Chronic Pain Syndrome is a chronic pain condition that develops after an injury and continues even after it has healed.
Dr Brian Kaplan on Persistent Pain & Chronic Pain Syndrome
This diagnosis suggests a condition where the cause of a persistent and severe pain cannot be treated by conventional medicine and that you have been told that not much can be done besides managing your pain with various painkillers.
Stress Management and Self-Hypnosis
The key to my approach to chronic pain is deep relaxation and self-hypnosis. It’s well known that some people, employing hypnosis, are able to tolerate the severe pain caused by the dental drill on their teeth without the use of local anaesthetics. This has been recorded on film many times.
I do not hypnotise patients in chronic pain but teach them Autogenic Therapy, a method of achieving profound relaxation. When they have achieved a degree of mastery over this I teach them a form of self-hypnosis aimed specifically at reducing their pain.
Classical Homeopathy
I will always consider the prescription of a homeopathic remedy to suit both the pain itself and the patient as a whole.
Mechanical Factors
If the pain is musculoskeletal, I will make sure that you get a full osteopathic assessment and organise therapeutic manipulation if appropriate.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is sometimes effective at reducing chronic pain. At the New Medicine Group we have at least two acupunturists and if I think a referral to one of them is appropriate, this can easily be arranged.
Multidisciplinary Approach
Chronic Pain Syndrome is a complex disorder that can be very disheartening and disabling for the patient. In some complex cases it’s not immediately clear what approach might yield the best result. The practitioners of the New Medicine Group have weekly interdisciplinary meetings where we discuss complex cases such as patients suffering from chronic pain. You may be invited to attend such a meeting where specialists in different fields can ask you questions and discuss possible treatment plans with you.
