Treating Your Chronic Pain with Physical Therapy

When you’re in pain, the mere mention of physical therapy may make you cringe because you assume it means working out. The reality is that physical therapy goes far beyond simply exercising as we turn to the latest advances in biomechanical therapies to get you back to pain-free movement.

Our team here at Commonwealth Pain and Spine includes top-notch physical therapists who excel in helping our patients overcome painful musculoskeletal problems. Whether you're rehabbing from an injury or struggling with a chronic condition like arthritis, our physical therapy programs play a critical role in helping you regain your quality of life. Here’s a look.

The role of physical therapy

In a nutshell, the role of physical therapy is to restore or maintain physical function. While that may seem simple enough, think about all of the implications. For example, if you’re hobbled by a problematic hip, the effects on your life are enormous as you struggle to move around or even get up out of a chair. Or, perhaps you have a damaged shoulder that prevents you from enjoying the full use of your entire arm.

The same can be said of most parts of your body, and it’s often not until there’s damage that you truly understand just how much you rely on everything to function optimally. Now consider that restoration and maintenance of optimal function is the goal of our physical therapy, not to mention relief from your chronic pain.

The many faces of physical therapy

As we mentioned, physical therapy goes far beyond a few exercises, but exercise is a key piece of your physical therapy puzzle. 

Our physical therapists have a unique understanding of the human body and how to best provide support for those areas that are too weak or damaged to keep up with your life. If you struggle with chronic lower back pain, for example (and millions do!), our physical therapists design a program that strengthens the healthy supporting tissues surrounding your spine to spread the workload out more evenly, taking the pressure off of your damaged tissues.

While many of our exercises are designed to strengthen, they’re also equally designed to maintain flexibility and range of motion, which is why stretching is a key component in your physical therapy.

Beyond exercise and stretching, our team of physical therapists offers a wide range of additional therapies, including:

• Manual adjustments
• Dry needling
• Biomechanical correction
• Abdominal pelvic stabilization
• Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization
• Joint mobilization
• Gait training
• Neuromuscular re-education balance and proprioceptive training

While there’s much we can do at our facilities, we also tailor at-home programs for each of your patients so you can advance your progress against chronic pain on your own time.

Ultimately, physical therapy is a complex and individualized process that’s designed to help you find long-lasting relief from your chronic pain, allowing you to get back to your normal life.

If you’d like to explore how physical therapy can help with your chronic pain, contact one of our 12 locations in St. Matthews, Elizabethtown, Lexington, Crestview Hills, Owensboro, and London, Kentucky; Evansville, Vincennes, New Albany, Carrollton, and Jasper, Indiana; and Mt. Carmel, Illinois, to set up an appointment.