Alleviate your chronic pain and get back to enjoying your life. 

Have you had pain lasting several months or years, and can’t figure out why? Do you have unexplained pain and fatigue that is disrupting your everyday life? Have your friends and family given up on you, or think it’s “all in your head”?  

Sound familiar?

Or maybe you hurt your ankle or shoulder or back and 6 months later you are still in pain….

What is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is simply defined as pain persisting longer than 3-6 months and is the most common cause of long-term disability.  Chronic pain can happen anywhere in your body, such as your back, hip, knee or shoulder or it can be part of a larger chronic condition such as fibromyalgia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or a sports-related injury. 

It is now known to be a hypersensitive central nervous system (CNS — brain and spinal cord) disorder, where the brain misreads pain or pleasure signals from the body.  Coupled with this hypersensitivity, people with chronic pain also have a fear of movement and decreased activity level, which can lead to more pain.

At The Manual Touch, we use non-traditional hands-on manual therapy to treat the hypersensitive CNS and any other tissues or systems, such as GI, renal or lymph, that influence the chronic pain.  

With this approach, you can achieve decreased pain and improved mobility, posture, gait and function, as well as less treatment reactions.  Your fear of movement will also be greatly reduced allowing you to enjoy and participate in life fully.

Some facts about Pain

Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined as well as the most common reason people seek medical care and a major contributor to rising health care costs.   In 2011, the Institute of Medicine released a report claiming at least 100 million Americans have chronic pain, while other estimates range from 39 to 70 million.  In addition, using opioids for pain management is a major health concern. 

Specifically for low back pain – the American Medical Association has put out guidelines using non-invasive treatments such as: exercise, heat, yoga, massage, acupuncture, tai chi, as well as pharmacological options that are alternatives to heavy duty opioid painkillers. 

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has also started a movement called ‘Choose PT‘ to educate the public what PT can do for pain management whether it be acute or chronic.  In addition to pain-relieving manual therapy techniques and appropriate exercise, physical therapists educate their patients on how to move appropriately throughout their daily activities, so as not to aggravate their situation.

What is the biggest mistake you can make if you have pain?  

The biggest mistake you can make is to ignore your pain, or think you can just rest and it will go away.  While a short period of rest may be appropriate, ignoring the pain is often a recipe for pain to become chronic, more difficult to treat, and you may develop other issues while compensating for the original issue.  

What happens when you come in to The Manual Touch?

Your therapist will use a Whole Body Approach to evaluate you and determine the root causes of your condition. Then, you’ll be prescribed a unique treatment plan using traditional and non-traditional manual therapy and exercises. You’ll learn how to move appropriately throughout your day and night, so as not to aggravate your condition. Our ultimate goal is to help you reclaim function, life, movement, and enjoyment of the activities you love.

Chronic Pain conditions we treat

• Any pain area that has lasted greater than 3-6 months: neck or back pain, shoulder or elbow pain, hip or knee pain, ankle or foot pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Ehler Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
• Chronic fatigue
• Lymes
• Myofascial pain
• Post surgical 
• Cancer
• Post chemo or radiation symptoms