Pain: What exactly is it?

Not what you think. Many people think pain is a bad sign and AVOID AT ALL COSTS. However, it is not that simple and it is actually helping us!

–What is pain?

Pain consists of both physical, psychological, and even psychosocial causes. Therefore there is not just one way to treat it. We may need to work on our physical portion or our mental portion, OR BOTH! This is where a quality Physical Therapist should be able to help.

-Activate PT’s Take

Pain is our body’s way of telling us something is wrong and will deploy all the ways to protect us. Usually, the body is very good at letting us know something is wrong and overestimates what needs to be done to protect us. Think of a back spasm: you bend over to tie your shoe, twist, and BAM your back goes out. What happened here is your body’s self-monitoring system senses you may injure or herniate a disc while bending. SO, it locks up the muscles around it and leaves you unable to move, therefore unable to injure your disc. BUT, what if you didn’t herniate a disc? The body does not recognize the intrusion is gone and keeps you locked out of an abundance of caution. Now, the mental battle. “What if I make it worse?” “Am I going to really hurt myself if I try to bend again?” “I can’t miss work!” Okay so now what?

-What to do once you’re in pain?

The earlier you get on this, the better! That is why calling right away and getting into to see a PT under Direct Access is so important. Getting to a quality Physical Therapist who recognizes the signs of what we call Yellow and Red flags is important. These are characteristics in someone’s pain that tell us it is not safe to push through and we should send them out for imaging to make sure nothing is broken or displaced (in the above example, we’d think about that disc herniation).

If none of these flags are present we can jump right into some modalities and hands-on treatments (Here are some) and guided movements (Something like these) directed to break up your spasm. We will let you know exactly what movements are safe to do and how to do them. We have prove to your body that it is no longer in danger and it is safe to move again!

If you’re having pain of any kind, don’t hesitate to call us or book online HERE. We will offer an appointment time within 24-48 hours of your call, but usually can get you in that day! (732) 908-2610