Pain and injury. They’re not synonymous!
Many of our patients, and even some antiquated physical therapists out there, believe that in order to have pain you first need to have an injury.
Check out the image at the beginning of the video! This x-ray was taken from a construction worker that went to his doctor because he started to have headaches. When the doctor scanned his head, they found the nail. When the patient thought back, he suspected that the injury with a nail gun may have happened four years ago! That’s crazy. This guy didn’t notice any pain initially, and didn’t even begin having headaches until years later!
The point is, pain is a brain construct. It used to be believed that we had pain receptors in our skin, joints, organs, etc. We now know that’s not true. All that occurs are potential danger messages from our tissues, muscles, joints and the brain decides what to do with that information. 40% of all people that DO NOT have low back pain will have a bulging disc on an MRI. 35-40% of the ENTIRE POPULATION have an asymptomatic rotator cuff tear. ⅔ of people over age 70 have a rotator cuff tear and they do not have pain.
Well, so what? The point is, you do not need to have an injury to have pain, and you may not experience pain even if your tissues have sustained an injury. This is important to understand, because it helps us shape what we as rehab therapists do to help you overcome your pain, particularly pain that is chronic in nature. (Anything that’s lasted more than 3-6 months).
That’s what we’re going to talk about in the upcoming videos, so stay tuned. We’re excited to bring this content to you, so that you can begin to take back your life and overcome the pain that’s prevented you from living how you want!
