Pain Science
In this article Parker and Madden review the current literature surround new research data in pain science and discuss what implications these findings have on the physiotherapy profession.
The key points are regarding the following;
· The source of pain
· The correlation between the amount of pain and tissue damage
· The plasticity of the nervous system, its ability to change and heal and therefore become a target of treatment itself
These findings will hopefully lead to a shift in the manual therapy industry – instead of focusing on tissue damage alone, imaging and diagnosis, the person as a whole will be taken into consideration. Basic factors such as sleep quality, stress levels, nutrition and activity levels can help paint a picture of someone’s possible response to pain and their outcome.
As massage professionals we will also be unable to ask some pertinent questions – past trauma and its effect on the nervous system is a large component of chronic pain but it is not within our scope to ask of such experiences. Instead, we can become trauma informed, understanding the role trauma plays in shaping a person’s response to pain, and what it can do to the nervous system, how we can inadvertently trigger a trauma response, or more hopefully, help improve some symptoms through therapeutic touch. Seeking to calm the nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system in particular, should be a large component of a treatment for a person with chronic pain.
Parker, R., & Madden, V. J. (2020). State of the art: What have the pain sciences brought to physiotherapy?. The South African journal of physiotherapy, 76(1), 1390. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajp.v76i1.1390
