Pain Skills Management & Education
This program is designed by Irene Reinhold to fit our patient population. It is based on evidence based research on pain and neurophysiological concepts of pain.
The goal is to educate our patients to be active participants and to promote an active independent lifestyle, decrease dependency on medication, passive treatments and dependency on various therapies.
We teach a variety of self-management techniques, including the importance of exercise, various postural techniques, relaxation, ergonomic and biomechanical skills, meditation and other evidence based pain and stress management solutions.
Pain Skills Management FAQ'S
Unfortunately ignoring pain will not make it go away. But pain can become less afflicting through relaxation, meditation and other self-management techniques. It does not result in the vanishing of pain, but it can help a person cope and lead a more independent, happier life.
With many pain medications tolerance develops quite fast, making higher doses necessary to maintain pain relief. This can result in physical dependency where one wants to stop taking the medication but withdrawal symptoms are much to uncomfortable to overcome. Part of this dependency is because the body stops producing endorphins (the body’s natural painkillers) because it is receiving opiates from the medication. It is not your fault, as it is a chemical change in the brain that you cannot control. Professional medical treatments and expertise will help you lower your dependency.
After two or three weeks of medical treatment you will well on your way to recovery. At this stage pain management skills will help you manage the existing pain and exercise programs will help your body produce the natural endorphins that will help decrease the pain you have.
