Many people seek out an osteopath for help with recovery from an injury or operation, but did you know that you can choose osteopathy for chronic pain and inflammation?
Pain is described as chronic if it lasts over 3 months or beyond the usual time of healing from an acute injury. While the traditional view of pain is that it is caused by tissue damage or poor posture, the latest research shows that chronic pain is likely to be caused by changes in the nervous system.
These changes result in a ‘central sensitisation,’ a condition where pain is amplified and a state of “hyperalgesia” is created. Although your symptoms may feel like tissue damage, there may be no evidence in blood tests or scans. The goal of osteopathy is to prevent the spiral of pain and inflammation from taking hold.
Nervous system changes can arise from stress and trauma. That’s why osteopaths take time to understand your lifestyle and history, both emotional and medical. Your practitioner will make an accurate holistic diagnosis, taking care to first rule out tissue damage or pathological changes.
An osteopathic approach to chronic pain
Osteopathy for chronic conditions with persistent pain symptoms will include pain education and lifestyle adjustment advice, along with gentle hands-on techniques to support you to relax and settle your nervous system. An osteopath will teach your body how to manage and reduce pain.
Our osteopaths will follow, not force your body, in order to support it to release tension. That’s important – any use of force will trigger the sympathetic nervous system into defence against pain, undermining the goal of treatment.
The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis (HPA Axis)
The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA Axis) is the connection between the nervous, endocrine (hormonal) and immune systems forming the neuro-endocrine-immune axis. This is considered to be the core “stress axis” of the body.
When you’re managing chronic pain, it can feel stressful. It’s not surprising to feel depressed or anxious about the changes in your life caused by your symptoms.
The pain, and your emotional response to it can trigger the HPA Axis. This will give rise to heightened cortisol levels released by the adrenal glands, and in turn will cause a prolonged sympathetic nervous system response. That’s exhausting, and the resulting tension in your body can exacerbate the original pain.
The Sympathetic Nervous System
The SNS has fibres extending directly into the thymus, spleen, bone marrow and to lymph nodes. The SNS influences the immune response through its regulation of blood flow, and also of the cells involved with inflammation.
Osteopathy - a holistic approach to pain
So often, a patient goes to a medical professional for help with chronic pain, but tests are unable to confirm its source. This feels stressful for the patient and can invalidate their experience. Osteopathy for chronic conditions is a holistic practice, recognising the complex individual factors and needs of each unique patient.
The goal of osteopathic treatment is to gently work with the body’s own healing capacities, to retrain it to release tension and stress and achieve pain relief without medication or surgery.
If you’re struggling with chronic pain, why not give us a call to book an assessment?
