Visit Information
What to expect when you visit the Pain Centre
Our Aim at Pain Centre
Our aim is to provide a comprehensive and quality service to ensure that the cause of your pain and poor quality of life is accurately determined so that an appropriate, evidence-based and realistic management strategy can be implemented.
Before Your Visit
01.
Once you have begun the process of making an appointment, you will be asked to share your demographic details with a staff member for record purposes.
02.
You will be asked to complete a few questionnaires which will assist us in making a diagnosis and in informing decision-making regarding your treatment.
03.
Please bring along a list of all your chronic medication when you first visit the practice.
04.
Please bring along all previous blood results and/or scans (XRays, U/S, CT, MRI, BMD, Bone scans, etc). It may be possible for us to have electronic access to these already if they were performed in the Western Cape.
During Your Visit
01.
Your consultation may in some instances be conducted electronically, otherwise you will be seen in person.
02.
A thorough history and physical examination will be performed.
03.
Certain special investigations may be requested to further investigate your specific problem.
04.
An initial treatment plan will be discussed with you after being provided with information/education regarding the pathophysiology of your chronic pain condition.
05.
You may be directed to watch specific videos on chronic pain and/or certain interventional procedures. These can already be watched on the website under the multimedia tab.
After Your Visit
01.
Follow-up appointment(s) will be scheduled depending on your specific problem.
02.
You are likely to be referred to other members of the team, depending on your specific problem, to manage your condition as holistically as is necessary.
03.
If you suffer any side-effects from any of the medication/procedures/treatments, you will be encouraged to inform the practice as early as possible to ensure that your treatment can be optimised and not delayed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQ
Is the pain all in my head?
As you will see from the videos, all pain is experienced in the brain. If you did not have a brain, you would not feel any pain. This does not mean that your experience is not valid or that you are simply making it up. Your pain is real!
Chronic pain, irrespective of the site of your pain, is usually a complex cascade of pathology ranging from the periphery to the spinal cord and all the way to the brain itself.
Is surgery ever indicated in chronic pain?
It is very important to fully understand a patient’s chronic pain problem before opting for surgery. Certain features, such as central sensitisation need to be screened for and managed before surgery should be considered (unless if it is an emergency). Given that chronic pain is complex, surgery may often be indicated but should ideally form part of a holistic pain management strategy.
Why does surgery often fail to alleviate pain?
This is a complex answer because each case is unique. Often-times it is not that the surgery was performed incorrectly or not for a good indication, but it may be that the person being operated on has central drivers of their pain (central sensitisation). This is explained in the videos. When invasive surgery is performed on someone with central type pain (irrespective of their peripheral pathology), surgery often fails to provide satisfactory outcomes or may even worsen the pain.
Would I have to be on medication forever if I suffer from chronic pain?
Although not always the case, the plan in managing chronic pain conditions is always to slowly wean patients off chronic medications whilst instituting certain conservative, non-pharmacological strategies to manage their pain. Certain medications may be required long-term to manage certain chronic pain conditions, but the aim is never to be on analgesics long term.
Do pain procedures always work?
Given that chronic pain is complex, there are no guarantees that interventional pain procedures will always work to alleviate pain. Pain procedures should usually be performed within the ambit of a comprehensive pain management strategy to ensure optimal results. Pain procedures are often also utilised as a diagnostic tool to isolate peripheral drivers of your pain, i.e. to make an accurate diagnosis.
How long do pain procedures work for?
There are no guarantees for how long a pain procedure will work given the complexity of pain. It is generally considered that a pain procedure has been successful if it provides satisfactory pain alleviation for more than 6 months to 1 year. Some people experience good results for years, whilst others only experience pain relief for a few days. To receive full value for a pain procedure, a rehabilitation program under the supervision of a physiotherapist or biokineticist is usually advised.