Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is an ongoing pain that extends beyond the expected period of healing. This is typically after 3 to 6 months from the onset of the injured tissue in the body that did not heal correctly.
As muscles near the injury tighten up to protect the area, they can also fire up trigger points that can refer the pain to other areas. Because the perception of pain occurs in the brain, chronic pain can also come from areas of the nervous system such as the spinal cord, brainstem, limbic system and brain.
About the Condition
Causes of Chronic Pain
Chronic pain can also be caused by decreased range of motion in a joint or body region that occurs for an extended period of time. Each degree of motion activates a different group of nerve cells to tell the brain exactly where and how that body part is moving. If you lose range of motion, there are multiple groups of nerve cells that do not get activated. When this happens, it is very common for the brain to interpret this lack of motion as pain. Chronic pain should not be ignored.
Neurological Symptoms
As the pain pathways are activated in the brain, they have collateral branches that can affect the function of multiple areas of the brain. Patients suffering from chronic pain are susceptible to early brain degeneration. They will often have difficulty with cognitive tasks, memory, mood, behavior, focus and concentration. To further compound the problem, patients will avoid physical activity due to fear of causing more pain. In addition to not activating the nervous system appropriately through physical activity, many will start to gain weight.
What Can CIN do to Help with your Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is the result of both structural and neurological problems. A chiropractic neurologist is the perfect non-invasive and drug free solution to help you resolve your pain. At Colorado Integrative Neurology, we will do a complete evaluation to determine the source of your pain. From there we will develop a customized chronic pain treatment and rehabilitation care plan to help resolve the problem. Your care plan may include interventions such as spinal manipulation, myofascial release, electrical stimulation and specific brain based therapies. Once your pain is fully addressed, you should be able to gradually increase your daily activities.
Meet Our Staff
Colorado Integrative Neurology specializes in holistic therapies for a variety of neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. This includes patients who suffer from concussions, vertigo, chronic pain, headaches and more. Meet our team and request an appointment with CIN today.