Chronic pain is a condition that occurs when the brain concludes there is a threat to well-being based on signals it receives from the body. Chronic pain can and often does occur independently of any actual body tissue damage (due to injury or illness). It also can last well beyond normal tissue healing time.

About 50 million Americans are living with chronic pain, which leads to significant costs for medical treatment, lost work time, and lost wages.

Chronic pain is a health condition in its own right. It also can be linked to other medical conditions, such as surgery or trauma, diabetic neuropathy, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. The causes of chronic pain vary widely.

Some diseases, such as cancer and arthritis, cause ongoing pain. With chronic pain, however, the nervous system creates pain signals even after physical tissues have healed.

Chronic pain affects each person experiencing it differently. In some cases, it can lead to decreased activity levels, job loss, or financial difficulties. It also can cause anxiety, depression, and disability. Physical therapists work with people experiencing chronic pain to lessen their pain and restore their activity to the highest possible levels. With treatment, the adverse effects of chronic pain can be reduced.

For more resources on pain and the use of opioids for pain management, visit our Health Center on Pain and our Health Center on Opioid Use for Pain Management .

The American Physical Therapy Association launched a national campaign to raise awareness about the risks of opioids and the safe alternative of physical therapy for long-term pain management. Learn more at our safe pain management page.

Physical therapists are movement experts. They improve quality of life through hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement. You can contact a physical therapist directly for an evaluation. To find a physical therapist in your area, visit Find a PT.

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On this page

• What Is Chronic Pain?
• How Does It Feel?
• Signs and Symptoms
• How Is It Diagnosed?
• How Can a Physical Therapist Help?
• Can This Injury or Condition Be Prevented?
• What Kind of Physical Therapist Do I Need?

What Is Chronic Pain?

Pain, by definition, is an unpleasant feeling or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. We usually link pain with injury or tissue damage, but it can be present in the absence of tissue damage as well. Pain can be acute or chronic.

There are two categories of pain: acute and chronic.

Acute pain lasts for a short time — up to 12 weeks. It is a warning that tissue damage has occurred or may occur. For instance, if we touch a hot stove, the body sends a danger message to the brain that there is a threat, so we pull our hand away to prevent further injury. A sore foot can signal the need to change your footwear. In some cases, the danger messages may be due to a disease process that your brain interprets as pain. This can cause you to seek medical attention for what may be a serious condition. Signaling pain in this manner is the body's way of protecting us and is a good thing.

Chronic pain is any discomfort or unpleasant sensation lasting more than three months or beyond an expected normal healing time. Often, those who have chronic pain believe they have a disease or that their body has not healed, when this may not be the case. Chronic pain is likely not warning you of a possible injury or danger. Instead, the regions of the brain that regulate and process pain may be causing you to hurt, even though there are no new causes of pain in the body.

Anyone can develop chronic pain at any age. Here's how the brain changes as pain goes from acute to chronic:

• When you are injured or develop a painful disease, nerves send information from the problem area to the brain.
• The brain analyzes this information coming from the body to determine if there is a threat and whether action needs to be taken to prevent harm.
• When pain is constant or chronic, the brain and nervous system go on "high alert," becoming more sensitive.
• Cells that conduct sensation in the nervous system can also become more sensitive when on high alert. This makes it easier for the brain to interpret these sensations as a threat and thus causes you to have more pain. These changes in the brain and central nervous system induce and keep chronic pain symptoms going.
• Almost any system of the body can be affected by chronic pain. When pain is chronic, the pain sensations are activated in the brain. The brain continues to interpret all feelings from the problem areas as a danger, even when there is no more tissue damage. This makes it easier for the pain centers in the brain to activate. Pain messages come from many different areas of the brain, including those that:
• May control fight, flight, or fear reactions.
• Movement.
• Emotions.
• Problem-solving.
• Learning.
• The brain and nervous system continue to react, causing you to continue to be in pain. This process increases sensations, emotions, or thoughts about the problem area. At this point, any sensory input can activate the pain centers. Even thinking about it or reading the word pain can trigger pain sensations. The pain is in the brain. To protect you, your brain is deciding to increase the alert level for sensations you feel.

How Does It Feel?

How chronic pain feels varies with each person. Pain is very personal. How often it occurs, how severe it is, or how long it lasts is not predictable from one person to another.

Common complaints related to chronic pain include:

• It may seem as if everything hurts, everywhere.
• There may be sudden stabs of pain.
• It may seem as if the pain has a mind of its own.
• You feel symptoms even if you are not doing anything to cause them.
• It feels worse when you think about it.
• It feels worse when you experience upsetting circumstances in your life.
• You may feel more anxious and depressed.
• You may feel your symptoms spread from one area to another area.
• You may feel fatigued and afraid to do your normal activities.

These complaints are common when you have chronic pain. However, it does not necessarily mean that your physical condition is worsening. It may just mean that your system has become more sensitive.

Signs and Symptoms

Research finds the following signs may be associated with a chronic pain syndrome:

Fearfulness. It is easy to begin to fear increased pain when you have a chronic pain condition. As a result, you may start to avoid activity. You may find that you rely more on family members to help with daily functions.

Body stiffness when you try to become more active. Stiffness may make you feel as if your body is less able to perform daily activities.

Deconditioning. Not moving your body results in less tolerance when you want to become more active. If you are inactive for a long time, muscles weaken and shrink from not being used. This can also increase your risk of falling.

Decreased circulation. Lack of activity decreases the circulation of much-needed blood to your cells. Tissues in your body may not get as much oxygen as they need. As a result, they may not be as healthy as they can be. This can cause you to feel fatigued and lack energy.

Weight gain and/or a worsening of other conditions. Decreased activity can lead to unwanted weight gain. Added pounds and inactivity can aggravate symptoms of other conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Chronic pain conditions are also commonly associated with feelings of anxiety or depression.

Increased use of medication. Patients with chronic pain can have the tendency to increase their medication over time to seek relief.

Individual behaviors can include:

• Seeking out of many different doctors or health care providers and facilities to find relief.
• Difficulties with job performance. Some people with chronic pain even seek work disability.
• Avoidance of social situations or family members.
• When pain is ongoing, you may find you have feelings of bitterness, frustration, or depression. Some people report they have thoughts of suicide. If you are having these feelings, tell your doctor. This is important, so that you can get appropriate treatment to help you feel better.

How Is It Diagnosed?

Your physical therapist will perform a thorough evaluation. They will:

• Ask specific questions about your past and present health and use of medication.
• Ask about your symptoms: their location, intensity, how and when the pain occurs, and other questions, to form a clear picture of your situation.
• Ask you to fill out pain and function questionnaires to understand how the pain is affecting your daily life.
• Perform tests and movements with you. The tests help to identify problems with posture, flexibility, muscle strength, joint mobility, and movement. Special tests help to rule out any serious health problem, such as pressure on a nerve or an underlying disease.
• Observe how you use your body for home, work, and social/leisure activities. This information helps your therapist prescribe a program that will boost your quality of life and get you moving your best.

Imaging tests such as x-rays, CT scans, and MRI are often not helpful for diagnosing the cause of chronic pain. However, if your physical therapist suspects that your pain might be caused by any serious underlying condition, they will refer you to your physician for evaluation.

Your physical therapist will work with your physician to provide the best diagnosis and treatment for your chronic pain.

How Can a Physical Therapist Help?

Your physical therapist will work with you to educate you on chronic pain, find solutions to improve your quality of life, and get you moving again! They will help you improve movement, teach you pain management strategies, and, in many cases, reduce your pain.

Not all chronic pain is the same. Your therapist will evaluate your clinical examination and test results and design an individualized treatment plan that fits you best.

Physical therapy treatments may include:

Education to improve your knowledge and understanding of chronic pain — how it occurs and what you can do about it. Your therapist will teach you how to manage your pain and help you work toward performing your normal daily activities again.

Strengthening and flexibility exercises to help you move more efficiently with less discomfort. Your therapist will design a graded exercise program for you — movements that gradually increase according to your abilities. Graded exercises help you improve your coordination and movement, reducing the stress and strain on your body and decreasing your pain. Carefully introducing a graded exercise program will help train your brain to sense the problem area in your body without increasing its danger messages.

Manual therapy, which consists of specific, gentle, hands-on techniques that may be used to manipulate or mobilize tight joint structures and soft tissues. Manual therapy is used to increase movement (range of motion), improve the quality of the tissues, and reduce pain.

Posture awareness and body mechanics instruction to help improve your posture and movement. This training enables you to use your body more efficiently while doing activities and even when you are resting. Your therapist will help you adjust your movement at work or when performing chores or recreational activities, to reduce your pain and increase your ability to function.

The use of ice, heat, or electrical stimulation has not been found to be helpful with chronic pain. Your physical therapist, however, will determine if any of these treatments could benefit your unique condition.

Can This Injury or Condition Be Prevented?

Research shows that treating pain as soon as possible helps to prevent chronic pain. Don't ignore pain. Serious pain or pain that does not get better as expected should be treated.

Your physical therapist will work with you to develop strategies to prevent chronic pain, such as:

• Keeping up with your normal activities as much as possible.
• Avoiding bed rest. Long periods of bed rest will not improve your pain and may make it worse. Prolonged bed rest puts you at risk of other complications, including increased muscle weakness, bone loss, weight gain, and poor circulation.
• Improving posture. Your therapist will help you adjust your posture so your body can work at optimal efficiency to reduce joint stress and help reduce your symptoms.
• Performing exercises to improve and restore your sense of the involved body area. Your therapist will also teach you exercises to restore movement (range of motion), mobilize nervous tissue (a main component of the nervous system), and rebuild your strength for performing routine daily activities.
• Introducing meditation, relaxation, and imagery exercises to help reduce stress and muscle tension.
• Learning fully about your condition. This will help you better understand what is occurring in your body, so you don't worry about every new ache, pain, or symptom.
• Maintaining healthy activity levels and improving your overall health.

What Kind of Physical Therapist Do I Need?

All physical therapists are prepared through education and clinical experience to treat a variety of conditions or injuries, including pain. You may want to consider:

• A physical therapist who is experienced in treating people with chronic pain. Some physical therapists have a practice with a pain management focus.
• A physical therapist who is a board-certified clinical specialist or who completed a residency or fellowship in orthopaedic physical therapy. This therapist has advanced knowledge, experience, and skills that may apply to your condition.

You can find physical therapists in your area with specific clinical expertise and credentials by using Find a PT, provided by the American Physical Therapy Association.

General tips when you're looking for a physical therapist (or any other health care provider):

• Get recommendations from family, friends, or other health care providers.
• Ask about the physical therapists' experience in helping people with chronic pain when making an appointment.
• Be prepared to describe your symptoms in as much detail as possible, and report activities that make your symptoms worse.

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