Chronic Pain Management
Modern pain science and graded movement therapy — a different approach that actually works.
What is Chronic Pain Management?
When pain persists for months or years, something changes in how the nervous system processes signals. Tissues may have healed, scans may show little, but the pain remains — and often worsens with activity. This is not imaginary. It reflects real neurological changes that respond to a specific, evidence-based treatment approach.
At Sunnyvale Physical Therapy, our chronic pain program integrates pain neuroscience education with carefully graded movement exposure. We help you understand what is actually happening, reduce fear and avoidance, and systematically rebuild your capacity to move, work, and live — without letting pain be the barrier.
"Pain neuroscience education combined with graded exercise therapy reduces pain intensity, disability, and healthcare utilization more effectively than biomedical treatment alone — with improvements sustained at 12-month follow-up."
Who benefits from chronic pain management?
Patients with pain lasting longer than three months
Chronic pain often involves central sensitization — an amplified nervous system response that physical therapy's education-and-movement approach is specifically designed to address.
Those who have tried everything else
Many of our chronic pain patients have seen multiple providers without lasting relief. Our approach addresses the nervous system's role — something most prior treatments have not targeted.
People afraid to move because of pain
Fear of movement (kinesiophobia) is one of the strongest predictors of chronic pain disability. Graded exposure systematically rebuilds trust in your body, one step at a time.
How a session unfolds
Your Full Story
We take the time to hear your complete pain history — what has helped, what has not, what you have been told, and what your goals are. This session shapes everything that follows.
Pain Neuroscience Education
We explain, in plain language, what modern science says is happening in persistent pain. This education alone has been shown to reduce pain intensity and fear, independent of any physical intervention.
Graded Movement Exposure
We introduce movements that pain has told you to avoid — in carefully controlled doses, at a pace that allows your nervous system to update its threat response without triggering a flare.
Self-Management and Relapse Planning
You leave with a deep understanding of your own pain system and the tools to manage flare-ups independently, so progress continues long after formal therapy ends.
What we treat with chronic pain management
The evidence behind chronic pain management
Our clinical decisions are grounded in current peer-reviewed research and the guidelines of the American Physical Therapy Association.
Pain neuroscience education (PNE) reduces pain intensity, disability, and catastrophizing scores significantly compared to biomedical education in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Graded activity and graded exposure therapy are recommended by NICE (UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) as first-line treatments for chronic primary pain.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles integrated with physical rehabilitation improve psychological flexibility and pain-related outcomes in chronic pain populations.
Exercise therapy reduces pain and improves function in fibromyalgia — a condition often told it cannot be treated — with effects comparable to pharmacological intervention.
Chronic Pain Management in Queens, NY
Ridgewood
Forest Hills
Forest Hills, NY 11375
Sat: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Frequently asked questions
Your recovery starts with one call.
Ready to get back to the life you love? Our clinical specialists are here to answer your questions and schedule your evaluation.