Who are the experts in treating chronic pain?

⚠️⚠️WARNING, CONTROVERSIAL POST!⚠️⚠️

It's natural to assume pain management docs - "physicians who specialize in the evaluation, diagnosis, & treatment of pain" - are the experts in *chronic* pain.

I disagree. Here's why👇

Anyone who has an understanding of the biology & physiology of chronic pain & how it differs from acute pain, would understand that changes in the nervous system are how pain transitions form acute to chronic.

Chronic pain has a different mechanism than acute pain, therefore, chronic pain must be treated differently from acute pain.

But look at the methods used in pain management clinics:
🙅‍♀️Steroid injections are supposed to treat local inflammation around a specific structure
🙅‍♀️Nerve ablations & blocks are supposed to kill or temporarily block a *supposed* pain generating nerve
🙅‍♀️Stem cells & PRP are intended to help repair damaged structures
🙅‍♀️Other minimally invasive procedures are intended to modify the structures of the joints, spine, & discs
🙅‍♀️Meds mask symptoms like a Band-Aid & patients are treated like drug seekers - leading to medical trauma & worsening the sensitivity of the nervous system.

All of these pain management procedures may provide temporary relief by addressing structural or mechanical issues⚠️but they DO NOT address the nervous system changes⚠️at the root of chronic pain.

In my training to become a chronic pain specialist, I learned that the treatment of chronic pain needs to move away from these structural & mechanical based approaches & more towards neuroscience education & nervous system retraining.

Whether you agree with me or not, share your experience with pain management docs in the comments. 💜

ABOUT ME:
I'm Alissa Wolfe.

I'm a doctor of physical therapy and chronic pain specialist. I help people who are fed up and frustrated with chronic pain retrain their nervous system so they can beat chronic pain and get their life back.

In other words, if you have chronic pain and are looking for a new and improved way to manage your pain with an approach based on neuroscience, I'm your girl.

I got out of the clinic and started my online chronic pain coaching business so I could provide that nervous system retraining piece that is missing from pain management in the health care system.

Empowering people with chronic pain is my calling. I wasn't okay knowing that my patient's with chronic pain had no one to turn to, no one who would help, and no one who would believe them.

I decided I would be that person, even if in the beginning I didn't know everything I needed to know to help them. I pushed myself to learn and I discovered that we were trying to treat the "tissue issue" when people with chronic pain have a nervous system "pain problem".

Changes in the nervous system were contributing to pain and yet no one was addressing those changes.

By adding this element of neuroscience and nervous system retraining to my treatment approach, clients and patients are getting better than ever.

If you like what you see so far, subscribe to my channel so you don't miss any of the neuroscience nuggets I'll be throwing your way.

#chronicpain #lowbackpain #painmanagement #painrelief #backpainrelief #fibromyalgia #backpain #neckpain #shorts