|
Updated September 3, 2026
Does it seem like everything you do to eliminate chronic pain doesn't work—or becomes less effective over time? Are you hoping the next doctor you see will finally have the answer or the treatment that makes the pain go away? If so, I understand. I've been there. Stop treating chronic pain like prolonged acute pain When pain first begins, it's natural to look for something that can be fixed. An injury happens, something hurts, and the goal is to identify the problem, treat it, and allow the body to heal. Chronic pain can be different. When pain persists or recurs for months or years, simply continuing to search for another treatment, procedure, medication, or physical explanation may not be enough. Chronic pain is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors, and those factors can interact in complex ways. That doesn't mean medical treatment has no role. Medications, procedures, physical therapy, surgery, and other treatments can be appropriate for some people and some conditions. But treatment shouldn't be the only strategy. I had to change my approach I eventually found a different way forward. I changed how I thought about pain, how I responded to it, and how I behaved in relation to it. I stopped focusing so much on the pain. I stopped fighting it. And I stopped constantly searching for the next treatment that might finally provide a cure. Through pain rehabilitation, I learned to accept that pain was part of my life without allowing it to control my life. I learned self-management skills. I learned how my thoughts, emotions, behaviors, activity level, stress, and attention could influence my pain experience. Most importantly, I learned to focus less on eliminating pain and more on living the life I wanted despite it. That shift changed my life. Treatment should support self-management — not replace it One of the most important lessons I learned was that I didn't have to choose between medical treatment and self-management. Medical care can be an important part of managing chronic pain. But the goal shouldn't be to remain dependent on treatment to function. Self-management means developing the knowledge, skills, confidence, and strategies to manage pain and its impact on your life. That was a major focus of my pain rehabilitation program at Mayo Clinic. As part of my treatment, I worked with the rehabilitation team to discontinue medications and other symptom-focused treatments that were no longer serving me. The goal wasn't simply to take away treatments. It was to replace reliance on them with skills and strategies that I could use myself. Mayo's Pain Rehabilitation Center continues to use an interdisciplinary approach that combines pain education, physical and occupational therapy, psychology, biofeedback, medication management, and self-management strategies. Its stated goals include restoring function, improving quality of life, and helping people better manage chronic pain themselves. I've taken back control I still live with chronic pain. But pain no longer controls my life the way it once did. I've taken back control by changing how I understand pain, how I respond to it, and how I live with it. You can learn to do the same. It may not mean eliminating every sensation of pain. It may mean something more important: learning how to keep pain from determining what you can do, where you go, and how you live. The best 22 minutes to help change the pain experience Watch this 22-minute video from Dr. Christopher Sletten of the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center — the program I attended. Dr. Sletten explains the differences between acute and chronic pain and introduces the principles of pain rehabilitation. Other helpful resources |