NURTURING
Chronic pain is pain that has been present for longer than 3 months, causes significant emotional distress and interferes with daily life and activities.
Pain can be a symptom of an underlying injury or disease, or it can be a disease on its own. It is unpleasant, interrupts your life and makes you seek help. It is deeply personal and always real.
Chronic pain is multifactorial, meaning that there are contributions from the body tissues, psychological components, occupational, spiritual and social factors that combine to form your unique pain experience.
The first step to treating your pain is working out why you have pain - what is causing it (getting a diagnosis) and what factors might be contributing. The next step is exploring what treatments might work?
Treating pain effectively is about managing the entire person – understanding how your genetics, life experiences, physical and emotional capacity, your environment and what you do every day, impacts on your pain.