PAIN

Today’s Session

•Develop an understanding of why we feel pain•Pain physiology •Acute pain and inflammation•Chronic pain•Why does pain persist?•What can I do about my pain?

Why do we need pain?

•Extremely important in protecting our tissues•Alarms us to take action•Learn not to repeat the same activity again!!•Vital to our survival – motivates us to take action and warns against threats

Acute Injury and Inflammation

•When a tissue is injured, blood and other cells infiltrate the area

•This is what causes swelling, warmth and redness

•Inflammation promotes healing, as the correct cells are transported to the area to do their jobs

•A necessary part of inflammation is to release chemicals which sensitise nerves

Physiology

•Peripheral nerve endings - nociceptors• Detect the harmful stimulus, and transmit

this information to neurones and to the spinal cord

•2nd order nociceptors (in the Spinal cord) aka danger messenger neurones – transmit danger messages to the brain

•These signals are transmitted to the brain to be processed

Physiology

•The Brain decides whether this stimulus is harmful to us, and ultimately decides whether we are in pain

•The Brain will come compute this information, and elicit the necessary action

The wonderful brain

•The brain activates several systems that work together to get you out of danger:

Sympathetic nervous system Motor system Endocrine system Pain production system Immune system Parasympathetic nervous system

The Alarm System

•Everyone that has experienced an injury will incur changes in nerves and tissues

•The brain will also adapt and become more sensitive

•This process occurs to better equip ourselves for future injuries

• When pain has been around for a long time, the nerves, tissues, muscles, neurones and brain become highly sensitized

The danger alarm system becomes more sensitive

The danger messenger nerve becomes more excitable, and manufactures new danger messenger nerves

Response systems become more involved, and contribute to the problem

The brain gets better at remembering pain

Persistent Pain

Persistent Pain

•Pain can continue even though the tissue itself has healed

Why does pain persist in some and not others?

Some thoughts are: External factors – environment, support systems

Your views of pain

Poor medical management

Stress and anxiety

• Money issues

• Work cover issues

• Family and relationship worries

www.rah.sa.gov.au/psychology/clinpsy4.php

Stress•When the body is distressed, a hormone called adrenaline rushes through our blood vessels

•Our already sensitised nerves will react to adrenaline, and sense there is a threat

•The pain pathways become activated and heightened

Managing Pain

• Get treatment if you haven’t already done so!

Having an understanding of your injury will help in recovery and coping with your pain

Therapist may show you some useful stretches/exercises to help

Get all your questions answered Fear avoidance – therapist will teach you

movements that are OK to start doing again

• Get Active!

Many studies have shown that exercise may help with pain tolerance

Also reduces endorphins, which make you feel better

Helps to combat depression!!

Exercising 30 minutes a day is enoughIf you are unsure what you are safe to do, see a physiotherapist

Managing Pain

Managing Pain

• Consider your Mental Health

If you suffer from a mental illness, then seek treatment if you have not already done so

Relaxation techniques may help

• Avoid the ‘Boom and Bust’ Behaviour!

Pacing techniques can help to avoid flare ups

Record your current activity level, and gradually increase from there

Don’t go all out on a good day – this will sensitize the nervous system even more

Managing Pain

Living with Pain

• You may not get rid of your pain Unfortunately, many people will experience

ongoing pain If you understand pain, then it may make

living with it less scary and a little easier to cope with

Implementing the appropriate strategies when you have a “flare up”

Setting new goals

Catalyst Injury Management

•Supervised Gym programmes•Hydrotherapy•Physiotherapy treatment•Clinical Pilates

That’s all!Thank you for coming todayLook forward to seeing you next session