Chronic / Persistent Pain
Chronic pain affects 3.4million Australians. There is ongoing research into persistent pain, with exciting developments in pain science and effective treatments.
What is the role of pain?
It is now understood that pain acts as a ‘protective response’ to make us do, or avoid doing, certain things to protect the painful area of the body. Pain can be complicated, and many biological, psychological and social systems influence our pain experience.
When we have an injury, there is a short-term increase in our pain system sensitivity to allow for initial inflammation and healing to occur. This sensitivity decreases over time with healing to allow movement and loading and promote further recovery.
Essential Pain Fact 1; Pain Revolution, University of South Australia, Kaurna Country, Adelaide, Australia.
What is persistent pain?
Persistent pain is when pain continues beyond the expected tissue healing timeframe. The increased pain system sensitivity with injury may not decrease as expected in association with tissue healing. This can occur due to many factors and is referred to as pain system hypersensitivity. With pain system hypersensitivity, pain overprotects us, and can affect further recovery, causing pain to persist. Pain system sensitivity can change based on what is happening in our lives, and always involves a combination of factors.
Essential Pain Fact 2; Pain Revolution, University of South Australia, Kaurna Country, Adelaide, Australia.
How can Physiotherapy help with persistent pain?
- Education on persistent pain and management.
- Working with you to create individual short-term and long-term management strategies, including implementation of a flare up action plan.
- Assistance with identification and management of factors influencing pain.
- Treatment of the affected area as appropriate.
- Graded exercise/activity prescription.
At Offshore Physiotherapy Torquay, our Physiotherapists can assist you with assessment and management of persistent pain and are linked with the Surf Coast Local Pain Collective.