Chronic Pain 2

The next thing that I want to say about chronic pain is that people that suffer with chronic pain are much more likely to suffer with depression. That may seem completely obvious. It may not even need to be said. It’s like, of course, if you’re hurting all the time, you’re going to be depressed. But it actually goes beyond the obvious reasons. So it is not just because you are depressed because you’re hurting all the time. It is not just because you are depressed because you maybe can’t accomplish the things you want to, like I talked about last time or you can’t have fun or enjoyed time with friends and family in the same ways as you want to. It’s not even because of those reasons that chronic pain sufferers also typically suffer with depression or more commonly do.

It is because of your brain and the pain centers in your brain, especially the chronic pain centers, those are related to the centers in your brain that are activated in depression. So it’s like you’re a button in your brain that’s being pushed over and over. And every time there’s pain signals being sent to your brain, it’s also activating that portion of your brain that processes depression. So this goes beyond just I’m hurting, so that depresses me.

You need to realize if you suffer with chronic pain, again, bringing from the last post that I made, give yourself some grace, but also recognize that there’s a reason why you’re feeling this way. There’s a reason that you’re struggling with depression. So, that bringing in that mental health aspect and not just chalking it up too well, I’m in pain all the time so of course, I’m depressed. Get some support in that area as well. As most of you know, I’m a huge advocate for mental health support at all times and especially if you suffer with chronic pain, there may be some deeper things there that you definitely need support for. So please take care of yourself. Get some mental health support.

Chronic Pain 1

Hey everyone. It’s Dr. Hurley at Hurley Chiropractic. We’re talking about this topic of chronic pain. And as a chiropractor, I work with those who experience chronic pain every single day. It is one of the most rewarding parts of my job to be able to help somebody who has chronic pain to get some relief or to manage their symptoms. But it’s also very bittersweet part of my job, and I’ll get to the bittersweet part here in a little bit. But I do have a message for everybody out there that experiences chronic pain. My message is give yourself some grace, please be easy on yourself. Please recognize that what you are doing every single day is harder because you have chronic pain. It’s more draining, it’s more exhausting. And it takes more effort to plan your day’s activities, to plan your fun social activities as well as your daily living activities and chores around your pain to manage it. And if you’re someone that chronically experiences pain, you may not even realize you are doing it.

So I’m going to give some examples. If you plan your social outings, maybe when you go to the movies, you choose certain seating to help minimize your discomfort while you’re watching the movie. If you plan your chores, like your grocery shopping and your cooking on separate days, because long periods of standing drains you or exacerbates your chronic pain. If you are planning your daily life around needing breaks or needing to manage your pain. That’s a lot. And so I do want to give all of you this message. If you relate to this topic of chronic pain, give yourself some grace. Take care of yourself and recognize that you are doing so much more than you think you’re doing. If you feel like you’re not getting enough done on your to-do list, or you feel frustrated or hopeless looking around thinking of all the things you’ve got to do. And you do not have the energy or the strength, or even the endurance of not wanting to exacerbate your pain to do that. Just take a minute to pat yourself on the back and take care of yourself.

Arthritis relief.

Many times patients tell us that they have had knee pain for years, and their doctors tell them that it is just arthritis and not much can be done for it!

 

At Hurley Chiropractic we can actually adjust the knees, our Massage Therapists do muscle work and structural body work, we use ultrasound therapy and cold laser, and work on physical rehab exercises with our patients that can help relieve knee pain. 

 

Adjusting the pelvis and the knees can be beneficial. If that joint is stuck or not moving correctly, it can create pain and inflammation while walking.

 

Often an imbalance in the quadricep muscles or hamstring muscles can cause stress on the knee joint. Our Massage Therapists can help release the myofascial and create balance in the knee.

 

Ultrasound and cold laser therapy are both great for healing and reducing swelling.

 

Our rehab exercises can help restore stability and encourage proper motion of the joint.

 

There is hope for managing knee pain from arthritis! Call us today!