Pain and limited movement
Pain was described in 1968 by Margo McCaffery, a specialist pain nurse, as “whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever s/he says it does”. This was qualified further in 1979 by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage”.
Pain can be caused by injury to our skin, muscles, bones, teeth, blood vessels and joints (referred to as nociceptive or somatic pain). It can also occur with damage to the neural pathways themselves (referred to as neuropathic pain). Finally, there can be pain that arises from damage to the internal organs in our abdomen and chest (visceral pain). Wherever it arises from, pain is a warning that something is not right.
Pain can cause us to move quickly to prevent damage, or further damage – for example picking up a hot plate. This type of pain is the initial reaction to remove us from the damaging external factor. Pain also includes the times when our bodies discourage us from moving and instead encourage us to rest to allow healing to take place, for example when you have broken a bone. The healing process can take up to 3 months, if it continues beyond that time it is described as Chronic Pain.
Pain is a complex experience with 3 basic components:
- Localisation of the site of the injury (more difficult when it is internal).
- The emotional aspect of how unpleasant the experience is – research shows that pain overlaps with areas of our brains that are responsible for anxiety, fear, and anger.
- A plan of how to get away from the pain.
It is also linked to our immune systems ( a certain group of proteins called cytokines that not only fight disease but also respond to tissue damage), which means the inflammation process, that normally signals damage and starts the healing response, can occur even when there is no damage or injury.
Pain has its own expression, duration and distribution depending where it comes from. Whatever a person’s pain, it can rob the sufferer of well-being, being able to work or study and affect their quality of life.
Within Physiotherapy, there are many techniques that therapists can use to address pain including that of myofascial release (e.g. Structural bodywork), scar work, graded exercise programs and working together with your General Practitioner and Pain clinics to reduce reliance on medication as much as possible.
Benefits of physiotherapy are: