Treatments
for Chronic Pain
It
was once said that, "when there
is no immediate cure for something,
the number of available treatments
is vast. When there is a cure
for something, the number of
treatments is usually rather
limited and specific."
The number of treatments available
for chronic pain is vast and
growing. The most prominent of
these treatments is medications.
While there is certainly a role
for medications in the management
of chronic pain, that role should
be supplementary or secondary
to more effective treatments
for severe, chronic pain.
When many out-patient medical
and surgical treatment efforts
have not produced good results
and one's life functions and
quality of life is deteriorating
it may be time for another treatment
approach. Specifically that treatment
is comprehensive in-patient pain
management services. The specific
components of that treatment
are:
- 6 week program
plus one year of follow-up
aftercare
- time out from usual life
circumstance with total
focus on health
- slow tapering of all
narcotics and reconsideration
of other medications
- intensive treatments
in some instances two
or three times per day:
- medical
follow-up
- physical
therapy
- exercise
- aquatic
therapy
- detoxification
- cognitive-behavioral
counseling
- work
simplification
and body
mechanics
- counseling/depression
management
- mindfulness meditation
- recreation therapy
- independence training
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- stress
management/biofeedback
- family
therapy
- medical
therapies
- nursing
care
- chemical
dependency
counseling
- nutritional
care
- laboratory
assessment
- psychological
testing
- individual
and group
visits
- community visits
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Following treatment our patients
typically report contentment
managing their chronic pain without
the use of habit-forming medications
and usually do not report any
particular increase in pain intensity
following detoxification.
Our detoxification process is
slow, using a tapering dose
of a long-acting narcotic
in combination with other
medications to control withdrawal symptoms.
Patient reports of satisfaction
with our detoxification process
are consistently high. Our
goal is to eliminate all
unnecessary medications that are not
helping and work within a
self-efficacy model in which the patient's
enhanced strength, self-confidence,
and determination work in
concert with non-narcotic
medications to defeat syndrome effects.
Our combination of pain management
and reduction treatments include:
- Physical methods
- Medications
- Psychological methods
- Educational skills
- Biofeedback self-regulation
- Stabilization, adaptation,
confrontation, and acceptance
For over a quarter-century, the majority
of our patients have achieved
success with these methods and
usually report decreased pain,
increased strength, weight loss,
improved self-confidence and
reduced depression. |
