Understanding Pain Behaviour
Our physiotherapists take the time to understand your pain. The type, location and behaviour of your pain helps us identify the tissues that are injured and provide appropriate treatment.
There are 2 types of pain:
- Somatic pain
- Neuropathic pain
Somatic pain arises from all tissues (except nerves) and in its most simple form the pain is located over the injured tissue – like a sprained ankle. Somatic pain can also be referred to other areas. Referred pain is when you have an injury in one area of your body but feel pain somewhere else. This happens because all the nerves in your body are part of a huge, connected network. For instance neck joint pain often includes referred pain to the shoulder blade region and hip pain will include groin and buttock pain and more severe pain extending to the front of the thigh and knee.
Neuropathic pain is generated by injury to the central or peripheral nervous system and is felt in the areas that those nerves supply. Physiotherapists understand the anatomy of the nervous system and the ‘dermatomes’ or maps that detail the distribution of pain from specific spinal nerves.
The classic example is ‘sciatica’ where a lower back disc or joint injury is causing pressure on the nerves that leave the spinal cord and travel to the leg to supply sensation, power and reflex. By understanding the area of your leg pain and linking the behaviour of that pain to movements that can aggravate the lower back joints and discs we can determine the type of injury in your back.
Pain behaviour is complex and I often have patients telling me they have been rubbing cream on their aching calf or getting massage on their leg – when they infact have a lower back disc injury.
Physiotherapists have extensive training in anatomy and biomechanics. We understand the forces that can injure tissues and the pain behaviour that results.
At Physioplus our expertise and experience will help you get the right treatment to help you move well and stay well.