes to the nerves or nervous system which keeps the nerves firing and signaling pain.

For chronic pain sufferers, physiotherapy aims to help you manage the pain – it may not mean we can eliminate that pain for you. Whilst pain reduction is something we strive for, physiotherapy for chronic pain aims to help restore your function. Our goals are focused on helping you to regain the ability to partake in activities of daily living such as mowing the lawn, driving the kids to sport or hanging out the washing.  This may be with pain coping strategies, exercises for self-management and self-pacing rules.

If you are diagnosed with suffering from chronic pain, it’s important that your physiotherapist works in conjunction with your GP and other health practitioners so that we can devise the best possible pain management plan for you.

sara-profileSara Andriejunas, Physiotherapist