Chronic pain impacts everything from your relationships to your ability to perform at work. It feels like a vicious cycle because it prevents you from sleeping and exercising as much as you'd like which, in turn, makes you feel unwell. The causes of chronic pain are numerous and complex, but in many cases, physiotherapy can help alleviate the symptoms and provide you with some level of relief. It’s estimated that one in six New Zealanders suffers from chronic pain, so if you’re part of this group, here’s why booking an appointment at your Auckland physiotherapist could help.
WHY PHYSIO?
An unfortunate fact about painkillers is that the ones strong enough to handle moderate to severe pain are often addictive, expensive and have unpleasant side effects. This makes it impractical for those who can’t or would prefer not to rely heavily on medication. For this reason, it’s recommended that people seek as many avenues as possible to find relief so that they can develop a pain management protocol that suits their individual needs. Whiles standard forms of movement and exercise might exacerbate pain in sufferers; physiotherapy won’t.
WON’T IT MAKE MY PAIN WORSE?
In many cases, non-inflammatory chronic pain is best described as an alarm that's still going off long after the fire has been extinguished. For sufferers of chronic pain, the pain signals are transmitted to the brain or no reason. To break the debilitating pain cycle, a qualified physiotherapist will create a unique exercise and treatment plan to treat the pain and get you moving again. Avoiding movement and remaining sedentary will do more harm than good and, provided your primary care doctor has signed off on you starting rehab, you have a low risk of getting injured.
According to a study that appeared in Health Services Research, using physical therapy as a primary pain management strategy can reduce treatment costs, lower your chances of needing further surgical interventions, and reduce the need for specialist and emergency department visits.
If you’ve never explored what physiotherapy can offer you, there’s never been a better time to start. If you’re looking for an excellent Auckland physiotherapist, you can find one at your nearest Physio Connect. And with branches in Albany, Birkenhead, Browns Bay, Milford, Northcote, Rosedale and Whangaparaoa, you’re bound to find one near you.
