Chronic pain is pain that persists beyond three months. It is real, it is common, and with the right plan most people can meaningfully turn it down and get back to what matters.
Chronic pain is pain that continues beyond three months, past the time tissues normally take to heal. It affects roughly one in five Canadian adults. The pain is completely real, but it is often driven less by ongoing damage and more by a pain system that has become overprotective.
That distinction matters, because hurt does not always mean harm. When the pain system is sensitized, movement can be safe even when it is sore. Our team treats chronic pain from several angles at once, combining physiotherapy, graded activity and clinical counselling. Improvement is realistic. Quick fixes, honestly, are not.
Physiotherapy, kinesiology and clinical counselling are covered by most extended health plans, and we bill your insurer directly, with no doctor's referral needed for most plans. Where an ICBC claim applies, ICBC pre-approves up to 25 physiotherapy visits and 12 counselling or kinesiology visits.
Chronic pain shows up differently for everyone. These patterns are common, and none of them mean your pain is imagined or that nothing can be done about it.
Discomfort that persists long after tissues have had time to heal.
Pain that swings between better days and flare-ups without obvious reason.
Aching that spreads or moves beyond the original area.
Ordinary movement or light pressure feels more painful than it should.
Persistent pain that drains energy and disturbs sleep.
Frustration, worry or low mood travelling alongside the pain.
A small number of presentations need medical assessment rather than physiotherapy first. See your doctor promptly, or seek urgent care, if your pain arrives with any of the following.
Chronic pain usually has more than one contributor. Understanding which ones apply to you is the first step of the plan.
Over time the nervous system can get better at producing pain, turning up the volume even after tissues have healed. This sensitization is the most common driver of persistent pain, and it can be trained back down.
Most commonSometimes pain outlasts the original sprain, strain or surgery. The tissue has largely healed, but guarding, reduced activity and an alert pain system keep the symptoms going long after the initial trigger.
Arthritis, disc changes, fibromyalgia and other long-term conditions can feed a steady stream of signals into an already sensitive system. Managing the condition and the pain response together usually works better than targeting either alone.
Poor sleep, prolonged stress and low mood all turn up pain processing in the brain and spinal cord. This is biology, not weakness, and it is why counselling can be a genuine part of pain treatment.
When movement hurts, avoiding it feels sensible. Over time, though, muscles and joints tolerate less and less, so ordinary activity provokes pain sooner, and the cycle of avoidance quietly deepens.
Irritated or injured nerves can produce burning, shooting or electric pain that behaves differently from muscle and joint pain. It often responds to a different mix of treatments, which is why careful assessment matters.
We look at the whole picture, including your history, movement, sleep, stress, previous treatment and what you want your life to look like. Chronic pain is never just one thing, so we never assess it as one thing.
We explain, in plain language, how a sensitized pain system works and why hurt does not always equal harm. Many people find that simply understanding their pain starts to loosen its grip.
Hands-on treatment, gentle movement and, where appropriate, counselling support help settle sensitivity and rebuild your confidence to move. The goal at this stage is less pain with the activities you already do.
We build your activity up in planned, tolerable steps so capacity grows without repeated flare-ups. You leave with a plan you can run yourself, including what to do when pain spikes.
Honestly, months rather than weeks. Most people notice small wins within the first several sessions, then build steadily from there. Flare-ups along the way are normal and expected, and they do not mean the plan has failed.
Chronic pain rarely responds to a single tool. Your plan combines approaches from across our team, adjusted as you progress.
Assessment, pain education, hands-on treatment and a graded exercise plan form the backbone of chronic pain care for most people.
Pain-focused counselling that addresses stress, sleep, low mood and coping, factors that directly influence how much pain the nervous system produces.
Supervised, progressive exercise sessions that rebuild strength and activity tolerance at a pace your pain system can accept.
Registered massage helps ease muscle guarding and tension, and many people find it makes their active rehabilitation more comfortable.
Fine needles at specific points can help settle pain and muscle tension for some people, as part of a broader plan.
Targets tight, overactive muscle bands that often develop after months of guarding, helping restore easier, less protective movement.
Assessment and treatment for pain and movement problems, and the foundation of most chronic pain plans.
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Support for the stress, sleep and mood factors that turn pain up, from a registered clinical counsellor.
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Active rehabilitation that rebuilds strength and confidence through carefully graded exercise.
Learn moreOur friendly team is happy to help. Reach us during clinic hours. We are open 8:00am to 8:00pm on Tuesday and Thursday, and 9:00am to 6:00pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Book an appointmentNo. All pain, acute or chronic, is produced by the nervous system, and yours is entirely real. In chronic pain the system has become overprotective, which is a physiological change, not an imagined one, and it can be treated.
Scans show structure, not pain. Persistent pain is usually driven by a sensitized pain system rather than ongoing tissue damage, so imaging often looks unremarkable. A normal scan is actually good news, because it means movement is safe to build on.
Neither extreme helps. Long rest shrinks your capacity, while pushing hard triggers flare-ups. Graded activity, increasing what you do in small planned steps, is the middle path with the best evidence for chronic pain.
Because stress, poor sleep and low mood measurably amplify pain processing. Counselling does not mean your pain is psychological. It means we are treating every factor that keeps the pain system turned up.
No referral is needed for most extended health plans, and we bill your insurer directly. If your pain relates to an ICBC claim, ICBC pre-approves up to 25 physiotherapy visits and 12 counselling or kinesiology visits.
Book an assessment at New Ray Physiotherapy and Health Clinic in Abbotsford. We are open 8:00am to 8:00pm on Tuesday and Thursday, and 9:00am to 6:00pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with direct billing to most insurers.