“Living with chronic, persistent pain is a fact of life for 3 out of 10 people. Chronic pain can develop in various ways, including from injury or illnesses. When pain lasts beyond three to six months, treatment [involving a Holistic Personalised Treatment Plan, such as that provided by the London Pain Clinic], focuses on the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord” [1]
The Importance of an Accurate Pain Diagnosis
Owing to a biological process known as ‘central sensitisation,’ long-term pain is not so easy for a medic to establish. To that end, many patients who have not been given an accurate diagnosis from their GP, and thus not received appropriate conventional and innovative treatments, pharmaceuticals, therapies and injectables, consult a Pain Doctor. This is because the latter have undertaken years of extensive specialist training. This includes years of hospital and/or clinical practice in pain diagnosis. Moreover, Pain Consultants are always abreast of the latest research on pain conditions and cutting-edge solutions.
Do You Know What Pain Pathways Are?
A simple analogy is to imagine a small city which only has one motorway into and out of it. Now, visualise this city rapidly expanding to a capacity of ten million people, and thus the need to generate many more motorways for people to get in and out. This is similar to a pain condition in which symptoms develop and proliferate because of the vast number of pathways involved {1]. – A scenario which can make it extremely difficult for some medics to make an accurate diagnosis.
Pain Response & the Central Sensitisation Process
As your Pain Consultant will explain to you, how we think and react to our pain creates an interaction with our central sensitisation process [1]. To that end, various elements can intensify our pain. These elements include:
- Going through an anxious and/or stressful experience
- Under-exerting or over-exerting yourself
- Being unable to take part in the activities that you enjoy doing
- Suffering from social isolation
- Feeling depressed [1]
Effective Pain Management Strategies
- Undertaking regular breathing exercises (these will be explained to you by your Pain Doctor during an online or in-person consultation)
- Getting moving by joining a Tai Chi class (subject to any contraindications)
- Doing regular stretching exercises as (recommended by your Pain Specialist)
- Listening to relaxing meditative videos
- Taking part in enjoyable activities
- Being mindful
- Ensuring you have sufficient sleep
- Set regular sleep times and avoid staying in bed for extended periods of time outside these hours
- Write out a list of tangible goals that you will be able to achieve, and then just focus on one at a time
- If you are trying to achieve a difficult goal do not be in a rush to finish it. Take your time so that you do not over-tire yourself and create stress and anxiety
- Make sure that you are consuming a healthy diet with lots of fresh natural foods (according to your personal needs)
- Quit smoking (if you do smoke cigarettes or vapes)
- Quit alcoholic beverages
- Stay connected with your Pain Doctor. (Your initial consultation can be held online or in-person, and after your Pain Specialist has reviewed your medical history, and undertaken any necessary examination, tests and scans, and as a result, given you an accurate diagnosis, and put your on a Holistic Personalised Treatment Plan, they will then ensure that your condition is regularly monitored, and that the treatments, medications, therapies and injectables, are ameliorating your condition and allowing you to get your life back on track)
- Accept support from your friends and family [1]
Reference
[1]. Mayo Clinic (2022). “Pathways through persistent pain: Tips for managing chronic pain.”
