WHY SEE AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST FOR PAIN? ↓

Your occupational therapist will help you reengage with the activities that are meaningful to you using body- and mind-based de-sensitising strategies.

Occupational therapists understand the impact of pain on your desired activities and quality of life, and equip you with skills and strategies to feel more comfortable and confident getting back to doing activities you love.

Your occupational therapist will use a graded or paced approach to activity which reduces the sensitivity of the nervous system: reducing pain and keeping you in charge.

What can I expect at appointments?

Your Occupational Therapist will begin by understanding how you were living before your pain developed, and then how pain is impacting your life now.

Your Occupational Therapist will help you to:

• Understand the connections between the mind, feeling states, body, environment and pain.
• Rebuild your capacity to engage in daily life by focusing on goals that are meaningful to you.
• Develop daily routines which build focused alertness during the day, and to restore sleep at night.
• Change and de-sensitise nervous-system responses.
• Apply ergonomics so you can move safely
• Learn how to use everyday sensations, mindfulness, interactions with others, and movement to pace daily activities. These processes can calm painful sensitised responses, and safely energise fatigued systems.
• Facilitate a return to driving (where applicable).
• Regain independence, and reconnect with study, paid or volunteer work, hobbies, and with friends and family.

WHY SEE A PHYSIOTHERAPIST FOR PAIN? ↓

Pain-trained physiotherapists are trained in the biopsychosocial model of pain, and will help you to form a plan to restore your physical capacity and regain strength.

Physiotherapists will take into account the bodily changes that occur as a result of your pain condition, as well as the impact of your thoughts and mood, and the way you interact with people around you and your environment.

What can I expect at appointments?

During your first appointment, the Physiotherapist will assess how your pain has developed: what was happening at the time, and the impact changes have had on your life, like your ability to engage with day-to-day activities, work, hobbies, and relationships with others.

Part of the assessment is a physical examination to assess the affected parts of your body and investigate the functional status of your muscles, nerves, joints and other relevant body structures. It is also important for your Physiotherapist to know what you would like to achieve from your treatment.

Subsequent physiotherapy sessions may involve the following:

• Enhancing your understanding of your pain condition
• Optimising function with independent exercises. These home exercises are aimed to reverse the secondary effects of having pain like weakness, stiffness, poor balance and fatigue.
• Utilising appropriate pain relief. This is a measured use of manual therapy to facilitate improvement in your capacity to move and function
• Practising self-management strategies that will enable you to control your pain

WHY SEE A PSYCHOLOGIST FOR PAIN? ↓

Psychological treatment treats pain directly by addressing mental and physical stress, and helping you to alter the way your brain processes pain sensations.

For many people with chronic pain the nervous system has leant to be extra sensitive and to over-protect in normal situations. Effectively managing stress is an important part of working with chronic pain.

What can I expect at appointments?

1. Your psychologist will begin with a discussion about your physical and emotional health: the pain you experience, where and when it occurs and the factors that affect it.
2. You may be asked about the things that worry you or cause stress, including those related to your pain.
3. You will receive information about the link between pain and emotions, and the broader lifestyle factors that can impact pain, such as sleep.
4. Your psychologist will help you challenge the unhelpful thoughts you have about pain. These thoughts can lead to an increased perception of pain, cause social isolation and withdrawal, reduce activity and sleep, as well as increase anxiety, depression and anger.
5. Your psychologist will also assist you with graded exposure to feelings and activities

WHY SEE A DIETITIAN FOR PAIN? ↓

Eating healthily can help optimise your nervous and immune system, giving your body the capacity to heal and function at its best.

A dietitian can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle, which supports your immune system and decreases general inflammation, further aiding pain management.

What can I expect at appointments?

The dietitian will help you with:

1. Learning about nutrition in the management of pain
2. Helping you to normalise eating habits with mindful eating strategies and motivational interviewing
3. Leaning about gut health
4. Managing specialised diets like FODMAP
5. Managing other dietary issues which can impact pain, like diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome and malnutrition, among others.

READ MORE ↓

The pain journey that each patient travels is entirely unique. While everyone will need to see a doctor, some will also need to see an Occupational Therapist or Psychologist. Some patients will start new medication whereas other patients will need to have a surgical procedure.

The nurse’s role is to help guide the patient along every step. They're involved in everything from helping to co-ordinate appointments and helping the doctor with procedures, to simply being there to answer your questions.

Our specialist pain nurses are well trained and keep up to date with best practice. They are educated in all things to do with pain, so if there is anything happening in our patients’ lives, the nurses feel confident in being able to assist them through it.

Although you won't have an appointment with the nurses specifically, they are available and working on your behalf in the background. Because the nurses work full-time, they are often an excellent resource for the other team members at Pain Specialists Australia and a great point of contact, whether via phone or email.