Pain management

We recognise that persistent pain may affect not only your mood, activity levels, sleep patterns and self confidence, but can also impact on your life at work, at home and socially. Lifestyle management gives you established and recommended pain management techniques that you can incorporate within your daily life. We offer sessions that may be provided in a small group setting, via video conferencing or on an individual basis. There is a resource list we will also send you. Sessions we offer are: understanding pain; diet, nutrients and pain; sleep and relaxation; pain medication; opioid medication; mind-body links; good health – work and exercise; improve my function (following being seen by a physiotherapist).

TENS therapy is another useful technique used in the management of persistent pain. A TENS machine is a small battery operated, portable device that gives a gentle tingling sensation and blocks the painful sensations, on their pathway in the spinal cord, before they reach the brain. Stimulation occurs through adhesive pads placed on the skin.

It is not unusual for pain to make it difficult to use parts of the body that hurt. If we do not use our body effectively, then muscle wasting, shrinkage and stiffness will occur, leading to further pain and greater disability. Physiotherapy is helpful in providing advice on exercise, movement, stretching and posture in addition to providing other forms of treatments. Even if you have tried physiotherapy prior to coming to the Pain Clinic, we may be able to recommend more specific treatment which can help increase your movement and decrease your disability.

Chronic pain can cause distress and upset. This can manifest in poor psychological functioning, damage and stress on relationships and poorer health outcomes. The pain team offer psychological therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), hypnotherapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help with the practical and emotional impact of chronic pain. Your pain specialist may refer you for assessment to see whether you might benefit from psychological therapy.

You may be referred to a Clinical Nurse Specialist for a medication review. Reviews can either be face-to-face or via the telephone. As well as pain-relieving drugs (analgesics), there are other medications that can alter your experience of pain. Further drug information will be provided during your consultation, explaining why the drug has been recommended and what we are hoping to accomplish: improved sleep, decreased skin sensitivity or perhaps a decrease in the frequency of flare-ups.

Nerve blocks are injections which usually are performed as a day case procedure by a doctor who specialises in pain management. Such blocks are designed as both diagnostic and therapeutic trials to ensure that the source of the pain is identified and to determine how much of the problem is reversible. Written information on specific treatments will be given prior to treatment, and will be attached to the clinic letter sent to your GP (a copy of which will also be sent to you). Following a nerve block, a post intervention questionnaire will be sent out for completion. The questionnaire is to establish benefit gained from the procedure and will guide our pain specialists as to further management and follow up. Physiotherapy, increases in daily movement and daily exercise are vital after nerve blocks to assist the effectiveness of the procedure. Your pain specialist will decide whether your pain condition is suitable for nerve block.