“Chronic pain is an intricate condition which can affect sufferers in different ways. It can come about due to an accident, trauma, or a myriad of other reasons. – In many cases, such pain can impact people in ways that are highly detrimental to their lives & well-being. This includes: being unable to conduct normal daily activities, not being fit to work, finding it difficult to care for children & other family members, not being able to dress and wash, & feeling depressed & having other mental health symptoms”
Getting on the Road to Recovery: Seeing a Pain Consultant
The London Pain Clinic is well known for its team of leading Pain Consultants, who collectively, work to treat over 90 chronic pain conditions. – They achieve this by providing specialist interventions using both conventional and cutting-edge solutions from the latest analgesic medications to nerve root injections and physiotherapy.
When you attend your first appointment, or have your first online consultation, your Pain Specialist will conduct a comprehensive medical assessment, and evaluate the root/s and evolution of your underlying condition/s and pain. Further, if you have previously had any treatments or investigations, then these will be discussed. – For example, you may have only spoken to your GP, who, due to their lack of expertise in pain management, may have just given you pharmaceuticals, and not been able to do more for you. Further, unfortunately, there is also a time restraint on the NHS. Conversely, at the London Pain Clinic, the specialist consultants spend time asking about, and understanding every patient’s perspective on how their pain affects them. This includes the inconvenience and disruption to their general physical and mental well-being, their sleep, their frame of mind, their mood, their family duties, their work, and their daily living.
“Chronic pain is a serious health condition. Like any long-term health problem, the condition often leads to complications beyond your physical symptoms, such as new or worsened depression, anxiety, & difficulty sleeping. Chronic pain can make it more difficult to keep up at work, manage tasks at home & attend social gatherings, leading to problems in your relationships & financial instability. Some research suggests that the more severe your pain, the more serious these problems” [1] – Now is the time to take positive action…
Will I Need a Physical Examination?
A physical examination may be required, so if you have had an online consultation, your next step may be to attend an appointment in person. Moreover, regardless of whether your first consultation is in person or online, you may also be asked to have a scan or other form of investigation. Then, once your Pain Consultant has determined the best course of remedial action, they will give you a holistic Personalised Treatment Program involving both conventional and cutting-edge treatments. Note: you will be asked to keep a ‘Pain Dairy,’ in order for your Pain Specialist to see which treatments are ameliorating your condition, and hopefully, which protocols are making you feel just the person you once were…
Reference
Mayo Clinic (2021). “Chronic Pain: Medication Decisions.”
