WHAT IS CHRONIC PAIN?

Chronic pain can be defined as any pain that lasts more than 3 months( in some cases 1 month) and persists past normal healing time. Chronic pain is very common in Vancouver and it is believed that roughly half a million people are suffering from a variety of chronic pain in Vancouver(almost 20 percent in 2.5 million population). Chronic pain affects society in different ways by being a major source of suffering and economic burden.

types of Chronic pain:

In 2019, The World Health Organization proposed the new ICD-11. ICD or “International Classification of Diseases” is developed by a Task Force of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and is based on the current scientific evidence and the biopsychosocial model. The new ICD category for “Chronic Pain” divides “chronic pain” into 7 groups :

1. chronic primary pain: Pain due to emotional distress or disability and not caused by the following 6 categories. It includes chronic musculoskeletal pain, chronic widespread pain, primary headaches, chronic pelvic pain, and…
2. chronic cancer pain: Pain due to cancer or its treatment like chemotherapy or radiotherapy
3. chronic post-traumatic and post-surgical pain:
4. chronic neuropathic pain: Chronic pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. 
5. chronic headache and orofacial pain: chronic forms of symptomatic headaches or chronic secondary orofacial pain, such as chronic dental pain, supplements this section.
6. chronic secondary visceral pain: Can be caused by persistent inflammation, vascular mechanisms, or mechanical factors
7. chronic secondary musculoskeletal pain: is chronic pain in bones, joints, and tendons arising from an underlying disease classified elsewhere. It can be due to persistent inflammation, associated with structural changes or caused by altered biomechanical function due to diseases of the nervous system.

how osteopathy plays a role in chronic pain management

As you can read in another article ” what is osteopathy ” there are a variety of approaches in Osteopathy that not only heals the chronic myofascial(musculoskeletal)pain but also enhances the quality of life. theses approaches include manual therapy, joint mobilizations, Muscle Energy Techniques, parasympathetic release, and structural re-integration. Another approach that can help your chronic pain is ” Neurokinetic therapy ” which finds irregular myofascial patterns and correct them. These treatments usually require several sessions in which the manual osteopath applies a combination of techniques after assessments. The outcome is usually a better body posture, pain-free walking, and a more active lifestyle.