Chronic Pain Physical Therapy in Long Beach, CA
Most injuries heal within three to six months. Chronic pain is pain that lasts beyond normal healing time. At Sunshine Physical Therapy and Wellness in Long Beach, every visit is one-on-one with Dr. Stacie Groat, PT, DPT, OCS, who focuses on why your symptoms persist, how to heal, and builds a plan to help you move and live more comfortably.
Is This Right For You?
You may be a good fit if you have:
- Pain lasting months or years, even after the original injury should have healed
- Persistent low back, hip, neck, jaw, knee, or pelvic pain
- A long history of appointments with seeing multiple providers, getting diagnostic tests and imaging with little to no improvement
Why Pain Can Last
Think of pain as an alarm system. Its job is to warn you when something might be wrong. Some people have more sensitive alarms than others, and when pain lasts a long time, the brain can build strong neural pathways that remember what pain feels like. The alarm keeps going off, even when there’s no new danger.
That’s not “all in your head,” and it’s not a sign that something is broken. It’s a nervous system that has learned to be on high alert, and what’s been learned can change. Dr. Stacie has completed training in pain reprocessing therapy, which helps you understand how your brain and body shape pain and gives you new ways to respond when symptoms show up. We pair that with hands-on care and gradual movement, at a pace that feels safe to you.
What We Do
Help you understand your pain. The first step to heal from chronic pain is understanding why pain becomes chronic. We explain what’s going on in plain language, so your symptoms stop feeling like a mystery.
Hands-on care. Manual therapy to ease tension and help your body feel safe to move.
Gradual movement. We build back activity step by step, starting with what you can do now.
Pain reprocessing. Tools for changing how you respond to pain, so flare-ups feel less frightening.
A plan for home. Simple steps that fit your life, so progress continues between visits and after we finish PT.
What to Expect
Your first visit. We start by listening to your story: what happened, what you’ve tried, what has helped, and what you want to get back to doing. Then we look at how you move and use hands-on assessment to see what your body is doing. Your first visit is 1 hour.
Making sense of your pain. We explain what we find in plain language, including how the alarm system works and why yours may still be sounding. Many people tell us this is the first time their pain has made sense.
Building your plan. Together we create a plan that fits your life. It usually includes hands-on care, gradual movement, and tools for responding to symptoms differently. We’ll start with what feels manageable and build from there.
Moving at your pace. Flare-ups can happen, and they’re not a sign you’re going backwards. We’ll talk about what to do when they show up so they feel less scary and so that you don’t feel like you are losing all your progress.
Every visit is one-on-one. You’ll work with Dr. Stacie the entire time, not an aide. You’ll never be rushed out the door.
Skills you keep. The goal is for you to leave with an understanding of your pain and tools you can use on your own, so you feel more in charge of your body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can physical therapy help chronic pain?
For many people, yes. We’ll tell you honestly if another provider would help you more. Pain reprocessing therapy techniques and physical therapy helped Dr. Stacie heal from chronic low back pain and sciatica.
Why do I still hurt if my injury has healed?
Pain isn’t only a measure of tissue damage. It’s also the nervous system’s alarm system going off. After a long stretch of pain, that alarm can become more sensitive and keep sounding even when your body has healed. Treatment focuses on regulating the nervous system while rebuilding your confidence in movement.
What is pain reprocessing therapy?
It’s an approach that focuses on how the brain interprets pain signals, using education, gradual return to feared movements, and techniques for responding to symptoms with less fear. It isn’t right for every type of pain, and we’ll talk with you about whether it fits your situation.
Do you treat chronic pelvic pain?
Yes. See our Pelvic Pain page.
Physical therapy is not a substitute for medical care. If you have new, severe, or unexplained pain, please see a physician. We work alongside your doctors, and we’ll recommend a medical evaluation if we think you need one