How PT Can Help You Alleviate Chronic Pain

Understanding the Source of Your Pain

How long you’ve been experiencing pain, where it developed, and how it manifests are significant distinctions that can help shed some light on what may be causing your condition. It is also essential to understand that the intensity of your pain is not always the more reliable characteristic for finding relief. 

Too often, people focus only on the intensity of their pain which is influenced by stress levels and societal or familial beliefs. The location and duration of pain are effective, reliable ways to manage and alleviate your pain once and for all.

When you meet with a Foundation Therapy physical therapist, you’ll have a conversation about your pain to determine how it started, when it began, where it began and how it behaves (i.e., what makes it better or worse).

There are also some things to consider before heading into physical therapy:

Try to remember or identify precisely where the pain occurs in your body. Pain that is localized can be easier to identify the possible tissue that is causing it. When pain is more diffuse, it can be trickier to figure out what is causing it. 

Consider how the pain feels. Is it a steady ache or sharp and intermittent? Is it more of a tingling or prickly feeling? Each sensation is associated with different types of problems, so describing your pain appropriately may help determine the best treatment methods for your body’s needs.

Does it get worse with activity or inactivity? For some people, there are specific movements that cause pain. For others, the issue is due to the quantity of accumulation of activity and not a specific event. One of the most common misunderstandings is that pain needs something to worsen, but in reality, many people get worse from a prolonged position or improper posture. 

No matter what, our physical therapists can help! We are experts at weeding through the possibilities and clarifying what is causing the pain. Our goal is to help you resolve it once and for all!

What is Chronic Pain?

Our bodies sustain injuries and experience pain no matter how careful we are. Too often, people wait too long to seek help, which can make the situation more complicated and lead to chronic pain. Chronic pain is pain that persists past normal healing time and lasts or recurs for more than 3 to 6 months.

Although most people think of chronic pain as a continuous problem, most of the time, it is cyclic in nature. Typically an individual will have an episode of pain that gets better only to be followed by a recurrence, followed by yet another recurrence. 

As time goes on, the frequency and duration of the pain get longer, whereas the periods where it is less problematic grow shorter. 

Seeking help from the physical therapists at Foundation Therapy can make all the difference. Identifying the underlying cause of your pain and figuring out the possible triggering events can lead to a reversal of the condition and eventual relief.

How Physical Therapy Can Help

Physical therapists are trained in identifying and treating the cause of your pain. This allows you to shift away from using pain medication and instead find relief with strategies that include manual therapy, stretching, muscle building, and cognitive behavioral therapy. 

Considering any changes in your daily habits or environmental factors can be very helpful in determining what is causing your pain. Our therapists will work with you to identify solutions that fit your lifestyle and offer lasting results. The combination of physical therapy with psychological approaches has been shown to be the most effective way to improve physical function and resolve chronic pain struggles.

Our clinic uses several manual therapy techniques that focus on the areas you’re experiencing pain or movement restrictions. When the reason for your pain is determined, we assist you through movement to regain optimal function in each joint, muscle, or other tissue causing the pain. 

Our physical therapists are as dedicated as you are and will encourage you to achieve all the goals you outlined in the beginning!

Staff Spotlight

Andrew Munoz. Physical Therapy Assistant

1. Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to pursue a career as a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)? I’m Andrew, I am a 22 year old single father to one dog. I was born in California but raised in the great state of Texas. I’m very much a family man who enjoys going out with friends and family. The reason that led me to be a physical therapist assistant actually came from my middle school counselor. She had always known that I was pursuing something in the medical field and knew that I loved and cared about helping others but I, myself could never figure it out. She led me down the right path and now I do just that.

2. What aspects of working at Foundation Therapy attracted you the most? The reason I chose Foundation Therapy was because of how tightknit the team and the community is here. I have heard nothing but good things here and they have proven that.

3. Outside of work, what are some of your hobbies or interests that you enjoy? Some hobbies and interests that I enjoy are playing recreational sports (soccer, basketball and volleyball), listening to any new music, hanging out with friends/family and exercising.

4. What is your go to snack? I usually don’t have snacks but I occasionally have an Arizona or Snapple.

5. If you could be any person (superhero counts) for a day who would it be and why? I would be Jeff Bezos, I would deposit 2 million dollars into my account and wake up a millionaire. Work smarter not harder.