Escape the Chronic Pain Cycle

What is Chronic Pain? 

Chronic pain is pain that lasts weeks, months, or even several years and can happen in any part of the body. This type of pain can also be debilitating and a fierce cycle. Lack of sleep, stress, reduced mobility, restricted daily activities, and reduced quality of life are just a few of the ways chronic pain can interrupt your life.

 

What is the Chronic Pain Cycle?

Pain is your introduction to the chronic pain cycle as it is the body’s first alarm. Then the nerves that signal your pain also indicate an injury has happened which causes your muscles to tighten up and create a protective response called “muscle guarding.” The longer you are injured and your muscles are guarded, you continue to lose range-of-motion and your body does not use your joints and muscles as they are designed to function. This is where the saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it” comes into play – muscle guarding and restricted mobility has lasted too long and muscles become weak and shrink. Decreased function means you begin to limit your day-to-day activities. Because the injured area is stiff and sore, you begin to not use it like you should, causing you to be less active and have less energy. Due to the continued pain and restricted mobility, emotional stresses can then develop — stress, frustration, and depression. The sad reality is that these increased mental stresses and tensions then lower your motivation. This leads to continued pain, increase in muscle guarding, and continues the pain cycle. When left untreated, this becomes a continual downward spiral.

 

 

How to Escape the Chronic Pain Cycle

The chronic pain cycle needs to be stopped at the source! This means to minimize and reduce the pain where it first occurred — the injury. While doing this we need to reintroduce and restore proper motion. After these steps are accomplished muscle strength, energy levels, and activity will increase!

Start to break the chronic pain cycle with therapies offered at Midwest Pain Solutions. Chiropractic manipulation, high-intensity laser therapy, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, and joint decompression help to reduce pain and promote healing within the body. Call 920-569-2350 to schedule a no-cost consultation and learn how to escape the chronic pain cycle you are in.