What does your practitioner say about you?
The Power of Words
You will never run again. You will never climb again. It’s bone one bone. You will have this pain for the rest of your life.
Patients come to Rock Therapy on a weekly basis saying that these words have been said to them by their doctors, other allied health practitioners or friends and family. The problem with these statements, asides from often being untrue, is that they can actually cause your pain to linger for longer than potentially necessary. Obviously, some severe conditions require avoidance of certain activities, but for most injuries, there is always an option for treatment, resolution and improvement.
Pain starts and stops with the brain. So, during the healing process, you and your practitioner should be doing everything you can (on top of treatment, exercise and health living) to try and take control of your recovery.
The Science
As research into musculoskeletal pain develops, the link between improved pain and communication becomes stronger and stronger. The use of expressions such as ‘bone on bone’, ‘degeneration’ and cartilage being ‘worn out’ has been shown to lead to unnecessarily worsened outcomes. The main reason for this is that ‘damage’ as perceived on an MRI or X-ray doesn’t necessarily equal pain. Meaning, two people with nearly identical levels of knee osteoarthritis can be experiencing completely different levels of pain (sometimes none!).
Going Deeper
The key to all this is the way the brain processes pain, especially pain you have had for a long time. Above all else, the body and brain want to be efficient. What this means for pain, is that the longer you have it, the more likely you are to feel it, as the brain streamlines the process of pain reception through something called ‘sensitisation‘. Since the brain has to do lots of important things such as, keeping your heart beating and breathing etc. (pretty important stuff) it tends to put chronic pain onto auto-pilot. This effect is compounded by negative communication techniques such as “you will never” and “bone and bone” and “that is just how it is”.
Obviously, you can’t just think your way out of a lot of painful conditions, so this needs to be paired with an appropriate rehab and treatment program.
What Does This Mean For You?
The key is to ask questions of your health care practitioners and always work towards developing a plan. A good practitioner will try new things in the face of stubborn pain, be it hands-on techniques such as needling or massage, or a specific rehab exercise program for your condition. Here at Rock Therapy, our rehab programs will progress constantly, as your body adapts to new exercise pretty quickly, so things need to be changed up pretty regularly (also, the same exercise day in day out can be pretty boring). Even in the event of your condition not being suited to our scope of practice, we will help you reach out to those who will be better suited to managing your pain. As hard as it is, trying not to become disheartened in the face of long-term pain is important, so make sure that whatever your treatment your receiving is being delivered by a health practitioner who cares, and truly wants to work with you through what can often be quite a long journey to feeling better 🙂
How Rock Therapy Can Help!
All of our therapists have had our own slew of injuries over the years, so it’s easy for all of us to relate to the journey you may be going through. Myotherapy can help with almost any acute or long-standing injury, be it from sport, home or work, and Bo our amazing massage therapist will assist in making sure everything is relaxed and pain free as possible.
Still Not Sure?
That’s ok. Picking a remedial massage therapist that suits you is important. So, if you want to ask us any questions, feel free to contact us here. Hopefully we’ll see you soon!
