CHRONIC & ACUTE PAIN
Physiotherapists deal with both acute injuries and chronic pain. Acute pain and chronic pain refer to the time frame you have been experiencing these issues and it has nothing to do with the severity.
​This means your physio treatment may not only help in managing recent injuries but also those ongoing niggles that have been around for as long as you can remember.
To better understand the difference you can also read the full article on our blog.
ACUTE PAIN
CHRONIC PAIN
Acute typically refers to a fresh injury, and this phase typically lasts less than 3 to 6 months. Every structure in your body (muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments etc) has an approximate, expected healing time.
It’s something that can’t really be rushed, no matter how compliant you are, however seeking physiotherapy in this time can help to decrease the severity of your symptoms, and optimise your body’s self-healing capacity.
Chronic pain refers to a pain that has persisted longer than our expected time frame for healing. When a tissue or structure does not heal as we would have expected and persists far longer than it should, we creep into chronic pain territory.
This is a very complex issue, but it is also commonly misunderstood. Seeking physiotherapy for chronic, persistent pain can help treat both the pain complaint and support the nerve pathways and the brain's perception of this pain.