Chronic pain after MVA?
If you’re still in pain more than 6 weeks after normal “healing” time for MVA trauma, it is not too late for physical therapy to help.
Why Can Pain Continue After Healing?
As you know from the last Clinical Conversation update, healing tissue begins forming and changing in the first several weeks after trauma. If pain and stiffness continue, the injured tissues may still benefit from further remodeling and appropriately dosed movement and loading.
How Physical Therapy Helps Remodel Tissue
Tight or painful tissue can continue to adapt over time through targeted, mechanical, dosed loading. Physical therapy uses specific exercises and hands-on techniques as needed to gradually improve mobility, tolerance to load, and function.
Could a Joint Derangement Be Contributing?
Another possible source of persistent pain after an MVA is an underlying mechanical problem that has not yet been identified. Our MDT method uses repeated movement testing and the patient’s response to help identify mechanical patterns, including joint derangements, and guide treatment toward movements that reduce symptoms and improve function.
So, even if your accident happened months ago and your body has already gone through its initial healing process, it is not too late for physical therapy.
Come to Nick Rinard Physical Therapy to determine whether restricted tissue, a mechanical joint problem, or another musculoskeletal issue may still be contributing to your lasting pain.