Chronic Pain

The documents and links contained within this web page will explain more about chronic pain, how this is different from acute pain and a bit more about how chronic pain is managed. Once completed you will have a better understanding of pain management and have the tools to improve your quality of life.

Chronic pain affects millions of people in the UK, so you’re not alone. It can have a huge impact on your quality of life and can also affect the lives of your family and those around you. Our goal is to use this website and other resources to support and empower you to improve your quality of life and live with pain.

Understanding chronic pain

  1. Understanding pain youtube video Understanding Pain in less than 5 minutes, and what to do about it! – YouTube by Live Active Chiropractic
  2. GGC chronic pain leaflet – self-management-understanding pain.pdf (paindata.org)
  3. Tame The Beast — It’s time to rethink persistent pain – YouTube

Medication in Chronic pain

  1. patient-medicines-decision-guide.pdf (livewellwithpain.co.uk)
  2. Dr Antonio Martinazzo – medicines in persistent pain management – YouTube NHS Aryshire and Arran
  3. Increased pain and tolerance with morphine-like medicines – YouTube NHS Ayrshire and Arran
  4. The Great Opioid Side Effect Lottery | My Live Well With Pain
  5. Pain Management Medication Information (paindata.org) Patient focused medication leaflets

Patient expert chronic pain videos

Chronic Pain – An Introduction

This video is one of a series designed to help those with chronic pain that has been fully medically investigated. The videos cover a series of topics and aim to help those with long term pain gain a better understanding of the pain itself. They also provide help in dealing successfully with the effects of chronic pain, such as poor sleep, stress, lowered activity and flare ups.

Understanding Chronic Pain

Why do we need to understand pain?

  • What we understand we can manage
  • We all think we know what pain is
  • All pain is not the same
  • There are two parts:
    • Part 1 – what is pain and how it arises
    • Part 2 – what is chronic pain and can it be managed?

Chronic Pain and Flare-ups

This is not necessarily a sign that things are worsening and you will find they do settle. Sometimes we can identify a reason for a flare-up and there are things you can do to reduce how often they occur and how long they may last.

Chronic Pain and Activity

Simple, everyday activities like walking, swimming, gardening and dancing can ease some of the pain directly by blocking pain signals to the brain.

Activity also helps lessen pain by stretching stiff and tense muscles, ligaments and joints.

Try to be active every day instead of only on the good days when you’re not in so much pain. This may reduce the number of bad days you have and help you feel more in control. Try to avoid overdoing it on good days to avoid payback and increasing bad days.

Self management

Online Resources

  1. Information and Resources for Patients – NHSGGC
  2. Breaking through the Pain Cycle | My Live Well With Pain
  3. Home – Flippin’ Pain (flippinpain.co.uk)
  4. sleep-leaflet.pdf (livewellwithpain.co.uk)
  5. Exercises for healthy joints | Back, neck, knee and foot exercises (versusarthritis.org)
  6. Keeping Active | Physiotherapy Pain Association (csp.org.uk)c
  7. Guided practices | Right Decisions (scot.nhs.uk) NHS GGC  Mindfulness practices
  8. https://www.sleepio.com/sleepio/nhs/120#1/1  SLEEPIO – CBT based 6 week sleep programme
  9. Breathing Space is a free confidential service for people in Scotland. Open up when you’re feeling down – phone 0800 83 85 87
  10. Health in Mind | Trauma Counselling Line Scotland (health-in-mind.org.uk)
  11. Money Advice Scotland
  12. ALISS – A Local Information System for Scotland | ALISS – find out what’s going on in your area
  13. Scotland | Versus Arthritis
  14. Help & Support for people in Pain (painuk.org)
  15. Peter’s Story – YouTube – Pain Association Scotland

Reading Resources

  1. Chronic pain the drug free way – Phil Sizer
  2. Overcoming Chronic Pain by Francis Cole
  3. Mindfulness for Health by Danny Penman and Vidyamala Burch

Telephone numbers

  1. Fibromyalgia Action UK 0300 999 3333 (website FMA UK – FMA UK – UK’s National charity for fibromyalgia)
  2. Arthritis and low back pain – Versus Arthritis 0300 790 0400 (website Versus Arthritis | A future free from arthritis)

NHS help and resources

Physical activity prescription

A physical activity prescription is a free gym pass that can be provided by the Practice Nurse or GP. It also allows for a personalised exercise programme to help with your goals and own needs.

Psychological Support with cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

Chronic pain involves thoughts, feelings and behaviours. CBT is a form of therapy that helps us to retrain thoughts, feelings and behaviours to help you manage pain so it doesn’t manage you. It helps you to look after your whole self and improve your long term quality of life. It is an 8 week online course supported by a therapist who will check in on you weekly. It takes around 1 hour a week but you can go at your own pace, in your own home. You need to give it a chance to work so a bit like a tablet or exercise its results will build up over time. If interested your GP or Practice Nurse can refer you for it.

Antidepressants and/or pain medications 

Antidepressants and/or pain medications can help improve your mood and in doing so will help with pain management as depression and chronic pain are often linked.

TENS machine

A TENS machine is a small, battery-operated device that has leads connected to sticky pads called electrodes. The electrical impulses can reduce the pain signals going to the spinal cord and brain, which may help relieve pain and relax muscles. They may also stimulate the production of endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers. These can be purchased online or talk to your local pharmacist.

Occupational Therapy Support

Our practice based Occupational Therapist, can work with you to make a holistic review of your needs. Together with the OT, you can set personalised, practical and realistic goals to help increase your quality of life by managing your health and being able to do the activities that you need or want to do.

Occupational health support 

Occupational health support is a specialist branch of medicine that focuses on the physical and mental well-being of employees in the workplace. Occupational health aims to prevent work-related illness and injury by: encouraging safe working practices for example ergonomics (studying how you work and how you could work better). 

Physiotherapy led chronic pain classes 

Physiotherapy led chronic pain classes are accessed through our community physiotherapist colleagues and are done in a group setting to help improve functioning and confidence with self-management.

Community mental health team (CMHT)

CMHT is a multidisciplinary group of doctors, nurses, and allied health care professionals who work with people experiencing debilitating mental health problems.

Pain team

The pain team is made up of consultants, specialised physiotherapists and a psychologist who help people experiencing pain which causes a large impact on day to day life. It is a rehabilitative service so it cannot cure pain but instead help people to learn to live with their pain and improve their quality of life as much as possible.