In partnership with Angel Yard Osteopaths
I often see patients with longterm, painful musculoskeletal conditions.
To manage increasing numbers who are experiencing pain lasting 12 weeks or more, the NHS have ‘Pain Clinics’ to help where conventional methods such as medication and ‘the passage of time’ have failed. These clinics look at psychotherapy, exercise, manual therapy and pain-relief injections. Chronic pain is debilitating, affecting not only a person’s mobility and function but also impacting on their personal life. Evidence shows that chronic pain and chronic stress release the same chemicals, resulting in harmful changes in physiology (the body) and behaviour. Part of a musculoskeletal assessment is to determine what external issues may be contributing towards stress levels and ways to explore managing that, as well as providing manual therapy to address ‘the bit that hurts’. Simple changes such as walking, seeing friends, better sleep routines and activities we enjoy can alter the ways in which the brain interprets pain. Distracting the brain from focussing on ‘pain’ can help us feel better.
