Chronic pain

Pain is the body’s normal reaction to an illness or injury. Pain is designed to let you know whenever something is wrong. Typically, when the body has healed, the pain will subside and things should return to normal. However, in some cases, the brain can continue to send out pain signals long after the illness or injury is gone. If you have pain that lasts from 3 to 6 months or more, you could be dealing with chronic pain. When a person has been hurting day after day, it is common to experience not only physical pain but emotional distress as well. Luckily, physical therapy is ideal for treating chronic pain symptoms. This safe and non-invasive pain relief method is designed to target the root cause of your pain quickly and without the use of prescription medication. Be sure to contact NJPR today to learn more about the benefits of physical therapy for chronic pain.

Research shows that nearly 80 percent of all adults will experience chronic pain at some point in their lives. In the majority of cases, chronic pain symptoms occur in the musculoskeletal system. Chronic pain can be caused by a number of different conditions and injuries including the normal aging process, workplace injuries, compression fractures and much more. Some of the most common causes of chronic pain include:

• Back Pain

Lower back pain is one of the most common reasons that patients seek medical advice each year in the United States. Many people may experience a back injury as a result of a workplace injury, sports injury or due to a degenerative disease like sciatica. Low back pain can make it difficult to complete everyday tasks and if left untreated could lead to more severe health complications.

• Headaches

Studies also suggest that more than 90 percent of American adults have reported a history of headaches. With chronic headaches, it is common to experience a headache that can last anywhere from 2 weeks and up to 3 consecutive months. Typically, tension headaches are the result of stress but other common causes for chronic headaches can include eyestrain, nervous system triggers, enlarged blood vessels and more.

• Joint Pain

One of the most common reasons that patients visit our physical therapist each day is due to chronic pain associated with joint pain. In many cases, chronic joint pain is the result of the natural aging process but it can also be caused by injury, illness or some type of infection. Some of the most common causes of joint pain include rheumatoid arthritis, tendinitis, inflammation and repetitive motion injuries.

• Nerve Pain

Nerve pain can result from a variety of different issues but typically stems from some sort of musculoskeletal condition. Anytime that the nerves in your body become damaged, strained or compressed they can cause acute or long-lasting pain symptoms. Common conditions that can result in chronic nerve pain include sciatica, diabetic neuropathy, degenerative disc disease, carpal tunnel syndrome and postherpetic neuralgia.

Our experienced physical therapists utilize a number of safe and non-invasive physical therapy techniques to help relieve chronic pain naturally and prevent future injuries. We begin by evaluating each individual patient to create a personalized treatment program that targets the root cause of your pain. From there, our physical therapist will guide you through flexibility and strengthening exercises that are designed to ease your discomfort, provide fast pain relief and increase mobility.

Manual therapy techniques make it possible for our physical therapist to use gentle hands-on manipulations that move soft tissues and joint structures to reduce and manage pain. Other treatment methods may involve the use of kinesio tape, corrective movements and posture awareness.