Don’t be a hero!
I see so many people in my clinic who have been suffering with pain for weeks, months, and even years before they get help. This is very resilient of you but it’s not helpful for so many reasons. I would like to share why that is.
Firstly, pain that has been going on for longer than 3 months is known as chronic pain. The term ‘chronic’ is sometimes confused and thought to be describing the severity of pain but it is actually the length of time you have been experiencing it. The reason why an acute or new onset of pain that becomes chronic causes complications to your recovery is because the drivers of the pain become ‘centralised’. What’s that? Centralised means that the neural pathways in the brain and nervous system start to drive pain to the area of the body that is affected, rather than pain being driven by damage and overload of tissues. This means pain is no longer driven by what you do and how you load the affected area but by the hypersensitivity of the nervous system.
Not only does the nervous system adapt to longstanding pain but so do you. You are likely to change your behaviours to accommodate your pain, this could be avoiding the use of your arm or leg, changing the way you move, avoidance of activities, and changes in lifestyle. All of these will lead to you not being able to live your normal life, enjoy your hobbies and carry out all the day to day tasks you need without pain and distress.
Now, I know if I wasn’t able to do all the things I love doing like playing football, spending time with my nephew, working out, walking the dog and being able to work my mood and well being would be dramatically affected. So not only are your symptoms being heightened by your nervous system as well as not being to get involved with all the things you love, now your mental health is taking a battering. This cocktail of factors is not good for anyone.
The great thing is the sooner you deal with the injury and pain the easier it is to manage and the less it is going to impact you overall. A course of Physiotherapy early in your recovery will give you the best chance of returning to normal, without pain getting in your way.
Don’t be a hero, we are here to help you.
Thank you for reading
Dave Adkins
Chartered Physiotherapist
