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What is Pain and Why do I Have it?

What exactly is pain?

Pain is a multi-dimensional phenomena affected by many internal and external factors. The purpose of pain is to warn the body of tissue damage OR the threat of potential tissue damage. You may have pain because you recently sprained your ankle, or you may have pain from an old back injury long after the injured tissues have healed. In both cases pain is present, but only in one case is there current tissue damage. When you experience pain, the brain is trying to warn the body of a perceived threat which may or may not actually be threatening. Regardless, pain is pain.

Why do I have pain?

You may be someone with appropriately regulated pain which subsides as the tissue heals. Or you may be someone with acute pain that extends past the point of tissue healing, which is considered chronic pain. This is when the brain’s pain modulation system is no longer working as it is intended. A lot of people in this category have had multiple experiences with pain in the same area or multiple areas of the body sensitizing the brain to pain. This further leads to a cycle of decreased sleep, activity, and overall brain function making it difficult for your pain modulation system to restore itself. You can break this cycle over time by restoring general brain health through nutrition, exercise, sleep, and even something as simple as prioritizing things in your life that make you happy.

According to the CDC, in 2019, 20.4% of adults had chronic pain and 7.4% of adults had chronic pain that frequently limited life or work activities

How can physical therapy help?

The cycle of chronic pain CAN be broken, and Physical Therapy can help you with this process. Whether you have low back pain, chronic headaches, or widespread pain, our Doctors of Physical Therapy can help you with physical rehabilitation as well as helping restore your brain’s pain modulation system. This is achieved through strengthening, improving neurovascular health, and pain neuroscience education.

Physical Therapy can help you to overcome your pain and return to participating in the things you love!

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