New Weapons in the Battle Against Chronic Pain

“The world is full of suffering; it is also full of overcoming it”. --Helen Keller

Every year, a growing number of people suffer with lingering chronic pain. As much as 30% of the population in western civilization suffers with this problem. Multiple studies have shown a significant relationship between chronic pain and depression. While no direct causal effect can be shown, science is only beginning to understand how human perception alters the experience of pain.

The traditional management of chronic pain would typically involve pain medications and surgery. Even with today’s superior medical knowledge, these techniques often fail to provide relief. In the past 20 years, many people have turned to non-traditional or alternative sources for the management of pain. There are new psychological alternative treatments under recent testing which may become part of the arsenal in the modern war on pain.

 “A lot of what passes for depression these days is nothing more than a body saying that it needs work.” -- Geoffrey Norman

Many chronic pain sufferers have experienced frustration and humiliation when their healthcare provider begins to doubt that they have real pain, or suggest that they need psychological treatment. According to The International Association for the Study of Pain, pain is “… an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with the actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.”  This shows that pain is an experience and allows that physical injury may or my not fully explain it.

According to Dr. Eldon Tunks, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, “The scientific view of pain has changed… no longer is pain considered a passive subjective response to stimulus. Chronic pain is now conceptualized as a complex interaction between stimuli, sensory and processing systems that are subject to psychological influences.”  This means that pain experienced over time can progress beyond the original disease or injury. Changes to the brain and nervous system in the healing process can condition the body to continue to experience pain long after the physical injury is mended. Many studies show that we cannot isolate health of the mind and the body. 

“Medicine is not only a science, it is also an art. It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters; it deals with the very processes of life, which must be understood before they may be guided.”-- Paracelsus

As early as the 1960’s, a few multidisciplinary pain clinics sprung up in parts of the country. Mental health care professionals are considered key participants in these pain clinic services. It is believed that in order to break down the cycles of pain between the mind and body that one group of care givers must look at all of the options that have been tried to relieve the suffering. A therapist may help others in the family to adapt to changes in the life of the patient due to chronic pain. Changes in attitude and lifestyle can improve quality the of life. Of vital importance is making sure that accommodations are made in the home and the workplace to remove barriers for function and comfort.

Depression is often a problem that results from living with pain and compounds the problem over time. It is believed that early psychological intervention in pain management may produce improved long term results. The mental healthcare professional brings a whole new group of tools that may help to relieve pain and suffering.

• Hypnotic analgesia is a method of mental suggestion that a body part in pain is numb or lacks feeling and has been shown to be effective in many cases.

• Cognitive-behavioral interventions seek to alter the perception and focus of pain sensations

• Stress Inoculation Training. a multicomponent treatment that combines progressive muscle relaxation, attention diversion through imagery and deep breathing, as well as coping self- statements.

These are just a few of the newer methods available for pain management in the world of psychology medicine. When pills and surgery have failed to provide relief from pain, when your present doctors begin to treat you with little respect; there is another branch of medicine that offers hope. You can use the power of your mind to end the cycle of pain and change your life.