If You Can Reproduce It, You Can Fix It: Understanding Mechanical Pain and Treatment
Welcome back to MoveMed! Today, we’re delving into one of the core principles of musculoskeletal (MSK) treatment: If you can reproduce it, you can fix it. In the world of MSK injuries, understanding the source of pain is the first step to resolving it. And more often than not, if we can reproduce a patient’s pain by applying stress to a joint, muscle, ligament, or tendon in the clinic, we can achieve positive treatment outcomes through rehabilitation and lifestyle modifications.
Mechanical Pain: A Fixable Issue
Mechanical pain is pain that arises from a structural issue in your musculoskeletal system—be it a joint that’s not moving correctly, a muscle that’s too tight or too weak, or a tendon that’s been overused. What’s great about mechanical pain is that it’s often reproducible in a clinical setting, which means we can usually figure out what’s causing it and, in turn, fix it.
By “fix,” I mean that we can create positive outcomes through a comprehensive treatment approach. This involves releasing the source of the problem, retraining the affected tissues through rehabilitation exercises, and making lifestyle adjustments to prevent future recurrence.
Reproducing the Pain to Find the Solution
When a patient comes in with pain, we assess their movement and stress the potentially affected areas. If we can recreate their exact pain, we’ve found the root cause—and that’s usually good news because it means we can address it effectively.
Take, for example, a patient presenting with occipital headaches. The headaches might come with jaw pain and even tingling in the tongue, which sounds complex. But in treatment, we might assess the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle, and by applying pressure to the upper portion of the SCM, we could reproduce their exact headache. This gives us a clear path forward. By releasing associated trigger points, mobilising the affected joints, and incorporating rehabilitation exercises, the headaches often disappear.
Similarly, a patient may present with what their GP has diagnosed as sciatica. After testing and stressing the piriformis muscle, we might reproduce the exact symptoms they experience—numbness and tingling extending down the leg and into the foot. With treatment involving dry needling, sacroiliac joint mobilisations, and a rehabilitation program aimed at releasing and strengthening the piriformis, their symptoms often resolve.
Exceptions to the Rule
Of course, there are always exceptions. Some pain may be secondary or tertiary to mechanical issues, meaning the primary source of the pain may not be directly in the structure we can easily assess. In these cases, even if we cannot reproduce the primary pain in the room, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed. Sometimes, addressing the mechanical issue alleviates secondary symptoms, or we may need to take a more in-depth look at lifestyle factors or other underlying conditions.
The Power of Comprehensive Care
What’s important to remember is that treating mechanical pain requires more than just passive treatment. Once we’ve identified and released the mechanical source of the problem, rehabilitation exercises become key to restoring normal function. Strengthening and improving movement patterns helps prevent recurrence and stops the issue from migrating to other joints or tissues.
Lifestyle modifications are equally essential. Ensuring proper ergonomics at work, adopting correct lifting techniques, and maintaining an active lifestyle are just a few of the ways we can prevent future mechanical pain.
Conclusion: Reproduce, Treat, Strengthen
At MoveMed, our approach to mechanical pain is straightforward: If we can reproduce it, we can fix it. By assessing and reproducing the exact cause of your discomfort, we create a tailored treatment plan that not only addresses the immediate issue but also focuses on long-term recovery and prevention.
Ready to fix your pain and move freely again? Book your appointment today, and let’s get you back to living without limitations.
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References:
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