Chronic Pain Management with Physical Therapy

Especially with aging, weakness in muscles and joints and chronic pain, which is accepted as the beginning of many spinal disorders, occur. Chronic pain can lead to difficulties in performing the body's tasks in the daily movement routine and negatively affect the quality of life. 

Although the use of painkillers, which is frequently used today, is seen as a common treatment method in the treatment of chronic pain, in fact, medical drug support creates temporary relief, but cannot manage the pain. A permanent state of well-being can be achieved with personalized physical therapy programs prepared by expert physiotherapists trained in pain and chronic pain management. 

What is Pain?

Pain is the signals our nervous system sends to the brain via neurons, and it informs us that something is wrong in our body and helps us take precautions against possible discomfort. Pain is a kind of alarm system and can be affected by emotional as well as physiological sensations.

For example; The pain threshold of a happy individual who enjoys life is higher than the pain threshold of an anxious and fearful individual. This is due to the fact that the body varies in line with psychological and sociological factors as well as physical, and for this reason, physiotherapists consider individuals holistically when pain management is performed.

What is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is a type of pain that persists for more than one month and increases or progresses to varying degrees. Chronic pain can be the cause of many spinal and joint problems. Problems such as arthritis, herniated disc, neck hernia, meniscus, non-healing sprains, or nerve damage are examples of common conditions that cause chronic pain.

Chronic pain tends to affect a specific muscle group or joint and can often be severe enough to affect a person's concentration and ability to perform certain movements, such as walking, climbing stairs, and bending over. If left untreated, chronic pain can lead to the inability of a joint or muscle to move over time. 

What are Chronic Pain Symptoms and How to Evaluate?

Chronic pain is defined differently from acute pain. People with chronic pain feel a sudden, certain pain, and this feeling gradually disappears as the problem area heals. Chronic pain has the potential to continue even when the problem area has healed, so it is recommended that the management of chronic pain be done by a specialist physiotherapist. 

The initial evaluation process is very important in chronic pain management. Your physiotherapist will tell you during the first evaluation;

• how often you feel the pain
• Is there any factor that reduces the feeling of pain?
• How pain affects your life
• He or she may ask a number of questions, including whether or not you feel anxiety and fear. 

The answers to these questions are of great importance in terms of creating a successful roadmap in pain management and evaluating all factors together. Also your physiotherapist 

• Your joint range of motion
• your muscle strength
• your stance
• It examines your balance and the positions you apply while performing certain movements, evaluates pain management holistically, and prepares an appropriate physical therapy and exercise program to be carried out for you to achieve a state of well-being.

The program that your physiotherapist will prepare includes methods that support both physiological and bio-psycho-social well-being. 

What is a Holistic Approach in Chronic Pain Management?

The clinically focused multidimensional therapy model, also known as IKOMT therapy, applies a holistic approach to pain management. According to the IKOMT therapy model, pain can occur due to physiological as well as sociological or psychological reasons. For example, a person experiencing intense work stress may unknowingly put pressure on him, causing the muscles to tense as a result of this pressure and causing chronic pain in areas such as the shoulder, back or neck. 

Therefore, stress management has an important place in the holistic approach applied in pain management. Chronic stress has many negative effects on pain, and in such cases, in addition to physical therapy, breathing exercises and training to develop regular sleep and eating habits that help calm and nourish the nervous system can be applied. 

What is Chronic Pain Management with Physical Therapy Techniques?

In order to address the causes of chronic pain and implement the right therapy program, your specialist physical therapist will try to identify why certain muscle groups and tissues are weak or stiff. After detection and evaluation, hand manipulations, known as manual therapy, directly applied to tissues and muscles, and therapy techniques that support blood circulation and strengthening are applied on the problem area. 

Healthy blood circulation not only accelerates healing, but also accelerates interaction and communication between nerves, helping tissues to be repaired in a short time. With the exercise programs prepared in addition to manual therapy applications, it is aimed to alleviate pain and increase mobility in chronic pain management. Exercise programs are designed to reduce the stress applied to these areas in order to improve your ability to perform basic movements such as sitting, standing, walking, climbing stairs, bending, which you perform in your daily routine.

What is the Importance of Exercise in Chronic Pain Management?

Exercising in chronic pain management is, in other words, like taking medication. The exercises applied in line with the exercise program determined by your physiotherapist help strengthen the muscles and joints, improve mobility, and help control the movements that cause pain in the problem area. With this aspect, exercising helps to raise awareness in chronic pain management. 

Exercise programs applied in pain management may include the following methods and objectives;

• Low-impact aerobic exercises that promote healthy blood circulation without applying additional pressure to the joints
• Strengthening exercises designed with resistance bands or your own weight
• Exercises targeting the area of ​​pain
• Stretching exercises for warming up and recovery
• Breathing exercises to reduce stress
• Yoga and pilates exercises that support healthy basic posture
• Basic balance exercises that provide body balance 

How to Ensure Continuity in Chronic Pain Management?

Continuity in the following periods is very important for people who regain their well-being after physical therapy, manual therapy and various exercise programs applied in certain sessions in chronic pain management. Chronic pain management actually deals with stress management in some way. When the negative effects of stress on chronic pain are evaluated, some changes in the quality of life after therapies may be a kind of necessity in terms of continuity. 

Positive changes that ensure continuity in chronic pain management and positively affect quality of life can be listed as follows;

• Sleep disturbance is a very common condition in pain problems, and some relaxation techniques can be taught to people to develop healthy sleep habits and may be asked to do it regularly.
• A healthy diet, as well as regular sleep, helps to reduce the factors that cause stress. People can eliminate the causes that may cause pain by making healthy changes in their daily nutrition programs.
• Adapting exercise to daily life as a lifestyle helps to motivate you positively by strengthening your muscles and joints, while protecting you from possible injuries.