"I've tried everything" - How to deal with pain when all seems lost

Many prospective clients come to me at their lowest point. They've been to a physio, they've tried chiropractic adjustments, they're on pain medication, and nothing seems to help. At this point, they're losing hope.

They believe their pain is inevitable and going to get worse as they age.

Here's the thing. All of the above mentioned treatments can work for various types of pain. But with the non-specific nature of pain, you can't use cookie-cutter treatments.

I've worked with hundreds of people with back pain, and I've never gone about helping them the same way. A cobra stretch that feels great for one person would trigger a flare-up in another.

This fact may lead you to believe that your pain is random and uncontrollable, leading you further down the thought process that your situation is hopeless.

The issue is that within a modality like physiotherapy, there's a ton of variability in how treatment is given.

Some physios only give manual therapy treatment. My wife once had physio work done after a car crash, and it consisted of gentle massage and heat therapy.

Other physio clinics look like a mini gym, with bands, mats, and weights.

So when someone tells me they've tried physio before, I have no idea what that actually means.

Here's the level of detail you need in a proper rehab program, regardless of the type of professional you see, that can help you progress when nothing else has helped. You need someone to:

• track the overall load on the affected tissue (training load or lack thereof)

• assess the way the affected tissue moves and compensates

• understand your individual triggers (what makes it hurt or flare up)

• assess your tolerance to stress (physical and mental)

• apply manual therapy as needed, but use it as a springboard to movement that reflects the demands of your daily life

• help you move with confidence and strong technique

The biggest blind spot I see in most rehab programs is the second last point. Sometimes people receive treatment and successfully get out of pain, only to relapse with the same pain at a later time. This means something isn't being addressed, or the rehab plan isn't properly preparing you to return to your usual activities.

I had a client who saw a physio who helped him with his knee pain. But his ultimate goal was to return to playing basketball pain-free. The physio work was great at calming down his knee and getting him back to an acceptable baseline, but once he returned to basketball, his pain returned.

He completed only step 1 of his rehab, as far as I see it. Ideally, he would have been given strengthening work to prepare him to run, jump, and cut with explosiveness.

You need to calm things down after an injury, but you also need to build things back up again.

All this to say, pain is never a hopeless endeavour. It's important to look for the aforementioned aspects of any rehab program, regardless of whether you see a coach, physio, chiropractor, or manage it on your own.

To your good health,

Coach Stephen

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Thanks for reading.

P.S.

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