Chronic Pain and Central Sensitisation
Chronic pain can occur anywhere in the body, it can be consistent or inconsistent that lasts for over three months. Chronic pain can arise from autoimmune conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis or Fibromyalgia. Or can be caused by more biomechanical conditions such as chronic low back, neck, hip, shoulder pain etc.
People that suffer from chronic pain have been experiencing it for a long time, leading to a phenomenon called central sensitisation. Central sensitisation is a condition developed by your central nervous system (CNS) to deal with chronic pain. When it occurs the nervous system goes through a process called wind up. Wind up is when the CNS is in a constant state of high reactivity. A highly reactive CNS lowers your pain threshold and increases sensitivity. You may experience pain that normally wouldn’t be painful (allodynia). For example you feel pain during a light massage or bending over may cause a sharp pain throughout your body which normally wouldn’t affect you.
“A chronic pain brain is electrically unstable and sensitive.” – Richard Harris (Ph.D) – Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Centre. Researchers believe a reaction occurs in the brain called explosive synchronisation, it is when a small stimulus leads to a dramatic synchronised reaction. Rather than a slow cascade of reactions linking different centres of the brain, explosive synchronisation occurs in an abrupt, explosive manner.
Myotherapy Method to Chronic Pain
For chronic pain patients the ‘top down approach’ is used to wind down the nervous system. Education and reassurance is the best form of treatment for chronic pain. Knowing you are not broken and are supported along your journey is the key to getting better.
A Myotherapist will listen to your story and focus on finding what will be triggering the pain, these triggers can include stress, diet, sleep, hormonal or biomechanical imbalances. We will then refer you off to another practitioner if we feel you will benefit from their practices.
In a treatment we will use techniques that focus on relaxing the nervous system, techniques such as massage, dry needling, cupping and stretching. Education on breathing techniques also has great benefits as it allows you to relax in the parasympathetic nervous system.
If you or someone you know are suffering from chronic pain, please book in for a Myotherapy appointment so we can help on your journey to pain free life.
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References
https://neurosciencenews.com/chronic-pain-exploding-brain-8304/