What is Chronic Pain?

Pain is normally a signal that something is wrong in our body. If you sprain your ankle, the pain makes you avoid certain things (such as running) and do other things (put your foot up and call your physiotherapist). The pain has a function: it stops you doing things that make it worse and motivates you to do things to get better. You feel it exactly where the problem is (your ankle) and it settles over time.

Pain that lasts for more than three to six months is called persistent or chronic. This type of pain is often unreliable: it may not relate to what is going on in your body anymore. For example, things that seem to ease your chronic pain one day, may not work the next. You may have a week without pain and then suddenly it comes back, for no apparent reason. In some people, the pain does not seem to correspond with a physical problem at all. This is because it is not (just) the body that is maintaining the pain. Instead, the nerves and parts of the brain that deal with the pain signals change how your body feels to you. Your pain system has changed.

To explain, we’ll use the analogy of the fuel gauge in your car. The tank represents your body, while the wire and the dial on your dashboard are your pain system. If the dial tells you your tank is nearly empty, you fill it up and expect the problem to be sorted. What if the dial still indicates that the tank is empty? Maybe the dial is faulty, or the wire. Similarly, you may keep feeling that something is damaged in your body, but it is the pain system which is the problem. You need a different kind of expert.

Dr Hubert van Griensven offers a comprehensive assessment of your body but also of your pain system. This establishes how your pain system may be creating or maintaining the pain that you feel. It also takes into account how the pain is affecting you, because living with persistent pain is difficult. Dr Hubert combines physiotherapy with approaches to reprogram your pain system. He’ll give you strategies to reduce your pain and its impact, to help you get your life back.

There are some things that suggest that your pain system may be part of the problem. Your pain may have started without an injury, or the injury has cleared but the pain has not. Your pain may seem to have a mind of its own and you can’t work out what to do for the best. Investigations may not find a clear cause. Treatments may help somewhat for a while, but the pain keeps coming back. You may be told that it is all in your mind, but that is often not helpful. Finally, your pain may affect your emotions and lifestyle.

If one or more of these apply to you, please get in touch!