Acute vs Chronic Pain...and why it happens.
- Sherry Routledge
- Dec 8, 2025
- 2 min read
Disney-itis?
Poor Rob on our recent family trip with our not so little littles, he developed a sharp stabbing pain on the top of his ankle. Yep- his talus was out, just a little 3 minute tweak and he was off and running again (but seriously - the kids put the miles on us --120km's in 10 days!) And as you can clearly see- we just love sensible shoes. (doh!)
In our own clinic we have seen all kinds of pain -both chronic and acute, and we always wondered, what's the deal with chronicity? How is it that you're ok with your current pain until the arbitrary 3 months pass and then you're screwed- chronic pain forever? But how? But why??
If you are curious too this is an excellent article on what really happens when someone experiences pain—and how it can progress to chronicity!
Why You Need to Read It
This paper beautifully breaks down what’s going on beneath the surface when pain persists--
• How the nervous and immune systems talk to each other.
• What happens during peripheral and central sensitization.
• How glial cells, cytokines, and stress fuel ongoing pain.
• And why the brain can sometimes keep the pain experience alive long after the tissues have healed.
In short, it’s a powerful, science-backed look at why “hurt” doesn’t always mean “harm.”
Why It Matters for Manual Therapists
At RAPID, this kind of knowledge is woven into every single one of our lectures.
We include it because when you understand what’s really happening inside your client’s body and brain, you can--
• Treat with more precision.
• Communicate with more confidence.
• Create lasting change that goes beyond the treatment table.
Learn It. Use It. Share It.
If you’re a therapist who wants to better understand why pain behaves the way it does — and how your hands-on work can help modulate those mechanisms — this article is a must-read.
So grab a coffee, dive in, and get ready to see pain in a whole new way.
Usually when I say a phone game is satisfying, I mean it’s shallow but polished. Pixel Flow is satisfying and also kind of mean. You’re breaking apart these chunky colorful voxel objects with pigs that only target their own color, and if you pick the wrong moment, those pigs hang around in reserve and make future moves tighter. That little pressure system is what kept me on it.
What makes Stellar Burner addictive is its rhythm. Dodge, adjust, breathe, repeat. Stellar Burner feels less like a game and more like piloting a fighter through a narrowing cosmic corridor.