The Hands Physio recognises that pain is very debilitating, and experiences are individual to each person. Our hand therapists have several, well-researched approaches to managing chronic, acute, and sympathetic pain.
Acute pain is when the body is working to heal structural tissue damage. Everything is done to ensure structural and mechanical integrity if maximised of the injured tissues. For example, we may work to decrease swelling, improve muscle length, remove compression of nerves, correcting joints and muscles mechanical issues, heat, massage, stretches, restoring correct posture.
Chronic pain is when pain is experienced six months or longer since the tissue damage occurred.
Sympathetic pain is when the pain remains out of proportion to the initial injury and is present with autonomic tissue changes. Increased hair growth, sweating, discolouration, and dryness are some examples.
As pain is individual, especially chronic and sympathetic, our management of pain is customised to each patient to see what works for them. Usually, several hand therapy treatments are performed together:
- Techniques that help the brain re-learn function and memory. Maximising brain health is extremely important.
- Aerobic exercise increases your endorphin levels and helps reset the natural chemistry within your body to minimise pain perception.
- Functional Exercises
- Heat (wax baths – hot packs), massage and swelling reduction
- Lorimer Mosely’s Graded Motor Imagery program
- Desensitisation Programs
- Compression and Traction Techniques