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Chronic pain can affect every part of your life, your ability to work, your relationships with family and friends, your activity levels and your sleep. All of this may become overwhelming and can cause a vicious circle of increasing pain and distress and affects your how you coping ability. What is Chronic Pain?
“Chronic pain is continuous, long-term pain of more than 12 weeks or after the time that healing would have been thought to have occurred in pain after trauma or surgery”. [1]
While acute pain is a normal sensation that you feel when you cut your finger or sprain a muscle, it is a warning signal that tells your body that a part may have been damaged and needs your attention. Chronic or persistent pain may have been present for weeks or months, causing the nervous system to fire but no longer acts as a warning signal. Instead your body has gone into overdrive and the pain that you perceive no longer refers to possible damage. This may have occurred from an initial back sprain, nasty infection, or even and ongoing cause of pain such as arthritis, cancer etc. For some people who suffer with chronic pain there may be an absence of past injury or damage. How many people are affected by chronic pain in the UK? Almost 10 million Britons suffer pain almost daily resulting in a major impact on their quality of life and more days off work. [2] Chronic pain is one of the most common reasons for seeing their GP. These patients are making frequent visits to their GP’s and often have to rely off them for support. Who is affects by chronic pain? Chronic pain can affect all ages, however many chronic pain conditions affect older adults. One in 3 patients over the age of 65 years is affected by chronic pain. |
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What types of conditions give rise to chronic pain?
Chronic pain takes many forms, these include:
It is possible for a person to have two or more co-existing chronic pain conditions. These include:
Is there any treatment?
Medications, acupuncture, local electrical stimulation, manipulative, manual therapy and brain stimulation, as well as surgery, are some treatments
for chronic pain. Counselling, relaxation and meditation therapies, biofeedback, and behaviour modification techniques may also be used to treat
chronic pain.
At the Centre here we have a number of therapists who specialise in chronic pain management: These include
It is now known that understanding more about why things hurt can actually help people to overcome their pain.
The main aims of managing pain are:
There are many pain management strategies available, these might include:
Initial Assessment. This looks at:
The Practitioner will then liaise with the patient to:
Common strategies used for chronic pain management are:
What is the prognosis?
Many people with chronic pain can be helped if they understand all the causes of pain and the many and varied steps that can be taken to undo what chronic pain has done.
See publication from British Pain Society “ Understanding Chronic Pain” (See link)
Further reading/ resources for chronic pain sufferers :
Explain Pain by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley. Finsbury Green Printing. Niogroup Publications. ISBN 0-9750910-0-X
The Centre for Clinical
Please read our disclaimer.
References:
[1] British Pain Society
[2] British Pain Society
Chronic pain takes many forms, these include:
- Headache and migraine
- Back pain
- Cancer pain
- Arthritis pain
- Facial pain such as Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Neurogenic / neuropathic pain (pain resulting from damage to the peripheral nerves or to the central nervous system itself) such as Complex Regional Pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Psychogenic pain (pain not due to past disease or injury or any visible sign of damage
- inside or outside the nervous system). CPRS may also come under this category.
It is possible for a person to have two or more co-existing chronic pain conditions. These include:
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Endometriosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Interstitial cystitis
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
Is there any treatment?
Medications, acupuncture, local electrical stimulation, manipulative, manual therapy and brain stimulation, as well as surgery, are some treatments
for chronic pain. Counselling, relaxation and meditation therapies, biofeedback, and behaviour modification techniques may also be used to treat
chronic pain.
At the Centre here we have a number of therapists who specialise in chronic pain management: These include
It is now known that understanding more about why things hurt can actually help people to overcome their pain.
The main aims of managing pain are:
- To gain patient understanding of the pain mechanisms
- To gain patient understanding of how our brain and chemical systems respond to pain
- To reduce the threat of pain
- To improve patient management of their pain
- To empower the patient
There are many pain management strategies available, these might include:
Initial Assessment. This looks at:
- The nature of the pain process
- How the pain presents
- The past Medical History
- The medication regime that you are taking
- How you cope at present
The Practitioner will then liaise with the patient to:
- Explain the pain presenting mechanism:
- Brain mechanisms
- Chemical / hormonal mechanisms mechanisms
- Coping mechanisms
- Pacing mechanisms
- Explain the importance of correct medication in terms of dosage and frequency
- Develop a management plan in co-operation with the patient
- Develop an appropriate exercise plan
- Develop a pacing plan
- Work towards empowering the patient to manage his/her condition
- Recommend further reading material
Common strategies used for chronic pain management are:
- Physiotherapy and Osteopathic intervention
- Exercise programmes
- Pain modulation techniques
- Pacing techniques
- Functional rehabilitation
- Other mental -emotional disciplines used where needed, these might include: Clinical Psychology, Hypnotherapy, Counselling
What is the prognosis?
Many people with chronic pain can be helped if they understand all the causes of pain and the many and varied steps that can be taken to undo what chronic pain has done.
See publication from British Pain Society “ Understanding Chronic Pain” (See link)
Further reading/ resources for chronic pain sufferers :
Explain Pain by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley. Finsbury Green Printing. Niogroup Publications. ISBN 0-9750910-0-X
The Centre for Clinical
Please read our disclaimer.
References:
[1] British Pain Society
[2] British Pain Society
