Pain management and recovery is both a psychological and physical exercise. Pain can be traumatizing and weigh on your mind, all while having very real physical symptoms – so it would make sense that your treatment plan caters to the whole enchilada. 

Assessing Your Pain

Going in for your initial assessment can feel a little bit like an interview, but thankfully your body is able to answer at least some of the questions. After they have taken your history, your physiotherapist will lead you through a physical assessment that gives them an idea of how your pain is causing dysfunction in your body; and  from there they can create your treatment/pain management plan. 

What’s the Pain Management Plan?

Depending on the kind of pain you’re having, and the severity, your day-to-day could be impacted. Your job, your hobbies and even your relationships are going to have an impact on how you go about managing your pain. In a dream world, you would go to your Physio to treat the pain, go home and never think of it again – of course that is usually not the case. The goal of your physiotherapist is to relieve the pain, but also give you the tools and understanding to manage it. 

Some methods your physio may be able to use for pain management when you visit them for your appointment are:

• Electrotherapy/ Electrical Stimulation
• Thermal Agents
• Non-Thermal Agents
• Manual Therapy, which can include:
  • Mobilization
  • Mobilization
  • Soft Tissue Massage
  • Acupuncture/Dry Needling

While the pain you are experiencing isn’t necessarily your fault, sometimes the things we do in our day-to-day work against us without our realization. Talking to your physiotherapist about the “when and where” of your pain experience will give them clues as to them helping you help yourself. 

It could be altering the way you bend down to pick up your kid’s toys; maybe there are better ways to get a leg day in without load-bearing squats; or maybe you just need a little help with your workout technique! Being educated on your body’s mechanical needs could very well give you the space to move through your day comfortably, and maybe even pain free.

Healthy Mind, Healthy Body

Pain is felt psychologically, just as it is felt physically. It can be depressing to not be able to do the things you love. Anxiety can appear when you’re afraid of re-injury. Doubt can creep up when the treatment plan seems to take longer than you initially thought. 

An extremely important prong of your pain management plan is keeping an eye on your mental health. If you have to take a break from an activity for a while, perhaps try breath work techniques or see if there is another hobby you could use to occupy your time and mind. All too often people cut corners in their management plan, because they just want things to go back to normal; and all too often it makes the pain worse. 

Talk to your physiotherapist if your activity restrictions are having an impact on experiencing joy in your adjusted routine. Maybe they will have some ideas on how to work in elements of the things you love. Maybe they will have a recommendation of someone to talk to. Whatever the case, they know just as well as you do that recovery is a whole lot easier if you are able to approach it with a positive mindset.

If you’d like to talk about a pain management plan, get in touch!