In past generations, chronic pain management tended to have an exclusive focus. Pain was a dedicated target, and the success of treatment was measured based on the relief provided to the patient.
While that remains a priority, chronic pain management takes a more integrated approach today, an approach that considers the impact of medication side effects and how a person’s overall wellness is affected by pain management care.
This holistic philosophy informs patient care at Commonwealth Pain Management and Wellness in Richmond, Virginia. It’s a key concept that nurse practitioner Savitri Gopaul, FNP-BC, brings to patient care.
Treating pain is typically a short-term proposition to keep you comfortable as a condition or injury heals. When pain becomes chronic, healing time frames expand from months-long to indefinite.
One of the most prevalent sources of chronic pain starts with osteoarthritis, a lifelong, incurable disease that often requires protracted periods of pain management. Occasional use of pain medications becomes a daily need and side effects pile up.
Any holistic medicine technique draws on conservative treatments that consider a patient’s overall well-being, beyond the impact of the condition, disease, or injury that necessitates their medical care. This extends beyond physical health by considering emotional, mental, and societal effects of both illness and treatment.
Applied to chronic pain management, holistic care extends the focus beyond simple relief of pain symptoms to include the impact of treatment. Where acute medical care focuses on the condition, holistic pain management puts the patient first at every point.
The holistic approach to chronic pain management provides these five crucial benefits:
The opioid crisis has brought a shift away from pharmaceutical pain relief for patients and practitioners alike. Holistic medicine makes room for multimodal treatment of pain that reduces the burden on you through alternatives such as physical therapy, acupuncture, and other pain-reducing modalities.
Our pain management goals focus on the long-term from the outset, rather than temporary solutions, by considering aspects like the underlying causes of pain or effective lifestyle alterations to improve function and mitigate pain.
Meditation and mindfulness can improve the connection between body and mind, reducing stress, which in itself can be an effective pain relief approach. You can also expect improved emotional resilience and sense of well-being.
A holistic pain management plan introduces new treatments that combine to improve pain symptoms and restore impaired body functions. For example, this could mean increased flexibility and range in joints of arthritis patients.
Chronic pain may mean prolonged challenges affecting all aspects of your life. Holistic pain management knocks back the effects that drag you down to provide you with an improved quality of life that lasts as long as your condition.
Contact us at Commonwealth Pain Management and Wellness to learn more about how our holistic approach can help you. Call or click to request your initial consultation today.
