Why See a Psychologist for Pain?
Patients can sometimes question why their physicians want them to see a psychologist for pain. The concern, of course, is that they are going to get stigmatized. They might wonder, “Doesn't my doctor not believe me?” or “Do they think it’s all in my head?” This reaction can often prevent patients with chronic pain from seeking the care of a psychologist. It is, however, unfortunate. Among all healthcare providers who specialize in the treatment of chronic pain, psychologists provide some of the most effective therapies.
How People Cope with Pain Really Well: 2
In the last post, we started a discussion about how people cope with chronic pain really well. Specifically, we looked at five attributes and skills that people do when coping well with chronic pain. The point of the discussion was that it is a way to learn how to cope better. Coping with chronic pain is a set of skills like any other set of skills and you learn how to cope with pain just like you learn other skills – like learning how to knit or play the piano or play tennis.
Coping with Pain: How People Who Cope Really Well Do It
If you wanted to learn how to knit well, you might take a class at your community craft store. You might also get a how-to book out of the library or watch a few YouTube videos. But as you did all these things, you would also pay attention to those who already knit well and watch how they do it. You would then try to do what they do.
Values & Chronic Pain Management
I recently came across this blog post in my reading and thought that it would be a good conversation starter. In the post, Mark MacLeod, MD, raises the point that we need to have an on-going discussion about values in healthcare. Dr. MacLeod is on to something here. In his piece, Dr. MacLeod is writing within and about the Canadian healthcare system. However, his point is applicable to any country’s healthcare system. We need to engage in a communal dialogue about our values when it comes to what we should (or should not) do with our healthcare systems.
From Degenerative Disc Disease to Central Sensitization: A Paradigm Shift
Thomas Kuhn, a historian of science, popularized the notion of a scientific paradigm in the second half of the 20th century and since then almost every significant change in a field of study gets characterized as a paradigm shift. So, it is a bit of a cliché to talk of the paradigm shift that is going on in the field of chronic pain management. Nonetheless, it is true. We are actually witnessing it happening.
3 Healthy Ways to Overcome Stigma
If you have chronic pain, you also have to deal with stigma. Stigma is the disapproval by others for how you are coping with pain. Friends, loved ones, employers, and even healthcare providers can judge you in any number of ways. They might disapprove when you rest or nap, or if you don’t work, or if you take narcotic pain medications. Such critical judgments from others are stigma.
On the Stigma of Living with Chronic Pain
Let’s talk about something that is hard to talk about. It’s the issue of stigma. It’s a sensitive topic.
Your Doctor Says That You Have Chronic Pain: What Does That Mean?
Your injury was many months ago. You initially saw your primary care provider who sent you to a pain clinic. The provider at the pain clinic who evaluated you may have been a surgeon who told you to come back after you have gone to the interventional pain provider and physical therapist. You subsequently underwent evaluations and started care with each of these providers. You had this procedure and that procedure. You went to physical therapy. You did it all in the hopes that they would find the source of the pain and fix it. None of it really worked, though.
What to Keep in Mind When Referred to a Pain Clinic
It would be nice if once you were diagnosed with chronic pain your provider would hand you an instruction manual. It could be titled something like, “How to Navigate the Healthcare System When It Comes to Chronic Pain.”
5 Benefits of a Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program: A Patient's Perspective
The Institute for Chronic Pain (ICP) would like to welcome a guest post by Jen of Pain Camp. Camper Jen, as she goes by, is the founder of Pain Camp, which is a wonderful blog and website on chronic pain from the perspective of someone who has chronic pain and who has participated in a chronic pain rehabilitation program. Her site, as well as her personal story, is one of how to go from SURVIVING to THRIVING despite having chronic pain. Her spirit is admirable and her testimony is inspiring.
Blogroll
Body in Mind - Research into the role of the brain and mind in chronic pain. HealthSkills - Skills for healthy living for health professionals working in chronic pain management. How to Cope with Pain - A resource for those with chronic pain, their families and friends, and for those who treat patients with chronic pain. My Cuppa Jo - A blog that offers insights and practical tips on living life to the fullest despite having chronic pain. Pain Camp - Tools to manage your pain so you can move on with life.
Are you ready for a chronic pain rehabilitation program?
How do you know if you are ready to participate in a chronic pain rehabilitation program?
Chronic pain rehabilitation programs defined
Chronic pain rehabilitation programs are a traditional form of chronic pain management.
About the Blog
The Institute for Chronic Pain is a public policy ‘think tank’ devoted to grounding chronic pain management on the principles of empirical-based healthcare. We maintain a health information website (www.instituteforchronicpain.org) specifically for chronic pain and its various treatments. We bring together leading scholars and clinicians to provide academic-quality information that is approachable to patients, their families, and third-party payers.
What is rehabilitation?
People often equate rehabilitation with physical therapy. It’s something a patient does following an injury or surgery. Rehabilitation is also something that one does after a catastrophic injury or illness, such as having a stroke, a traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or long-haul COVID. Still others think of rehab as a treatment for alcoholism or drug addiction. Rehabilitation can also be a form of vocational counseling. Injured workers re-learn how to go back to work in what’s called vocational rehabilitation.
Effectiveness of chronic pain rehabilitation programs
It often comes as a surprise to patients that chronic pain rehabilitation programs are typically the most effective form of treatment for patients with chronic (non-cancer) pain syndromes. As a society, we tend to assume that medications, procedures and surgeries are not only effective, but are the most effective treatments for chronic pain. But, it’s not the case.
Thoughts & Prayers
The Institute for Chronic Pain is saddened by the recent outbreak of fungal meningitis from tainted steroid used in interventional pain management procedures. As of this writing, over 400 cases have been reported and 29 deaths. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who are ill and to the families of those who have lost their lives.
Date of last modification: 11/4/2012
Author: Murray J. McAllister, PsyD
Institute for Chronic Pain Blog: Introductions
Welcome to the Institute for Chronic Pain blog. We appreciate your interest in our organization and issues related to chronic pain management.
Our hope with this blog is to create a community of stakeholders in the field of chronic pain management who participate in informed discussion on an array of issues related to the field. The stakeholders in this community are patients and their families, healthcare providers, third party payers, policy analysts, and society generally.