Understanding Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is pain that persists beyond the expected healing timeframe, typically lasting longer than three months and often continues even after tissues have structurally healed. Unlike acute pain, which serves as a warning signal, chronic pain reflects changes in how the nervous system processes, amplifies, and maintains pain signals over time.
It may be associated with conditions such as arthritis, long-standing joint or spinal injuries, nerve irritation, post-surgical pain, fibromyalgia, headaches, or unresolved injuries that never fully recalibrated. In many cases, imaging findings alone do not explain the intensity or persistence of symptoms.
How Chronic Pain Develops
When pain persists, the body can become sensitized. The nervous system may remain on high alert, amplifying signals from tissues that are no longer actively injured. Muscles may stay guarded, joints may lose normal movement, circulation may be impaired, and the brain may become more efficient at producing pain responses.
Over time, this can lead to:
Ongoing stiffness, aching, burning, or sharp discomfort
Reduced tolerance to movement or activity
Fatigue, poor sleep, and slower recovery
Flare-ups that feel unpredictable or disproportionate
Frustration, fear of movement, or loss of confidence in the body
Importantly, chronic pain does not mean damage is constantly occurring. It means the system responsible for pain has lost flexibility and needs to be retrained.
Our Approach to Chronic Pain
At ONE80 Health, we approach chronic pain as a whole-system problem, not a single tissue issue and not something to “push through.”
Our focus is to:
Calm an overactive nervous system
Restore movement where it has been avoided or restricted
Improve tissue health, circulation, and load tolerance
Reduce sensitivity and flare-ups over time
Help you understand what is safe, what is helpful, and what is not harmful
Care plans are individualized and progressive. Some patients need symptom relief first before they can move comfortably. Others need gradual exposure to movement, strength, or activity they’ve been avoiding. Education is central, understanding pain changes how the brain responds to it.
Evaluation, Management, and When to Seek Support
Chronic pain requires a thorough and thoughtful evaluation. Your assessment at ONE80 Health begins with a detailed history to understand how your pain started, how it has changed over time, what aggravates or relieves it, and how it is affecting your daily life. We assess joint mobility, muscle function, movement patterns, nervous system sensitivity, and contributing lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress, and activity levels. When appropriate, we review imaging or collaborate with other healthcare providers to ensure nothing important is being overlooked.
Management of chronic pain focuses on restoring balance and adaptability within the body rather than simply chasing symptoms. Care is typically progressive and individualized, combining symptom relief strategies with guided movement, strengthening, and education. Early care may focus on calming an irritated system and reducing flare-ups, while later stages emphasize rebuilding tolerance to movement and activity. Education plays a key role in understanding what is safe to do, how pain behaves, and how to respond to flare-ups helps reduce fear and supports long-term improvement.
You should consider seeking support if pain has persisted beyond normal healing timelines, continues to limit your ability to work, exercise, or sleep, or feels unpredictable despite rest or previous care. Chronic pain does not mean damage is ongoing, but it does mean the system needs guidance and support to recover flexibility and confidence. Early, well-directed care can help prevent pain from becoming more entrenched and improve long-term outcomes.
Treatments That May Help with Chronic Pain
Because chronic pain is influenced by both tissue health and nervous system sensitivity, care is often most effective when multiple therapies are combined and progressed thoughtfully based on individual tolerance, response, and goals.