Chronic pain

What is the condition?

Chronic pain is pain that has persisted for more than three months. It can be anywhere in the body and can start from a serious injury or something quite insignificant. There does not need to be any evidence to prove it exists. It won’t necessarily show up on any imaging or blood tests. It is a real condition but more often than not is successfully treated by a multi-disciplinary or holistic approach. There are some common conditions such as Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Chronic Lower Back Pain amongst many others.

How do we treat chronic pain?

Assessment:    

Your Physio will have a chat with you about your condition.  They will take a medical history, review your symptoms and may do various tests and measures to ensure they have a good understanding of your issue.    They will then formulate a plan to best treat you. 

Treatment of symptoms:

Your Physio will assist you with coping strategies, both physical and psychological. Your treatment will consist of education and understanding partnered with exercises for strength, range, coordination and balance. Your Physio may liaise with your ‘team’ and direct you to other health practitioners who can help you better understand your condition and improve your everyday activities.
Your treatment may involve a multi-disciplinary team which may include your local GP, a pain specialist, physiotherapist, psychologist and an exercise physiologist. This list is a sample and many other health practitioners may be involved.

Resources

• Websites:
  • Chronic Pain Australia
  • Pain Australia
  • Health Direct
    
• Videos and Articles
  • Understanding Pain in less than 5 minutes– a simple video that helps you understand what current research says about chronic pain – that its not a joint or muscle problem, rather a ‘re-wiring’ of the brain perception of itself.
  • Rethinking persistent pain – Professor Lorimer Moseley explains how pain works and explains new approaches to reduce your pain.
  • Book: Why does it still hurt? – Science journalist Paul Biegler discusses how the power of knowledge can overcome chronic pain.
  • The following article and podcast will give you a taste of his book where Biegler talks about his own chronic pain journey and very clearly explains the concept of central sensitisation, where the body creates its own understanding of what is painful.
    

Treatments Available:

Here is some additional information about conditions we treat.