Why It's So Difficult To Get Pain Treated

If you've ever been injured, how easy was it for you to get out of pain and back to being active?

Many of the members who start coming to my mind-body classes because of injury or chronic pain have been hurting for many weeks, months or even years!

A 2024 online paper (1) is the first to offer clinicians practical advice on treating patients with chronic pain that's not just a set of clinical guidelines or a systematic review of other research studies.

It's suggested that this paper is a starting point for any clinician looking to improve or revamp their current approach to treating patients in pain.

But it's taken until this year for this paper to be available for medical and health practitioners! But currently it's only published online, and not yet in print, so you'd need to know about it's existence to search for it.

Like seriously!?!!

Continue reading to see the practical approach to treating chronic pain suggested by the authors of this paper, the barriers facing clinicians when treating patients, and the MAJOR flaw in the health and fitness industry that makes it even harder for people to manage pain successfully....

Here's a table from the paper showing the main principles needed to treat patients with chronic pain:

I can tell you from personal experience of attending workshops, courses and mentorship programmes alongside physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors and sports therapists that their standard training does NOT include pain neuroscience, psychology, addressing common pain misconceptions or managing patients emotions in depth.

Doctors are even less well equipped in these areas, and may not even be fully aware of the effects of lifestyle on pain. It's not unheard of for a doctor to advise their patient to stop exercising, when the benefits of movement on pain are well documented. Therefore, many doctors will simply prescribe medication, which recent studies have started to associate with the onset of chronic pain (pain lasting for 6 months or longer after the initial injury).

When you've seen a medical professional or soft tissue therapist, have they applied all the principles mentioned in this table to your treatment plan?

Or were you just prescribed some drugs, told to rest or maybe given a few stretches plus some strength exercises, and sent on your way to get on with life?

If this was your experience, I can reassure you that unfortunately you're not alone. If you made some progress, but then stalled and ended up back in pain, even more sadly, this isn't a unique, or even rare, outcome.

This 2024 paper emphasises the importance of:

• Team work - collaborating with other practitioners to achieve the best outcome for the patient
• Treating the patient as a whole person, not just focusing on managing their symptoms
• Addressing other aspects of health, such as stress, activity levels and substance abuse

Other papers (2) discuss the barriers facing clinicians when treating patients with chronic pain.

These include the complexity of information and the huge volumes of clinical guidelines leading to confusion instead of clarity.

This has resulted in the self reported outcomes for low back pain not improving over the past 10 years. In other words, people are still in pain and this situation hasn't got any better despite all the supposed advances in medicine.

I also see a HUGE flaw in the health and fitness industry that makes it even harder for people to manage pain successfully.

Everything is very fragmented:

• You want to move - you go to a fitness class
• You want to stretch and mobilise - you go to a stretch, Pilates or Yoga class
• You want to recover from an injury - you go to a physiotherapist
• Your back hurts - you go to a chiropractor or osteopath
• You want to relax - you go to a meditation or mindfulness session
• You want to manage chronic pain or a long-term health condition - good luck!!!! (Current waiting times on the NHS are 50+ weeks!).

Like, seriously, who has the time to go to all of these?!?

Well now you don't have to!

I'm launching a new community class to address these issues in the health and fitness industry that's keeping people stuck in pain.

Every month you can move your body gently, slowly and mindfully, then settle into a deeply soothing sound bath meditation. This class is for you whether you're looking for help with pain management or rest and relax in a tranquil, peaceful sanctuary.

I mean, we could all do with more rest and relaxation time, right?! 

If you want specific help with a particular injury or health condition there's a dedicated 1:1 time slot before the class starts - no need to book, just turn up 30 mins before the class starts.

If you're currently having treatment and/or physiotherapy, I see my approach as complementary, filling in the gaps that conventional methods may leave.

This speaks to the collaborative team work in that table of practical treatment guidance for practitioners. 

After all, the end goal should be getting the best outcome for you, whatever that looks like for you personally.

NEXT STEPS

** BOOKINGS NOW OPEN ** 

The Befriend Your Body Method for Pain Management & Relaxation

A small group, tranquil mindful movement class for pain management and relaxation, with a soothing sound bath meditation and a 1:1 coaching slot for you to get help with a specific pain or injury.

During the class, you'll learn simple exercises to move your body to reduce tension and pain, then immerse yourself in the calming sounds and healing vibrations of the crystal singing bowls, ocean drum and rain stick. You'll leave feeling fully rested, deeply relaxed and rejuvenated. 

This class is for you whether you're looking for a natural way to manage pain, or simply to quietly rest in a peaceful sanctuary.

Click HERE for all the details, including how to book. Numbers are limited to a small group to nurture a friendly, inclusive and supportive community for all members.

Other ways you can find help with managing chronic pain or an injury are:

• Book into a Stretch or Pilates class with me - these are a good introduction to The Befriend Your Body (BYB) Method (mindful movement) for pain management.
• Get your copy of my free E-guide "How to Get Relief From Back Pain and Muscle Tension in just 10 mins a Day". This introduces the 3x universal stress responses that can keep you stuck in pain, and explains the 4x pillars of The BYB Method. There's also 2x video tutorials showing you how to release muscle tension from the front and back of your body in the comfort of your without expensive equipment. Download HERE
• Subscribe HERE to receive "The Movement Chronicle", a weekly e-newsletter delivering mobility and pain reduction tips directly into your inbox every Monday morning,

You can connect with me through any of these channels:

• Email at norma@unicornhealthandfitness.com
• Follow me on Facebook and DM me on Messenger https://www.facebook.com/norma.pearsonfitness
• WhatsApp message to 07801 867361.

Study Links

1. Sturgeon J. Cooley C. Minhas D. (2024) Practical approaches for clinicians in chronic pain management: Strategies and solutions, Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology online ahead of print, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2024.101934
2. Christian Longtin PT, MSc, Simon Décary PT, PhD, Chad E. Cook PT, PhD, FAPTA, Yannick Tousignant-Laflamme PT, PhD (2021) What does it take to facilitate the integration of clinical practice guidelines for the management of low back pain into practice? Part 1: A synthesis of recommendation, Pain Practice,  https://doi.org/10.1111/papr.13033