When Zero Pain Isn't Possible

I remember sitting in class in massage school, in a sea of my own chronic pain, and the instructor saying the goal of pain management isn’t always becoming pain free, it’s increasing function. At the moment I refused to accept that. I was in severe, disabling pain and I wanted it all gone. And I was going to try everything I could to make that happen.

Fast forward a decade later and I couldn’t agree more with that instructor’s statement. My pain is most certainly not gone, but it is well managed. I have reintroduced many well-loved activities and can keep up with the many demands of life that I could only dream of before. More importantly, pain doesn’t scare me anymore. Whenever pain or stress about the pain flares up, I know how to manage it and calm it back down. And if I don’t, I know who to go to for help (Yes, even professionals need help sometimes).

In summary, chronic pain treatment’s primary goal is reduced disability, and if we get pain reduction with that, it’s a bonus. And even if pain reduction isn’t possible, reducing disability still can be. Engaging in personally meaningful activities is the name of the game. And sometimes that may look a little different than what that meant in your life before. Working together, we can come up with personally meaningful goals and coach you using graded exposure approach to reach them. As always, it would be my pleasure to join you on this journey. Working together or working as part of a larger circle of care to get you back to what you love.