I have read in your blog that some people are getting almost miraculous results with the PAT unit. I have chronic back pain and I can’t imagine all that pain going away. What do you say?
To answer your question briefly… yes, you should get at least some relief, but chronic pain is unique and the following will give you a better idea of what we are dealing with.
The best way to discuss the situation of chronic pain, especially above 6/10 on the pain scale, is that it is very important to understand what happens within the body after pain is present for long periods of time.
Whatever the reason for chronic pain, the surrounding muscles always go into protective muscle spasms. This is one of the defense mechanisms of the body. The brain picks up nerve signals from the damaged area and several things happen. First, the brain sends signals to the surrounding muscles around the pain to become very taut, that is become tight in almost a muscle cramp. This is to protect the damaged area as the tight muscles in essence act like a splint holding the area tight. It also sends in swelling (edema) to the area to “pillow” the nerves to protect them as well.
If you were to treat the painful area right away with the PAT unit, you would get a much more immediate response to lessening of the pain. However, once the painful area is present for a week or more, the microscopic capillary systems (tiny arteries) which were damaged in the initial trauma, are not yet functioning properly. Our muscles depend on these capillaries to cleanse the surrounding tissue, especially the muscles, of all the waste products of the metabolism going on. If the capillaries are not yet functioning properly, these waste products accumulate in the muscles and tissues and are irritants. That means the waste products of the metabolism accumulate and further irritate the area. The PAT unit’s first phase helps normalize the tissues to help them function properly again. Also, when muscles are in chronic spasm, adhesions form within the tissues which are like very tiny rubber bands holding things together. However, they get in the way of normal movement and need to be loosened up oftentimes by stretching and until the cycle is broken, the pain tends to remain.
So the bottom line here is that if you have chronic pain, the tissues are probably in some aspect of the state previously discussed. When you first apply the PAT Pain device to the area, it will begin the process of correction. You may, as stated, get some good temporary relief after the first treatment. However, it may take several weeks of daily or even twice daily treatments to get an excellent result.
This was an attempt to simplify a rather complex biochemical physiological response which Dr. Chandler may be able to describe in more detail. But, I doubt whether many people really want a more complicated answer. If you so desire, write to us and Dr. Chandler will help.