It’s Not Just Physical

Posted 10 December 2018 in Uncategorized

Your spinal pain can be greatly influenced by many factors, rather than just the injury itself. You often see how some people can have the exact same injury but one recovers a lot quicker than the other, this is where psychological factors, not just physical factors play a role.

Length of the injury- generally anything over 4-6 weeks where there isn’t a change in symptoms (even slightly), generally psychological (yellow flag) symptoms become present.

What type of person are you- there are many types from irrational, catastrophic and hyper vigilant. When spinal pain occurs, this is generally combined with catastrophic thoughts, where you can feel helpless, that you can’t cope with normal events and what is expected of you. This can result in fear, avoidance strategies and a decreased level of activity. This disability can lead to depression thus increasing pain and catastrophic thoughts.

Do you hate your job- your job satisfaction will play a big role into how you recover? If you feel fear, danger, abandonment or feel that your job is just a ‘dead end’ you might be impeding your recovery.

What beliefs do you have- this is often created based on many things. Past experiences, generally these are bad when they are negative. Information you have been given which often describes a bad outcome with your recovery can have a negative effect. Iatrogenic, this is illness, which is caused from medical exams and treatment and can also influence recovery. So did your last therapist treat you right?