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Treatment for pain

​​​​​The staff at our pain clinic have access to a full range of evidence-based treatment modalities. Our goal is to fully assess your pain to ensure an accurate diagnosis has been reached and establish the problems that should be addressed.

After your assessment, our team will work with you to formulate an individualised management plan based on your needs and goals.

Your treatment plan may include options designed to modulate or reduce your pain levels. If appropriate this plan may include judicious use of medications and advice regarding rationalising medications, which may even include reducing medications that are not helpful.

Some people have pain that may respond to certain procedural interventions and our clinic has a fully functional procedural suite and operating theatre. Commonly this may include radiofrequency blocks to reduce pain from spinal arthritis, or spinal cord stimulation for certain types of nerve pain.

For most people with chronic pain there is no easy solution to fully cure the pain.  In this scenario we aim to assist people to manage their pain to reduce its negative impact on their lives.​ ​

Self-management strategies

Our clinic has developed effective pain self-management strategies to reduce the distressing impact of pain on people's lives and improve the functional capabilities of people living with pain. 

This approach empowers you to self-manage your own pain with support from our team of physiotherapists, nurses, doctors and psychologists.  Depending on your personal needs you may be offered individual appointments with our highly experienced team of pain professionals or to join one of our group programs that range from brief courses of two hours per week through to high intensity full-time courses. Each program is designed to suit your particular circumstance.

Commonly pain is associated with sleep disturbance and mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Our team includes psychiatrists and psychologists to help identify and manage these problems. Social and relationship stress, and problems maintaining employment will also be discussed. 

If returning to paid employment is one of your goals then we can work with you to help achieve this.

 

Telehealth (video conferencing)

Our pain self-management program can be delivered to our patients by telehealth or telephone. This means we can help patients who have been assessed by us as suitable for these programs without having to come to the centre. Our online programs are called my Brief Pain Self-Management. These may be run in groups or individually.

All the treatments, procedures and services provided at the centre are fully funded either through bulk-billed Medicare, private health funds or insurance schemes, so that there is no cost to our patients to attend.  The best quality evidence based care is provided with no out-of-pocket fees for our patients.

 

Group programs

ADAPT
ADAPT is an outpatient treatment and rehabilitation program for people with disabling or troubling chronic pain developed by Professor Michael Nicholas in 1994. Over the last 25 years ADAPT has consistently published outcome data demonstrating its ability to help people with persisting pain:
  • Return to work or normal activities
  • Reduce their use of medication and health care services
  • Restore general function
  • Improve mood
  • Learn effective pain coping strategies 
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ADAPT is a group program (8-10 patients per group) and is run by a multidisciplinary team of physiotherapists, psychologists, doctors and nurses who work in a coordinated way. ADAPT uses cognitive-behavioral methods to help people in chronic pain to learn effective ways of managing their pain.

Most sessions (like exercises and discussions) are group-based, but each patient has an individual treatment plan and works with the ADAPT team on their own goals.

ADAPT provides one of the few evidence-based options in NSW for helping injured workers with chronic pain to return to work (RTW) in a sustainable way. 

ADAPT runs from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, for three weeks. No one stays at the hospital, but if a patient lives too far away they may need to arrange accommodation in a local motel, our team can help with this planning.

Seniors ADAPT

Seniors ADAPT is a group-based, outpatient  treatment program for people aged over 65 years who have moderately disabling chronic pain. Participants must be mobile enough to get to the hospital twice a week for three weeks.

Seniors ADAPT helps participants learn the basics of effective self-management of ongoing pain. It is conducted by a clinical psychologist, a physiotherapist, and a registered nurse. All members of the treatment team have had extensive training and experience in pain management.

​MyBPSM: “Brief Pain Self Management“

My Brief Pain Self-Management (myBPSM) program has been designed by the staff at the pain centre for patients with chronic pain who find getting to the pain centre difficult. It also allows us to continue care if Covid-19 restrictions limit our capacity to see you face to face. Patients are taught to manage their pain at home while still having regular contact with our team. Program depends on the individual case, but can be from twoto 20 sessions with each clinician, often weekly. These are conducted at arranged times. 

myBPSM may also be offered as an on-line video group program with five to eight  participants.