A Different Approach to Managing Pain

Chronic pain can affect people in different ways. Whatever the reason for your chronic pain, the approaches for managing the pain will be similar. This is because pain management is not about getting rid of your pain; it’s about helping you have a good quality of life despite the pain.

Most people expect all pain to behave like acute pain, allowing for rest and healing before returning to normal activities. We take our symptoms to our doctor, expect them to listen, examine us, maybe order tests and come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan. And we expect this treatment plan to work. We call this the ‘medical model’. But it doesn’t always work like that. The medical model doesn’t always fit health problems and chronic pain is one of them. So, what you might end up experiencing is more like this: you’re given a diagnosis or not and you’re provided with treatment that may or may not help. It can be frustrating and hard to find yourself searching for a diagnosis or treatment and many people can get stuck in this cycle. Pain management tries to help you understand your chronic pain and the factors involved, as we know pain impacts more than just your physical health.

Living with chronic pain can lead to poor sleep, stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed or not coping. These can all make your pain feel worse. However, by improving both your physical and mental wellbeing you may find that you’re better able to cope with your pain. The approach used in pain management is based on a ‘biopsychosocial model’. This means that the impact of pain on your biology, psychology and social life is looked at, with the aim of improving how you manage your pain in these 3 areas. It’s a bit different to the medical model but there is lots of evidence to support this approach.

You may find it useful to watch the following short video:

Related Resources

What is Chronic Pain?
We all have a pain system that’s designed to protect us. Think of it like an alarm system that’s looking out for anything that might cause us harm or damage. Our pain system is made up of nerves that carry messages between the body and the brain. Not all pain is the same, however. Pain can be acute or chronic.
Thoughts and Pain
Psychologists who study pain have found that living with chronic pain can change the way you think about yourself and the world around you.

Pain Does Not Equal Damage
Pain is a normal part of life and doesn’t always mean that something is wrong. Think of pain as an alarm system inside you, looking out for any danger that might cause you harm. Sometimes this alarm system can react in a way that’s not proportionate to the danger it detects.
Coping with Changes
We all experience changes in our lives. Learn about how change can affect our wellbeing.

The Wellbeing Lothian website has been developed to provide information, self-help resources and links to help you manage your mental health and wellbeing.

We want to help you make changes in your own lives and point you in a direction to start doing so. This is Wellbeing Lothian’s aim.

Learn More about Wellbeing Lothian

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