What is it?
Acute pain begins suddenly and is usually sharp. It is usually a warning of another issue or threat to the body. In physical therapy acute pain is generally seen within joints or muscles and can be a sign of an issue in those areas.
Information on what causes it?
Acute pain can be caused by some damage to a joint or muscle. This damage can be caused by sports, working at work, completing tasks at work, a motor vehicle accident, or surgery, just to name a few.
The signs and symptoms?
The signs and symptoms of acute pain are usually a sudden sharp and debilitating pain that can go away as fast as it came on. It is often accompanied by anxiety or emotional distress as you may not know what caused it in the first place. Sweating, loss of breath, forced changes in posture, and increased heart rate are just a few of the changes you may experience.
Treatment?
Physical therapy will initially focus on the decreasing and eliminating the sharp pain first. Once the pain is under control or eliminated, we will then work on what caused the pain. Whether it is a joint or muscle injury we will work to speed up the process of healing and start to give you the tools you need get the area of injury back to 100% and keep it there.
Expectations?
At your first visit you should expect a physical therapist that is there to get to know you, your current complaints, and your goals. Using this information and the information they gather during their evaluation they will set up an individualized treatment plan that will help you reach your goals and get back to your life faster. Treatments could include modalities for pain control, manual therapy to help with muscle and joint healing, and exercises to restore motion and strength.