Are you tired of trying? Fighting the pain?

Does it seem like everything you do to eliminate the pain doesn't work or becomes less effective over time and you have to do  or take more of it?

Are you hoping the next doctor you see will have the magical cure?

Stop treating the pain as acute
Most conventional and alternative medical treatments, including medicines, supplements, diets, massage, devices like TENS and spinal cord stimulators, heating pads, manipulation, injections, and surgeries treat pain like it is acute - aiming to reduce or manage pain sensations and fix biomedical structures.

While these treatments are typically effective for acute pain, they often have limited success for people living with chronic pain because they ignore the numerous psychosocial contributors to chronic pain.

I found relief from the pain when I changed how I think about it, feel about it, and behave in relation to it. I quit focusing on the pain, fighting the pain, and shopping for a magical medical cure.

Through pain rehabilitation, I learned how to accept the pain and how to self-manage my condition. This process led me to stop the use of medicines including opioids, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, muscle relaxers, amphetamines, beta-blockers, antidepressants, and over-the-counter analgesics as well as other passive interventions like supplements and injections for my pain.

I've taken control. You can do the same.

The best 22 minutes to help change the pain experience
Watch this video from Dr. Christopher Sletten from the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center (the program I attended). Dr. Sletten explains the differences between acute and chronic pain and the principles of pain rehabilitation. 

Other helpful related links

• We can't treat chronic pain like acute pain - my blog post
• Pain rehabiliation works - my blog post
• Cognitive behavioral therapy for pain - my blog post
• Self-management resources - my website
• The Pain Management Workbook - Dr. Rachel Zoffness
• Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center