Chronic pain treatment

 It is so important to find appropriate treatment when you have chronic pain. I will speak from the perspective of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), but it may be applicable to other chronic pain syndromes. You need to find the right person to help you through it. Physical therapy (PT) is a standard treatment for EDS, in order to strengthen muscles to better support loose, hypermobile, painful joints. However, it is not as easy as it sounds, in my experience, I would do something to try to get stronger, which would result in additional pain/injury, which resulted in less movement, and less strength. I went through these cycles so many time, I was unable to walk without a walking boot on for months at a time. There seem to be only select PTs who really understand and know how to treat chronic pain. A standard PT, or even doctor who doesn’t understand EDS or other disease processes with chronic pain can do more harm than good, as I have experienced. As a physician, I know how poorly understood EDS and in general chronic pain is in the medical community. I have gotten worse over the years after seeing many different doctors or PTs. I suffered trauma and increased pain due to these encounters, even as a physician who has medical knowledge. I do remember learning about pain and central sensitization of pain briefly in the 1st year of medical school, in the basic sciences. But these concepts were never discussed again throughout the rest of my medical training. I was first reintroduced to these concepts by a phenomenal PT I had the luck and privilege of finally meeting, Jennifer Nelson DPT (jenfitter.com). Sadly, or maybe luckily (looking at it that I was privileged to even get to work with her a few months), it was only a few months before she had a planned move out of state. The concepts she used, really seemed to help me. She moved very slowly, only progressing the exercise when even 1 repetition was able to be performed without symptoms. That is apparently key. I made major improvements that I hadn’t been able to make for years thanks to her help. I recommend her wholeheartedly for anyone else in a similar position, or at least to find a PT who is knowledgeable about hypermobility and chronic pain.