How many people experience chronic pain?
Pain Australia, the national peak body working to improve the quality of life of people living with pain, states that 1 in 5 Australians—including children—lives with chronic pain, and this number increases to 1 in 3 for those over the age of 65.
According to Healthdirect, a national, government-owned not-for-profit organisation, chronic pain is pain that lasts for more than three months or, in many cases, beyond the normal healing time. It can be anything from mild to severe and is distinctly different to acute pain, which happens quickly and doesn’t last for long.
Causes of chronic pain
This kind of pain can be caused by chronic illnesses like migraine, headaches, osteoporosis or arthritis. It can also be caused by an injury, or as a consequence of surgery. Sometimes the cause remains unknown, but whatever the cause, the pain refuses to go away. Unsurprisingly therefore, this kind of pain can be associated with depression and other mood disorders.
How do you treat & manage chronic pain?
At Relinque Sports and Spinal Group, our osteopaths are skilled at managing chronic pain, as well as the stress and behaviour change that can result from it. When anyone presents with chronic pain, we’ll conduct a detailed assessment to try and establish the underlying cause. This assessment will include:
- Exploring pain history: trying to understand the circumstances in which the patient is experiencing pain and any previous tests or diagnosis they may have had
- Discussing what’s been tried before: we ask about previous treatment and approaches to learn what, if anything, has worked in the past
- Collecting information: learning about the circumstances in which pain is at its worst. This includes talking about issues that may be causing stress
- Testing pain: to try and establish whether the pain is linked to a musculoskeletal injury.
Based on the results, we will tailor a pain management plan specifically to combat the pain and meet the goals of each patient. That plan doesn’t necessarily include hands on manual therapy.
In short, there really is plenty we can do to help chronic pain. So don’t suffer in silence.
Pick up the phone and call Relinque Sports and Spinal Group on 03 9499 9644.
