6 ways to address Chronic Pain that does not include exercise.
As a Doctor of Physical Therapy specializing in spine and hip pain - I have a learned a lot about chronic pain. And I am here to share with you what I have experienced.
A common question I get is "If my xyz has healed, why does it still hurt?"
Think about it- Why is it some people can have an episode of pain/injury and bounce back, while others can have lingering and cycling pain for years!!
That's because it is so much deeper than the physical healing of single structure!
I have patients that's had herniated discs, muscle strains, ligament sprains etc, that has shown in the imaging to be healed. But the patient is still in pain. At this point since there is nothing to 'fix' from the Doctor, they get sent to pain management and/or to Physical Therapy.
Chronic pain is much more challenging to alleviate because now you have to address the non-specific chronic pain.
Factors that feed chronic pain:
Lack of oxygen and blood flow to the muscles, nerves, and surrounding soft tissues. This can be from scar tissue, lack of movement/mobility, and fascia restrictions. So I mean it when I say - Movement is medicine. Blood will not flow well in areas that do no move well. Period. And with chronic pain, it is common to avoid movement because of the pain. But let's flip the script! Pain is the body asking for more blood flow, more oxygen.
Lack of sleep, legit you can't heal if you are not sleeping well. Studies say 6-8 hours at least. I need at least 7 hours or my brain and neck hurts.
Lack of natural foods and nutrition to fuel the healing process. The #1 job of our body is to heal. Everyday all day, it is breaking down tissue and building tissue. But what we do, and how we eat will decide if the scale is tipped in our favor. If the body is already in a state of inflammation, adding processed drinks and foods to it will only keep the inflammation. And the body has to work harder for the inflammation and less on the healing.
Trauma! Emotional ties to previous injuries. This is huge. The nervous system has it's own memory of protecting you! So our most vulnerable parts of our body will be FIRST to flare up with stress. For ME- its my neck. If I am going through a very stressful time, lost a loved one, had pivotal life moments, or haven't slept enough- my neck will ache like no other. I had a cycling accident when I was a kid- i flipped over the front of my bike and the bike went up and landed on the back of my head. I had a mild concussion that day, and my brain has taken years to overcome it. I have spent years of strengthening my neck. Unlearning my stress based behaviors (like clenching my jaw) and learning how to breathe during challenging times. My most successful patients with chronic pain, were referred to me from their Psychiatrist. These people had to overcome their mental barriers before overcoming their physical barriers. State of mind is everything. And only in the past couple years, working with these patients, I firmly know that mind set in recovery determines the recovery.
Breathing. Associated with the Fight or flight response. Holding our breathe is a state of avoidance, and fear in the body of something that is hard. Ever find yourself not breathing while something is uncomfortable, working out or just because?? There are many reasons why our nervous system has learned to shallow breathe and hold our breathe. But I have seen in myself and all of my patients, that retraining breathing unlocks the barrier to evolving, improving, and leveling up to the higher state of our bodies. When we can learn to control our breath, we can control our responses to stress. We can feed the body what it ultimately wants- more oxygen in order to battle the hard stuff. This all ties back into trauma and past experiences and stress management that has led us to how we breathe. It's a full cycle!
Instability. Joints in the body want to feel stable and secure. So when we move close to the range we can't control- our body can go into a spasm, or a catch like pain. This is a protective response. Spasms and sharp pains aren't always a sign of injury, but an instability. For example, bending over and our back 'tweaks' in pain. This is less likely an injured disc or nerve, but commonly our spine moving beyond a zone of control. While avoiding bending over means avoiding pain, it doesn't set you for success in the future. I have learned retraining bending over so the body can CONTROL bending over is best. You might not be able to do something YET, but can definitely train the body to be able to do it in the future. Mindset.
So where to start with this info??
Breathing. Deep, full breathing. Breathing into the rib cage to expand out to the sides, and reduce belly breathing or neck breathing. Calming the nervous system and down regulate the state of fight or flight. Sleeping. Reduce processed foods and drinks. And talk to someone about your pain. It's a team effort and can not be done alone.
I am here for you all! I hope this was insightful for you, your family or friends in understanding chronic pain management. It is much more than 'in the head'. Pain signaling can be deeply rooted into the nervous system, and has to be released.
If want more info on proper breathing- check out my blog and free video in this previous post.
That's all for now! Until next time my friends!
XX- Christa Ordonez, your PT and Pilates Bestie