As you may have already learned the hard way, chronic pain can hurt more than just your body.
Conditions that limit your movement and prevent you from participating in your favorite hobbies can make you feel helpless in your own life. The constant barrage of pain can exacerbate major mental problems including sadness and anxiety.
If you’re not living the life you want, you can change that life by changing your approach to your chronic pain problem. That’s where physical therapy can come to your rescue.
Call Delmarva Physical Therapy in Maryland today to learn more about how you can control your life once again with the help of physical therapy. You deserve to live a healthy lifestyle, free of pain!
The ugly truth behind chronic pain
Chronic pain affects more than just your physical state. It can take a toll on your mental and emotional health as well.
You see, all three of these states of being are linked to each other. Think about the last time your back hurt or you suffered an injury. Your mood probably dipped considerably, right? You didn’t feel like yourself. You might have even been angry or frustrated from being unable to accomplish certain things due to pain.
Chronic pain is a lingering source of distress by definition. Pain that goes on for months or years at a time can wreck your life, especially if you know that irreversible damage lies at the root of the pain. As a result, you may experience any or all of the following torments:
- Depression and anxiety – There is a clear, well-established link between chronic pain and equally debilitating mood disorders. One study found that 77 percent of chronic pain sufferers also suffer from depression. Major, long-term depression can have its own negative effects on your health, from sleeplessness and fatigue to difficulty concentrating. The unpredictable or frightening aspects of chronic pain, from its impact on your medical bills to concerns over a serious illness, can also cause intense anxiety or aggravate a pre-existing anxiety disorder.
- Lifestyle limitations – Your life was a lot more fun, varied, and involving before chronic pain came along. Now that you can no longer play your favorite sport, pursue a beloved hobby, play with your kids or work at your job, you feel understandably bored and frustrated.
- Learned helplessness – Chronic pain can lead to a psychological response known as learned helplessness, especially when your chosen pain-fighting techniques aren’t getting results. Eventually, you stop even trying to combat the waves of pain and the limitations that they impose on you.
Keep calm and see a physical therapist for help
Simply taking action and attempting a new weapon against your chronic pain might help you feel better by restoring your sense of control.
Once your physical therapy program begins to relieve your discomfort and restore your mobility, you’ll feel even better.
A compassionate physical therapist gives you a variety of tools, starting with a greater understanding of the causes and effects of your pain. You’ll learn how to use physical therapy for drug-free pain management for the rest of your life.
Then there’s the physical therapy itself. Strength training, flexibility exercises, massage, laser therapy, TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), dry needling, heat or ice treatments, and acupuncture can all work together to reduce your pain and inflammation.
A long-term physical therapy pain management plan can even include techniques to “rewire” your brain. We can show you how to alter your relationship with your pain, enabling you to pursue your exercises and other treatments with more energy and enthusiasm. As your pain recedes, your mood stabilizes and your sleep quality improves. Best of all, you will feel like you’re calling the shots for your life once again.
Get back in the driver’s seat with physical therapy
You’re the one who should have ultimate control over your life, NOT chronic pain!
Don’t let chronic pain tell you what to do or how to feel. Reclaim command over your life, starting today. Contact our physical therapist to learn more about our pain-busting methods. You’ll be taking the first step toward a happier existence!
Sources:
- https://www.floridamedicalclinic.com/blog/psychological-impact-chronic-pain/
- https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/psychology-living-chronic-pain/
- https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-illnesses/other-related-conditions/chronic-pain
- https://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/2019/5/Feature/ChronicPain/
- http://www.rehabpub.com/2018/02/physical-therapy-can-treat-chronic-pain/
- https://www.verywellhealth.com/pt-for-chronic-pain-4179087
