Chronic pain

Pain is an interpretation of the brain as a consequence of the information it receives from the peripheral nervous system ( nerve endings). Pain starts in receptor nerve cells found in the skin, muscles, ligaments and in organs throughout the body. When you are sick, injured, or have other type of problem, these receptor cells send messages along nerve pathways to the spinal cord, which then carries the message to the brain. 

Pain can be anything from a slightly bothersome, such as a mild headache, to something excruciating and emergent, such as the chest pain that accompanies a heart attack, or pain of kidney stones. Pain can be acute, meaning new, subacute, lasting for a few weeks or months, and chronic, when it lasts for more than 3 months. 

Two types of pain include the following:

• Acute pain. This pain may come from inflammation, tissue damage, injury, illness, or recent surgery. It usually lasts less than a week or two. The pain usually ends after the underlying cause is treated or has been resolved.
• Chronic pain. Pain that persists for months or even years.

Chronic pain is pain which last more than 6 months. When we sustained an injury ( such as a sprain or strain, broken bone etc)  the injured structures should heal in maximum 3-6 months. Beyond this point should be no more healing to be done. If pain continue beyond this time frame , that is classified as chronic pain. In generally this has less to do with the tissue that it hurts and more to do with sensitivity of the nervous system and the brain. 

How to treat chronic pain?

In general chronic pain needs an unique approach. Although pain might seem the main concern of the patient , we need to understand why the brain is maintaining the sensation of Pain, looking at other aspect such as stress levels, emotional state, nutrition and your beliefs and expectations. Pain is very complex topic and requires a completely holistic approach looking at it from all angles - physical , emotional and mental. 

At Normaltonic   we specialise in treating chronic pain using the most advanced and leading novel approaches in manual therapy to get you out of pain.