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Chronic pain is pain that is ongoing for 6 months or more. It is a complex and very unpleasant experience. And it's surprisingly common. About 1 in 5 Australians suffer from chronic pain.
Enduring such prolonged pain can be debilitating, impacting one's emotional well-being and the quality of life significantly. It can also have adverse effects on their family relationships.
Many factors cause persistent pain, such as;
Musculoskeletal conditions: Arthritis, back pain, and fibromyalgia.
Neuropathic pain: Resulting from nerve damage from infections like Shingles, or diseases like Diabetes
Chronic headaches: Migraines, back pain and tension-type headaches.
Other conditions: Cancer, endometriosis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Treating pain like this has so far been one of modern medicines biggest failures (just look at the opioid epidemic in the United States and the levels of addiction and death from overdoses).
I am an Osteopath, and have been treating patients in pain for over 20 years. Osteopathy presents a unique approach to difficult cases with long standing pain, and in my opinion offers chronic pain sufferers a better treatment approach, with our osteopathic emphasis on understanding the complete psychological and social interplay of stressors and how they can affect the person in pain.
Osteopaths are also excellent manual therapists, and can provide hands on treatment and pain relief in the clinic. Whilst this is critically important to the person in pain, It is also a very underappreciated aspect of treating psychological and social distress.
Ultimately treatment and management needs to look at the whole person and the therapist needs to be skilled in offering support across many disciplines.
If you know someone suffering from pain and they are stuck and looking for better solutions, get them to book an appointment with an Osteopath. We can help.
Call 02 9553 9823 for Sydney based appointments or visit www.stgeorgehealth.com.au for more information.
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