Rehabilitation of chronic pain of multifactorial origin

The therapeutic approach to chronic pain of multifactorial origin is aimed at all those patients who present with long-lasting persistence of symptoms that go well beyond the acute phase of evaluation and treatment.

Therapeutic approach

The therapeutic approach to chronic pain of multifactorial origin is aimed at all those patients who present with a persistence of symptoms of long duration, going well beyond the acute phase of evaluation and treatment. Rehabilitation in this setting must necessarily have a multidimensional approach, certainly taking into account physical factors, but also those inherent in lifestyle, including behavioral, psychological and cognitive aspects that are considered to perpetuate the pain itself.

Goals

The goals of rehabilitation of chronic pain of multifactorial origin are multiple:

  • increase awareness and perception of one's own body;
  • identify, assess and treat relevant factors in the patient's lifestyle (therapeutic education);
  • rebalance the muscular activity of the body districts involved and affected by pain;
  • reduce algic symptoms;
  • alleviate psychological and behavioral dysfunctions related to the "pain" issue.


Physical therapists who specialize in this type of problem perform individual sessions, tailoring treatment to a doctor's prescription.

Multidisciplinarity

A fundamental characteristic of the therapeutic pathway is the cognitive-behavioral approach and multidisciplinarity: therefore, it becomes important to carry out an assessment that, in addition to physicians and specialized physiotherapists, also makes use of the support and advice of other professional figures such as, for example, occupational therapist, psychotherapist, etc.

The combined approach, each for his or her part of expertise, is essential in order to jointly construct and manage an individualized rehabilitation program for each patient.

An effective means of treatment in this area is cognitive-behavioral therapy, which consists of educating and leading the patient in an awareness with respect to the pain he or she feels by contextualizing it within his or her social life.
The sessions will be structured in such a way as to lead
the patient towards a graduated exposure to the gesture
that he feels conditions his pain and leading
the patient to modify his or her lifestyle by improving
nutrition, sleep and physical activity.

Pathologies treated

The issue of chronic pain in the musculoskeletal area concerns and includes many pathologies.
The following is just a sample of the main ones:

  • cervicalgia,
  • lumbago and lumbosciatica,
  • headache,
  • arthrosis,
  • fibromyalgia,
  • temporomandibular disorders,
  • neuropathies,
  • myofascial syndromes,
  • pelvic pain.

The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.