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Chronic Pain Treatment
on the Sunshine Coast
Pain that lasts for months can affect everyday life, especially when it continues after an injury has healed. If you've been told your neck or lower back pain is chronic, or the cause isn't clear, our experienced chiropractors can help.
What is chronic pain?
Pain is called chronic when it lasts beyond the usual healing time, generally 3 months or more. Acute pain starts suddenly from a clear cause, such as an injury, surgery or illness, and usually settles within a few days to 12 weeks.
Chronic pain treatment may help people with ongoing lower back pain, neck pain or headaches. At our Sunshine Coast clinics, we often see patients who have lived with pain for months or years before seeking hands-on care.
Pain can continue after tissue has healed because the nervous system becomes more sensitive. The brain can keep sending pain signals even when there is no ongoing tissue damage.
Nerve changes, inflammation, arthritis, wear in muscles and joints, inactivity and stress can all play a part. Most ongoing neck and back pain has no single clear cause, which is why scans often don't show a definite reason.
Chiropractic care may ease muscle and joint pain and help you move more comfortably. For lower back pain, reviews suggest that spinal manipulation can ease pain in the short term; dry needling can ease muscle tension.
Hands-on care for persistent pain
How long you've had pain, which movements make it worse and how your body moves can all shape your care. Our chiropractors use this information to create a plan that may ease pain, help you move more freely and make everyday activities more comfortable. Your care may include:
- Spinal adjustments, either manual or hand held activator adjustments
- Dry needling, which uses fine, sterile needles on tight spots in muscles to ease tension, improve blood flow nearby and interrupt the pain-spasm cycle.
- Targeting deep muscles, including tight spots that can be hard to reach with hands-on techniques alone.
- Exercise and activity guidance to improve circulation, reduce stiffness and prompt the body to release natural pain-relieving chemicals.
- Drug-free care for people who prefer to avoid long-term medication, with support to manage stress and inactivity that can reinforce pain.
- Care tailored to you, with your treating practitioner matching the session length and frequency to your needs.
Your path to managing ongoing pain
Assessment
We start by talking about your pain: how long you've had it, the type of pain you feel, where you feel it, what makes it worse and how it affects your sleep, work and mood. We also ask about past injuries, scans and treatments you've tried. Then your chiropractor examines you.
Treatment
Your treatment plan is based on your history, symptoms and how your body moves. Treatment may include hands-on spinal care, soft tissue work or dry needling, along with advice on exercise and activity. Many people notice a change within a few sessions, and we adjust as you improve.
Ongoing support
Chronic pain is often managed over time rather than cured, but it can often be reduced so it affects daily life less. We check your progress, adjust your plan and support you with exercises to do at home between sessions. A course of visits over two to four weeks is a common starting point.
Why choose our team?
We are a multidisciplinary team of experienced chiropractors, with both female and male doctors available.
We love what we do and care deeply about our patients' wellbeing and happiness, some of which have been coming to us for decades.
We have two clinics, located in the heart of Alexandra Headland and Coolum Beach, open Monday to Saturday.
We are Bupa and Medibank preferred providers. We also accept Eftpos, Medicare, DVA and EPC.
Your questions, answered
Acute pain usually starts suddenly from a clear cause, such as an injury, surgery or illness, and usually settles as the body heals.
Chronic pain lasts beyond the usual healing time, generally 3 months or more. The nervous system can keep sending pain signals even when there is no ongoing tissue damage.
Yes. Chiropractic care is a well-established option for ongoing muscle and joint pain, including lower back pain, neck pain and headaches.
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that spinal adjustments works about as well as other guideline-recommended treatments for chronic lower back pain. For neck-related headaches, there is evidence that spinal adjustments outperform massage.
Our doctors have treated persistent pain since 1990, and we'll shape your care around your symptoms, your history and the activities you want to get back to.
Physiotherapists often focus on movement, exercise and rehabilitation. Chiropractors often use hands-on care and spinal adjustments, focusing on movement, stretches and exercises. The approaches can overlap, and both may help with ongoing muscle and joint pain. Some people combine them.
For more information, read our guide that compares the professions of chiropractic, physiotherapy and osteopathy.
For most people, gentle exercise can help rather than harm. Being inactive for a long time can weaken muscles and make pain harder to manage. Movement can improve circulation and reduce stiffness.
As Dr Lillie Lines often says to her patients, "if you don't move it, you lose it".
Start gradually with low-impact activity and our doctors' guidance to help you build confidence.
Yes. Pain and mental health can affect each other. Ongoing pain can disrupt sleep, work and social life, which may lower your mood. Pain and mood also involve some of the same brain systems, so each can make the other harder to manage.
For many people, chronic pain can't be cured outright, but it can often be reduced so it affects daily life less. If a cause can be found and treated, the pain may go away. Otherwise, chronic pain management focuses on reducing pain over time through physical treatment, activity and lifestyle changes.
Yes! We see a lot of patients through this plan. It used to be called an Enhanced Primary Care Plan (EPC).
If your GP thinks you have a long-term condition that needs care from more than one health professional, they can create a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan and refer you to allied health practitioners, including chiropractors. Eligible patients can get a Medicare rebate for up to five allied health visits per calendar year across all referred providers combined.
Many private health funds include chiropractic care and dry needling under extras (ancillary) cover, though how much you can claim depends on your specific policy and provider.
We're a preferred provider for Bupa and Medibank, and we also accept EFTPOS, Medicare, DVA and EPC.
We recommend checking with your health fund to see what you're covered for. If you have any questions on how to use your benefits, contact our friendly team of receptionists.
Don't let chronic pain set the tone for your day
Book a chronic pain assessment today and take the first step towards lasting pain relief.