Chronic Pain

The brutal nature of a car accident can leave people with various injuries that require treatment. Whiplash is one of the most common multifactorial injuries sustained in a car accident.

When your head and neck are forcefully jerked forward and back (or side to side) from the sudden impact of a car accident, the soft tissue of the neck joints can be traumatized. These injuries can involve muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and disc tissue between multiple locations in the spine. In addition, research has shown the high prevalence of sustaining a concussion with any whiplash injury.

In the weeks following a car accident, victims may experience widespread chronic pain. Piecing together all the potential injuries can be tricky, and it is often necessary to get the help of a physical therapist to avoid and/or resolve all the injuries you sustained from a single event.

Chronic pain can result from any workplace accident or injury. Research has shown that the longer a worker is out of work the less likely they will ever return. The mental toll of dealing with the injury, the impact on your financial well-being, the expectations from the employer, and dealing with the insurance companies can make things feel overwhelming.

At TheraSport Physical Therapy our physical therapist takes a whole-person approach to your care. We understand the stress you are going through and how important restoring your physical function is for your health and well-being.

Improper nutrition, mainly processed foods and foods with high sugar content, increase the likelihood of systemic inflammation and have been linked to increased pain levels and more prolonged lasting pain.

A sedentary lifestyle leads to restrictions and medical conditions associated with chronic pain conditions. Combined with smoking and alcohol consumption, you are at a greater risk of persistent pain.

It is also possible for prolonged postures and repetitive activities with improper body mechanics to develop chronic inflammation and pain as you are more likely to injure your joints and muscles.

When one part of your body is injured or painful, your body will naturally use muscles and joints around the injury site to support and take over responsibility for a particular activity. These compensatory patterns can strain other parts of the body because your muscles or joints are not functioning correctly.

In the short term, these compensations are valuable for staying active. When they continue for extended periods, you are more likely to develop painful patterns that can become chronically painful.

Diseases such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, shingles, and diabetic neuropathy can all cause chronic pain. The exact mechanisms are not easy to understand or identify but likely involve neurological dysfunction.