Chronic Pain

What is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than normal healing time, typically 3 months or more. It may have started after an injury or illness. For some there may be no clear cause of why the pain started.

Chronic pain can impact all aspects of life. Like a pebble in a pond the ripples can be felt in daily activities, work, socialising, sleep, hobbies, relationships and emotional wellbeing.

Often people have tried lots of different ways to get rid of the pain, such as medication, injections and even surgery, but have not had the benefit that they hoped. For some people they have been told that there is nothing further that can be done in terms of treatments. This can understandably feel frustrating and leave people not knowing where to turn to next.

Why doesn’t the pain go away?

For many people pain does not go away because of changes in the nervous system.

In acute pain (like a touching a hot stove) the pain is there to tell us that something is wrong. It is helpful as it alerts us to do something about it. It’s a bit like a smoke alarm helpfully alerting us to danger.

In chronic pain the nervous system can get ‘stuck’ in high alert even when there is no damage. It’s a bit like your smoke alarm going off when the shower is running or your neighbour has burnt their toast. There is no danger, but the smoke alarm is too sensitive.

You may have heard terms like ‘central sensitisation’, ‘neuroplastic pain’ or ‘nociplastic pain’ used to describe your pain. These relate to the changes in the nervous system that mean that it is more sensitive.

Your pain is real

Pain caused by changes in the nervous system is just as real as pain caused by structural damage. Unfortunately, some people are told that their pain is ‘in your head’. Pain science shows that pain can and does exist even when there is no damage or changes seen in scans etc.

My own journey living with chronic pain

Around 12 years ago I started experiencing chronic pain following an injury. After a few weeks the pain did not go away and I was left not knowing what this might mean for the future.

Over the years I had numerous investigations and treatments but nothing worked and the pain continued. I was then referred to my local pain clinic and worked with an amazing clinician who helped me to understand chronic pain and how I could manage it. This not only changed how I managed my pain but also inspired me to work as a Clinical Psychologist in pain management.

My experience in supporting people living with chronic pain

Along with my own personal experiences of living with chronic pain I am also an experienced Clinical Psychologist and have worked within an NHS Pain Management service for over 7 years.

In addition I am a member and guest speaker of The British Pain Society.

I have extensive knowledge and experience of working with people living with chronic pain conditions including:

· Arthritis (such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis)

· Back pain

· Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

· Endometriosis

· Fibromyalgia

· Headaches and Migraine

· Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

· Neuropathic pain

· Pelvic Pain

How psychology can help when living with chronic pain?

I understand you may feel apprehensive or uncertain if you have been advised to see a psychologist in relation to your chronic pain. I recognise the deep impact that pain can have on life. Alongside the pain itself, many people often experience stress, anxiety, frustration, anger/irritability and sadness. It can leave many feeling that they have lost their direction in life.

This is one reason why the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend psychological therapy (such as ACT or CBT) for chronic pain.

Approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help you to find ways to live a fuller and richer life by developing skills and strategies to cope and manage your pain.

I am also a registered practitioner of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT). PRT is based on modern neuroscience which show that most chronic pain results from the brain misinterpreting safe messages from the body as if they were dangerous. Research has found that the brain has the power to generate pain even in the absence of structural or physical damage.

PRT is a system of psychological techniques designed to reduce or eliminate chronic pain by retraining the brain to accurately interpret and respond to signals (sensations) in the body.

Together we can work on ways to find you a brighter future.

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