What is chronic pain? 

Chronic pain is when you have had pain for longer than 6 months. At this point in time, your nervous system and the structures around the injury start to make changes that can be harder to heal. 

People can become very sensitive to things that normally would not bother them. As well, they can start to feel pain in other areas that were not bothering them in the first place. To make the issue worse, people can become frustrated and depressed about their pain. Making it harder to heal since their motivation usually declines. 

You are probably reading this and thinking dear lord how does anyone even attempt to tackle or get through this? The truth is with chronic pain it will always be a battle that will take a lot longer than you expect. Most people that come to see me have had pain for years and for some reason expect that I can fix it in 1-2 sessions. That is not going to happen. We are health practitioners not miracle workers, with that said there are some things that you can do to help the situation. 

1. Move your body – Deciding that you should “rest” and not move your body is the worst thing you can do. I am not telling you to go run a marathon but getting some gentle physical activity in pain free ranges will start to heal the body.  It will help reduce stiffness, increase tissue elasticity, get your muscles pumping and increase endorphins and serotonin which are hormones that help with your mood. 
2. Stay positive – There is something to be said for being a negative nelly. The more negative you are the worse off you and your pain are going to be. I promise you, we health practitioners are trying to help, and we are not trying to rob you of your time or money. 
3. Be realistic – Make sure you are realistic with your progress and timeline to achieve things. Try some deep breaths or meditation to help collect your thoughts and see if there are any other stressors in your life that can be deepening the problem. This is a big one and a lot of times someone with pain does not realize the additional physical or emotional stress of work or family can make their pain worse. 

We are here to help. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us.