If you’ve got chronic pain that’s gone on for longer than three months or is very complex and started to affect other parts of your life, you’ll often be referred to a multidisciplinary pain clinic. Now, what does that mean? That means that we look at all the different aspects of your life and how the pain has affected it. So, it’s partly about the physical, it’s about drug safety, making sure that the medications that you’re on are not ones that you’re going to become dependent on, they’re not going to cause other problems within your life. It’s partly about making sure that nothing’s been missed in your diagnosis.
Pain
What is Chronic Pain? Dr. Jennifer Stevens
Dr. Jennifer Stevens defines the difference between chronic pain and short term pain that can be dealt with through medication and therapy.
What are some Complementary Therapies for Pain? Dr. Jennifer Stevens
We have very few quick fixes for chronic pain, not many of the medications that we use provide instantaneous relief. Many of the medications that we do have, come with really significant problems, for example, the morphine type drugs.
How to use painkillers effectively
The optimal treatment for pain depends on whether it’s short or long term pain and how severe it is. Dr Norman Swan explains.
Kidney stones – symptoms, causes and treatment
Kidney stones: find out the causes, symptoms (including renal colic), tests and treatments. Also, how to prevent kidney stones from recurring.
Lower back pain – bad back
People often describe back pain as having a bad back. Back pain, especially in the lower part of the back, is very common.
Coxibs and arthritis pain and inflammation
COX-2 inhibitors (coxibs) are a type of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). They can help relieve pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Joint pain – top 10 causes
What’s causing your joint pain? Find out the most common causes of joint pain.
Foot pain – top 10 causes
Foot pain may be in the arch of the foot, along the outer side of the foot, on the sole or in the ball of your foot, or in the toes, heels or ankles.
Toothache: self-care
Toothache is usually caused by dental decay. Find out what products are available for toothache.