Chronic pain is defined as any painful stimulus which persist for over 12 weeks which goes beyond the “normal” physiologic healing rate of our tissue.
To understand chronic pain, you must understand how pain signals are produced and transmitted in the body.

First you must have discharge of an end organ receptor which travels in the form of an electric signal from the body to the spinal cord. From the spinal cord this signal is transmitted to the brain. The brain will interpret this signal and determine if it’s necessary or beneficial for you to be experiencing said discomfort.

For chronic pain to occur at least 1 of 3 mechanisms must occur:
1. Too much discharge from end organs to the spinal cord (too much electrical input)
2. A decrease in the normal threshold for your spinal cord to elicit a response.
3. A decrease of our natural bodily opioids (enkephlins, endorphins) from the brain to the body leading to reduced pain relief signals.

There are many different techniques which allow for the proper management of chronic pain and each individual will respond differently. Call today to schedule an appointment to see how we can assist you get out of pain today!