Chronic pain is defined as pain existing consistently for greater than three (3) months in a row.
Most often physiotherapists will see chronic pain in the low back, neck, shoulder and knees, however chronic pain may be present in any area of the body. These sorts of conditions can be debilitating and have significant impact on normal day-to-day activities and work life. Chronic widespread musculoskeletal conditions are those in which multiple areas of the body are affected simultaneously, which understandably would have a profound impact on a person’s everyday life activities.
A recent study of over 59,000 participants looked at the impact of sleep disturbances on the prevalence of chronic pain. Although the prevalence of insomnia was very low in the study population (only 2.4%), there was a very strong correlation between those with insomnia and widespread chronic musculoskeletal conditions – pain in more than 3 body parts. (Uhlig et.al. 2018).
This suggests that, although one may not directly cause the other, treating sleep disturbance and improving sleep quality is an important component in the management of chronic widespread musculoskeletal conditions.
We also know that the body uses sleep as time to rest and recover from injury. This means that sleep and rest are vital in ensuring that the body has adequate time to heal, allowing for example for an athlete to return to sport quicker or for a person to resume their specific life activity.
There are a number of ways in which a physiotherapist can help to ensure that sleep is optimised. This ranges from choice of pillow, to relaxation exercises and stretches. A good night’s sleep could be the difference between getting you back involved in your next activity or event sooner rather than later.
At Waverley Park Physiotherapy Centre (Physioworks Mulgrave) we believe that “Everyone is an athlete we just have different events”. If you are experiencing widespread chronic musculoskeletal conditions/pain and sleep disturbances please speak with Physiotherapist Jordan Rutherford or one of the WPPC physiotherapy team.
Reference: B. L. Uhlig, T. Sand, T. I. Nilsen, P. J. Mork and K, Hagen (2018). Insomnia and Risk of chronic musculoskeletal complaints: Longitudinal Data from the HUNT study, Norway. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 19:128. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-018-2035-5.