I hope you are all enjoying the summer so far! Despite the heat and humidity it has been pretty nice getting to enjoy the sun!
Pain is like an umbrella term. It can be used to describe a lot of various sources. As part of your treatment plan, I ask questions and do some assessing to determine what could be the cause of your discomfort. A lot of them revolve around questions like "how did it happen?" or "when did you notice this?". These questions will give me some intel as to what could be going on. I usually follow up with a question that is something similar to "How would you describe the pain?" or "what does it feel like?". A majority of clients have to think about it before they give an answer, sometimes mimicking the movement or position that triggered the discomfort. But a good portion of the times the answer is "Ugh......it hurts?!".
It's okay if you don't exactly know how to describe the pain, it is just a good resource to have when trying to figure out what is going on so we can best treat you symptoms. The idea to write this post came to me not long ago, and I couldn't figure out why it never came to be before. Here are a few examples of the sensations you may feel when you come in to see me:
"Brusy": If the pressure feels like I am massaging a bruise, chances are that something is inflamed. I usually ask this questions first because if there is excess fluid present, it is best to treat that first before exploring deeper, as that will aggravate the tissues more (and will be counter productive to the treatment). This could be soft tissue (muscle, tendon or ligament), or it could be deeper depending on the mechanism of injury.
"Achy/Throbby": This type of discomfort is usually caused by muscle. The tissue could be tense, irritated or weak. After considering the mechanism of injury and the results of your assessment, we can determine what would be the best course of treatment. It could be muscle spasms, trigger points, or irritation to name a few.
"Sharp/Stabby": This is usually one of two things. It could either be joint, in which the joint space is subluxed/out of place which can cause a sharp sensation. It could also be indicative of a nerve being pinched.
"Tingling/Numbing": If part of your body goes numb, there might be something cutting off the blood supply to the area. Looking for where it could be coming from, treating the area and/or repositioning your body should help alleviate this type of sensation.
"Sharp/Shooting": Usually this is sudden, especially with certain movements and is usually related to a nerve being irritated. It may give the sensation like a bolt of lightning is travelling through certain areas of your body.
"Jam/Pinch/Block": If it feels like you can move further, but something is preventing the movement (like a road block), there may be something off with the joint. It might be subluxed and preventing the joint from moving further. This type of sensation could also be caused by a chronic shortening of the soft tissue (contracture) or a scar tissue. Both of which would prevent the joint from moving past a certain degree.
Another thing to consider is the location. If the sensation is local or travels to another area can also give your therapist some information as to what is going on. If it travels, we can help determine why. A majority of the time these sensations are felt on the superficial layers of the body. But I have seen a few clients where the sensation is coming from something deeper. Depending on the location, I may recommend getting check with a doctor to rule out any sort of organ pain/dysfunction. It could be caused by soft tissue as well, but I do not have the knowledge and training to provide accurate information on those matters, so I would refer you to someone who does. That way we can get a better understanding of what is going on, and overall providing the best care for you.
I hope this article helps you to understand why I ask you about your pain, and maybe give you some details about what type of discomfort you're experiencing when you come to see me.
As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by today and I hope you have a wonderful day!
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