How Does Physical Therapy Help Chronic Orthopedic Pain?

Living with chronic pain can be excruciating. Many adults have chronic pain, often stemming from an orthopedic issue or injury. Finding relief from this type of pain can be exhausting, especially if your goal is to avoid medication. One of the best ways to help deal with chronic orthopedic pain is with physical therapy. Here are some things you need to know:

What Is Chronic Orthopedic Pain?

Pain is normal to have from time to time. When you break a leg or arm, you will experience pain for a time. Eventually, that pain subsides as you heal. Chronic pain is different in that it never ceases. Chronic orthopedic pain can persist for long periods of time, even years, without gaining any relief. This type of pain can prevent you from doing your job or any activities you enjoy. Chronic orthopedic pain is commonly experienced in the back, hips, arms, legs, knees, hands, and neck.

How Can Physical Therapy Help Chronic Orthopedic Pain?

Physical therapy is an ideal way to deal with chronic orthopedic pain. The primary benefit is that physical therapy helps prevent the need for narcotics or opiates, often used to help control pain. Physical therapy helps address the root of the issue rather than simply covering it up with medication.

Chronic orthopedic pain stems from damage to muscle tissue or joints. Physical therapy helps to improve the range of motion in the affected part of the body and helps encourage the body to heal itself. The more the body moves in a healthy way, the better the body will respond. Mobility improves and ultimately the pain will decrease.

Physical therapy does this by restoring proper circulation to the tissues and joints to help promote healing. During physical therapy, you also learn how to maneuver your body in a way that neither further damages the area nor causes you pain as you move.

What Causes Chronic Orthopedic Pain?

There are several ways a person may suffer from chronic orthopedic pain. A hard fall, for example, can tear muscle tissue in an area of the body. Muscle tissue damage can result in herniated discs in the back. The pain from the disk injury can then result in immobility because it hurts when you try to move. This then can cause obesity, arthritis, and a number of other afflictions that exacerbate the initial problem. Ultimately, you can avoid these conditions if you take care of the muscle tissue damage through orthopedic physical therapy and hopefully avoid chronic pain.

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