Schedule

9AM - 6PM Monday to Friday
9AM-1PM SATURDAY

Opening Hours

The Tissues and Conditions Causing Pain

Pain: The Tissues of the Body

There are many types of pain that affects us in different ways at different times. Fortunately at Maitland Wellness Centre we have therapists with different skills and expertise to help you with your particular problem.
Results will depend on the many factors and variables that give rise to pain. Please give us a call to discuss your particular problem and we will be happy to advise you on what we may be able to help you with 

Muscle, tendons and connective tissue known as fascia attach to bone structures and contract and expand enabling joints to move. The skeletal muscular system makes up over 40% of our body, so when someone says that pain is ‘just muscular’ it can actually be quite significant.

A strain, which is a tearing of muscle fibres, can occur through obvious trauma such as a fall or sporting injury, or through overuse or repetitive movement. Strains can be mild to severe, and the pain and loss of mobility can also range.

Trigger points in myofascial tissue can also form through overuse, trauma or cold, and if not treated quickly can become chronic and create changes in the muscular tissue.

In the Chinese Medicine framework, muscular pain is as a result of obstruction of Qi and Blood. This obstruction can be from trauma, an invasion of pathogenic factors such as Wind, Cold, Damp and Heat, or from an internal weakness that places the body out of balance and unable to maintain flow of Qi or Blood. Treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine consists of improving the balance and flow of the individuals’ energy, removing the external pathogen and enhancing the body to heal correctly.

One of the most common areas of pain is around the joints of the body. Even if we do not have it ourselves we know someone that has bad knees or hips, a stiff or painful neck or issues with any of the many joints in the body.

Although it depends on who is counting it is stipulated that we have 360 joints in the body. These joints are then classified according to their function and structure. The shoulder joint is a ‘ball and socket’ which allows movement in almost all directions while the knee is a ‘hinge joint’ which ideally only bends in one plane.

All the joints in the body can suffer from wear and tear as well as from sudden trauma leading to pain and restriction of movement. As well as injuries to the joint itself muscles, tendons and ligaments can also cause pain in the joint making an accurate diagnosis important. 

Almost any tissue or organ in the body can cause pain. Pain is a warning sign that tells us that something is not functioning properly. Our nervous system picks up signals from various tissues and organs that are sent to the brain for processing. These signals may for example be of temperature or pressure. When they reach the brain, it will interpret these signals depending on their strength, past experience, emotions or a number of different factors. Most of this happens very quickly and automatically so we typically do not notice this process and only become aware of the sense of pain.

In treating pain there are a number of different options. Very often pain killers are prescribed which will hopefully make the pain go away. Typically pain killers do not address any of the underlying causes of the pain and can often cause their own problems as in the current opioid crisis.

The goal of acupuncture is to ease the pain, relax the mind and cause the proper function of the body. With so many possible causes of pain your best option is to talk to one of our therapists to see if our treatments may benefit you.