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massage therapy musings &
persistent pain ponderings

Understanding Persistent Pain: It's Like Four Flat Tires


chronic pain flat tire massage therapy holland michigan

The American Chronic Pain Association has a fantastic video called A Car with Four Flat Tires. watch it here...


Chronic (or persistent) pain is like a car with four flat tires.


We might think one medication or treatment will take away our pain, but one tool only pumps one tire. We've got four.

Pumping up that one tire might give us 25% relief, which is good, and should be celebrated as a victory. But it's not enough to move our car forward. There are three more flats to fill.

So, we’ll keep using that one tool to keep one tire full, but we’ll need to get some additional tools to fill up the others.

For each person, the needed therapies, tools, or combination of treatments is different. And there may be a fair amount of trail and error involved to find the right treatments, in the right amounts and frequency.

Managing and recovering from chronic pain - filling up our flat tires - takes a team effort and it takes time. Once our car is rolling again, we also need to maintain it with periodic checks and on-going expected maintenance.

 

Understanding Pain Article Series

Understanding Persistent Pain: It's Like Four Flat Tires


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Understanding Persistent Pain eBook

The nervous system is constantly evaluating a variety of cues and information that when combined create a pain experience. It's a complex process involving many parts of the mind and body. This guide will provide readers with a better understanding of persistent pain along with tools to reduce or manage it. learn more...




Raechel Haller Massage Therapist Holland MI Michigan

Whoa, you made it all the way down to the footer!
And might be wondering... who wrote all these words?
Well hello! My name's Raechel and I'm a massage therapist.

I enjoy researching and writing about pain and wellness; nerding out about sci-fi or Dungeons & Dragons; gardening; sailing; thoughtful conversations; loving my German Sheppard dog; and getting lost in a book. Or two. Or three.

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