How Much Pain is Too Much Pain?
How Much Pain is Too Much Pain?
It can often be difficult to know when you NEED to see a physiotherapist, as pain itself can be quite variable between individuals and one’s tolerance to pain itself highly variable.
Even though it may seem biased, a physiotherapist can have an impact in most cases when pain is present. There will always be outliers that require further medical review, where occasionally we will immediately refer an individual for external review (orthopaedic specialists, sport/exercise physicians etc). This is typically only if an individual presents with an unclear or possibly medically concerning pain pattern. In these cases being triaged by a physiotherapist can be highly beneficial as we can help point you in the right direction.
The easiest framework to follow is:
- Acute/sudden onset of pain
If it resulted from a sudden traumatic incident where high force was involved, or pain is immediately >8/10 then you should likely present to your GP or ED.
If it resulted from a low force incident, or pain is <4/10 than physiotherapy is advised. - Chronic/long standing pain
Any pain that has been present for >3 months and no signs of improvement than physiotherapy is advised. - Pain with gradual onset
If not improving after 2 weeks than physiotherapy is best (the sooner the better in most cases).
If you’ve already been to a physiotherapist and not seen improvement, don’t get discouraged with trialing physiotherapy elsewhere. It is easy to lose faith if it seems like a particular medical professional has not helped your pain, however not all physiotherapists practice the same. Sometimes a second opinion with a different practitioner can be in your best interest as they may have a different treatment approach that will have an impact.
