pain: not just physical-part I

The experience of pain is a shared human experience. Pain does not discriminate against race or gender or beliefs or any other label we choose to associate with. Pain comes in all forms: emotional heartbreak, physical injury and spiritual disconnection. But despite which form it chooses to come in, it affects wholly the emotional, physical and spiritual aspects of our lives.

For instance, pain may arise as an unexpected end to a friendship you’d treasured—a termination blamed on past mistakes and an inability or unwillingness to understand someone else’s struggles. But just because this pain manifests as primarily an emotional heartbreak, do we not too physically feel the sadness well up in our chests, or the lethargy that we often refer to as ‘emotional exhaustion’? Do we not sometimes feel disconnected from a spiritual belief, whatever that may be, due to this unexpected pain in our lives?

Likewise, when an athlete incurs an injury, that pain first and foremost manifests physically. A torn ACL results in immense knee pain that may also spread to other areas of the body such as the ankle and hip. But this physical manifestation often spreads to an emotional or mental realm as well. Injuries, like broken relationships, can be unexpected sources of frustration and exhaustion. They can create the illusion of lost connection with teammates. They can result in anxiety over the anticipation of returning to sport. They can, quite simply, threaten the athlete’s conception of self-identity.

As physical therapists, we play the most significant role in treating the physical component of pain. But as healthcare professionals gain more insight and appreciation of the connection between mind and body, shouldn’t there be opportunities for physical therapists to marry these two together in our treatment plans?

What is the psychological effect of injury on sport and how can we, as physical therapists, address these issues while remaining within the confines of our scope of practice? What techniques can we offer to our patients as part of a comprehensive and holistic treatment plan to ensure optimal recovery when treating injuries? How might we tackle pain in all its forms—not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well?

In the next posts, I will briefly address the most recent research on sports psychology as it relates to physical therapy and discuss the sports physical therapist’s potential roles in this area. By embracing a comprehensive approach to pain management, sports rehabilitation professionals can affect greater change in athletes’ recovery from injury.