How to manage persistent pain

With many injuries and conditions, having pain for a long time can be normal. However, if you’ve had an injury or pain has started with no real cause and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better, when is the best time to get help?

Let’s take a look at the potential causes of pain, how long you should expect to experience it and when you should consult a GP or physio for further treatment and advice.

Injuries from trauma

When you suffer an acute injury from a trauma e.g. a fall from a bike or spraining an ankle while out running, depending on the injury it can often take some weeks or months to recover.

For example, if you’ve fractured a small bone, this will, on average, take around 4-6 weeks to heal. A larger bone would take between 6-8 weeks and occasionally longer for some types of fractures.

Pain would be expected during this time and every so often for some months after.

Soft tissue injuries such as ligament sprains can take anything up to around 12 weeks to heal and are notorious for taking a long time for pain to settle. Acute pain lasts anything from 1-4 weeks and maybe with a dull ache persisting for longer after this time.

However, with these types of injuries you would expect to see a slow gradual improvement in pain over time. If you’re not seeing these improvements early on in the first few weeks, it’s important to see a physiotherapist or your doctor to rule out any other reason why the pain might not be improving.

Pain without the injury

Occasionally, pain can start without having any real apparent cause or trigger. However, during a triathlon overuse injuries are fairly common and this is an example of an injury that can develop without any particular event causing it.

These types of injuries can cause pain for weeks or perhaps months if not addressed quickly. So I would suggest consulting with a physiotherapist or doctor as soon as you have a pain that’s not settling with short rest periods, or it’s returning again and again when doing a particular exercise or movement.

Guidance early on with these types of injuries can make all the difference and stop the pain becoming persistent or chronic in the first place.

Is your pain a sign of something more serious?

It’s not that common for joint or muscular pain to be serious, however I would suggest a discussion with your doctor if you’re getting or have had any of the following:

• Pain that is constant, that does not ease with rest or change of position.
• Night time pain, that is also more constant in nature.
• Pain that is severe or getting worse.
• Weight loss without reason or cause.
• Night sweats; profusely sweating during the night when you are asleep.
• If you have had a past history of cancer and you are experiencing persistent pain.
• Feeling generally unwell with the pain, or have a fever or illness.
• Pain alongside joint redness and the joint feeling hot.

Top image credit: Getty Images

Hannah Wright Musculoskeletal physiotherapist

About

Hannah is a registered musculoskeletal physiotherapist with 14 years of experience and a particular interest in sports injuries. She has her own private physiotherapy business, The Wright Physio, and also works within the NHS. Her day job in the NHS allows her to work alongside general practitioners and she also offers her own joint injection clinic. She’s worked at the popular triathlete sports resort Club La Santa, in Lanzarote, as a physiotherapist, treating professional triathletes. She’s also worked at the TCS London Marathon 'Meet the experts' event alongside Paul Holbrough, head physio, and Anita Bean, nutritionist.