Pain originally meant revenge, penalty or punishment. You feel pain in many ways. It is a part of your life. And while it may not be pleasant and is something to be avoided, how you respond to pain often determines how you feel later on.

What is Pain?

As a physical therapist, I am an expert in helping people handle pain. When someone comes in suffering from pain one of the first questions I ask is: “Is pain good or bad?” Most people answer “Bad”. A small percentage will say pain is a good thing. They say, “It is a sign, an indicator.”

Take a look at this … Your body has five senses:

1. Sight

2. Sound

3. Taste

4. Smell

5. Touch

You see with our eyes. You can see things which are bad and affect you in negative ways. You can receive pleasant sights such as seeing a loved one or a picture of a past family vacation which brings back fond memories.

You hear with your ears. You can hear bad things which disturb you emotionally. You can hear soothing sounds which relax you such as your favorite music. You taste with the taste buds on your tongue.

You can taste things which are bitter such as a lemon. You can taste things which are sweet such as a piece of chocolate.

You smell with your nose. You can smell a bad odor such as a skunk. You can smell something pleasant such as flowers.

What is Pain?

You touch with your skin. You can sense heat, cold, pressure, and pain with your skin. Some touch is pleasant such as a massage or a pat on the back. Some sensations are not pleasant such as lower back pain.

 So with each sense, there is information being sent to your brain. It may be good or bad or somewhere in between. The information helps you respond and take appropriate action.

What happens when you lose a sense? Loss of the ability to see is blindness. Loss of the ability to hear is deafness.

There is a name for a condition in which a person loses their sense of touch.

Do you know what it is? Leprosy. A person with leprosy, or leper, suffers nerve damage. This nerve damage prevents them from feeling pain and damage to the body.

A healthy person steps on a nail, feels terrible and gets the nail out of their foot. They receive the signal of pain and can take the right action. A person with leprosy, steps on a nail and does not feel pain. They may continue to walk and cause more damage. They do not feel pain and do not take the right action.

So be thankful you can feel pain!

Let’s dissect some of the most common spine pain myths:

• If you rest, the pain will dissipate – To a certain extent it is true, but if you rest continuously, it will have a reverse effect.  Constant inactivity increases the pain tremendously.
• The spine is injured easily due to sensitive nerves – Barring certain cases, you have to indulge in exercising and aerobics to keep the muscles of the back active and functioning properly.
• The pain is agonizing, therefore it must be ongoing spine damage – The intensity of the pain is not necessarily directly related to the extent of  the injury.  Severe cases of slipped discs may not produce any pain initially, but a slight degeneration can cause a lot of pain.

To get more info about different types of pains and aches, and how you can make them go away, visit the Madden Physical Therapy Clinic. Make sure to view some of our videos of before and after patients at www.youtube.com/maddenptofficial.

1. Pay attention to your posture.
Maintaining good posture when you’re both standing and sitting can be essential to preventing back pain. When you have good posture, the spine is in proper alignment, relaxing the muscles and making it easier to balance your body.

2. Remember to stretch.
Regular stretching exercises help to keep the muscles and ligaments in your back flexible. Overall, stretching prevents muscle strain and soreness, and helps to prevent further injuries.

3. Sleep smart.
Sleeping on your back may be the best way to sleep to prevent back pain. If you sleep on your side, place a pillow between your legs, and if you sleep on your stomach, place a pillow underneath your stomach to add support.

4. Keep moving.
Avoid standing or sitting in the same position for long periods of time, which puts stress on your back. Moving, in contrast, keeps the back muscles and joints loose.

5. Be smart.
Remember, an injury to the back can be costly and extremely painful. So seek out activities that will help you maintain a healthy and strong back, and avoid ones that could cause strain or stress.

For more ideas and the full article Click Here.

Classical Physical Therapy – Classic physical therapy uses a combination of adjustments, massage, movement work and posture correction to restore the proper function to your muscles and joints.

Acupuncture – Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese therapy that shows promising results in the treatment of migraine pain.  Several researches have proved that acupuncture works slightly better compared to prescription medicines for improving migraine symptoms.

Massage – Physical therapy massages emphasizes muscle work, and helps to relieve jaw tension and neck tension that can lead to migraines.

Chiropractic Care – Misaligned bones can put pressure on nerves, which can further trigger migraine episodes.  A chiropractor helps to adjust your joints in order to restore proper alignment.

If you are suffering from migraines, visit www.maddenpt.com.  The skilled therapists at Madden Physical Therapy treat the cause of your problem, and helps to improve your pain immediately.

Find us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MaddenPT.

Symptoms include neck, shoulder, and arm pain, numbness, or impaired circulation to the extremities.

Watch this video of Chad Madden, owner of Madden Physical Therapy, relieving his patient Nick’s pain in just one visit:

If you are suffering from neck, back, joint, or any kind of pain at all, we can help.  Just read some of the success stories from my patients, or watch these videos of how Madden PT has helped people live pain free.

Why Blogging?

Writing a blog post is one of the best ways to communicate with people around the world, especially with those who are in the same professional sphere and share the same interests as you.  Getting your message across to them as well as getting to hear their message is the essence of networking today.

How to Begin?

Start your blog today by joining Davis PT Network, the worldwide hub for physical therapy professionals.  Davis PT Network provides education and career resources and social networking facilities to PT professionals. It also offers members the unique opportunity to interact with leading authors and researchers in the field of physical therapy.

Ok, I’m In, So What Next?

Simply follow these steps:

First, log in to your account and choose “Manage Blog Posts” under “Your Dashboard” on the Network page. Then select “Create New Blog Post.”

1. Once you are done with the posting you have the option to edit it or even unpublish it at any time using the “Manage Blog Posts” link provided in Your Dashboard.

What Should my Blog be About?

Well, it can be about anything that interests you and your PT profession.  You can start asking questions about a difficult case, or share your experience on how tough it is to deal with difficult patients, or discuss something worthy of sharing or simply comment on what fellow PTs are talking about.  There are a ton of options for you to choose from.

Communication is the buzzword for today’s cyber-friendly generation.  If you want to strike the right chord and reach out to your target audience, it’s time you to started blogging.  Join Davis PT Network, the personal hub for all PT professionals. In doing so you can get in touch with leading PT centers like Madden Physical Therapy, Harrisburg’s premier rehabilitation center.

Join the revolution, discover change!

Here are the next three videos in this series.  We hope that you find these videos valuable, fun, and interesting.  If you have any questions you can always ask us on our Facebook, Twitter, or you can check out the Madden Physical Therapy website.

2 million Utah residents were surveyed for health and family history.  They identified 1,264 with a diagnosis of lower spine disease associated with herniated or degenerating discs, some of the most common causes of persistent low back pain.

The study found that people with  a parent, sibling, or child, with disc-related lower back pain were more than four times more likely to have low-back pain themselves.  The results showed, to a lesser degree, with second and third-degree relatives as well.

Click here to read more.

If you are having problems with any pain let Madden Physical Therapy help you to a speedy and successful recovery.