Going through trauma impacts you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Dr. Bryant S. Edwards, a veteran and board-certified physician, understands this at a deep level. At his medspa-style clinic, Iconic Infusions, PLLC, located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he offers care for the physical and mental aftereffects of trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain.
What you may not realize is that PTSD and chronic pain conditions are often connected. Instead of thinking that you’re suffering from the health impacts of two different issues and trying to address them separately, what if you came to understand the link between your pain and your PTSD? Possibly, you could really heal. Without pain or PTSD to hold you back, you could fully embrace life again.
In this blog, Dr. Edwards explains more about how PTSD and chronic pain can be intertwined and mutually reinforcing conditions – and how, by taking control of the connection, you can find healing and renewed wellness, no matter your trauma history.
PTSD develops after a variety of types of trauma. Military service, or experiencing a war zone, is only one way to end up with a PTSD diagnosis. A physical injury or trauma, or a difficult life event like an assault or a significant loss, can also leave you suffering from PTSD.
In PTSD, the brain “hangs up” on the traumatic event, continuing to circle and center the trauma after it has passed and is over. You may have flashbacks, intrusive nightmares, or a sense of anxiety that never really goes away.
Chronic pain conditions also often involve a “hang up” or a negative repeating cycle in the brain. This is especially true if you have a neuropathic chronic pain condition, in which your brain continues to register and react to pain signals even after your tissues are all healthy. Chronic pain can over-sensitize your nervous system, so that you can’t stop feeling pain or recover your physical well-being.
PTSD and chronic pain are similar conditions, but could the one diagnosis actually be the cause of the other? It’s absolutely true that your pain symptoms may be the result of your PTSD, or vice versa.
Depending on the ways that trauma has touched your life, you may find that your chronic pain is related to or caused by your PTSD. Constant tension, disrupted sleep, and mental stress may manifest as physical discomfort that won’t go away.
On the other hand, living with a chronic pain condition can cause PTSD. Your pain is continuous or recurring, possibly striking without warning. Before diagnosis, you may not understand what’s happening in your own body. These circumstances can prove traumatic, causing lasting injury to your mental health. Depression is often co-occurring with chronic pain, and PTSD can be, as well.
Dr. Edwards and the team at Iconic Infusions, PLLC treat conditions like chronic pain and PTSD with a holistic approach. We make sure to understand all the factors that may be at work in your physical and mental health, and integrate your treatment plan so that all connected conditions are fully addressed.
Dr. Edwards may recommend intravenous ketamine infusion therapy as part of your treatment plan. This safe, physician-administered drug therapy helps to break your brain out of destructive loops and can help with both PTSD and chronic pain.
For compassionate, personalized, and holistic support with chronic pain and mental health, reach out to Dr. Edwards and the team at Iconic Infusions, PLLC today. Schedule your initial consultation online or by phone now.
