Chronic Pain Specialist London
Chronic pain specialists can help people suffering from long term pain conditions to better manage their condition and improve their quality of life.
Chronic pain is the name given to a condition where a person experiences pain that persists long past the normal time that it would take for an injury to heal, usually where soft tissue injuries fail to heal up within a few short weeks.
Depending on the severity of the injury, it can take several months for the soft tissues to completely heal, but if the pain from the injury persists longer than 3-6 months, this is usually described by specialists as ‘chronic pain’.
Acute pain is a short-term pain condition that tells you that there is something wrong. In most cases, acute pain will go away quite swiftly and will lessen as an injury heals. However, chronic pain is more persistent and is usually linked to more long-term health conditions such as arthritis or lower back pain. The level of pain experienced can vary from simply annoying to completely debilitating.
Persistent chronic pain can eventually affect how we live our lives. It can affect our sleep, our work and our relationships with others. This is why it makes sense to get some help with the condition to help prevent it from having such a negative impact on our lives.
What can cause chronic pain?
Doctors believe that the condition can be due to pain signals moving through nerve fibres becoming confused and the brain not being able to read the signals correctly. Patients can experience chronic pain in any part of the body and anyone of any age can be affected, including children.
Because the nerve network in the body is linked with the emotional part of the brain, the pain experienced can affect our moods and emotions. Therefore, our emotions can also affect the pain felt, and this is why those suffering from stress, anxiety, depression or emotional distress can often see a worsening of their chronic pain symptoms.
How can chronic pain be managed?
If you have suffered from an injury, or you have arthritis, and the pain you experience is persistent and doesn’t ease over time, then book an appointment to see your GP. It may be that you need help with managing your chronic pain condition if there isn’t a cure for your condition.
Dr Bhadauria is a Rheumatologist and chronic pain specialist in London that looks after patients with chronic pain conditions. His speciality interest is in Early Inflammatory Arthritis and also in the management of patients with Connective Tissue Diseases such as Lupus or Systemic Sclerosis.
Some of the treatments offered by Dr Bhadauria include therapies that can help to reduce the intensity of your chronic pain so you can live a more comfortable life. For example, you may be prescribed pain-killers, anti-inflammatories, or be given a physiotherapy programme to help improve your physical strength, flexibility and joint mobility.
You may be given a pain management plan to follow that includes a combination of treatments to help reduce the impact of the pain you feel and help to improve your sleep, mood and quality of life.
If you have been diagnosed with a chronic pain condition, do not hesitate to get in touch with Dr Naveen Bhadauria and his team who will be happy to answer your questions. They will be happy to discuss your requirements and the options for appointments and possible treatments available to you.
FAQ
When chronic pain becomes too much
People can go a long time ignoring their pain conditions thinking it will get better by itself eventually. However, with most degenerative inflammatory joint conditions, they will only get worse without proper treatment.
There is no need for you to grit your teeth and soldier on with a painful condition such as arthritis, bursitis, gout or an undiagnosed auto-immune disease. You can get the help and support you need from Dr Bhadauria and his team.
Once your condition has been expertly diagnosed, you can have pain-relieving treatments to help manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Treatments can include steroid joint injections, oral pain-killing medication or a combination of medication and lifestyle changes to help you manage your condition going into the future.
What is chronic back pain?
Chronic back pain can range in intensity from an uncomfortable, constant dull ache to sharp, frequent shooting pains. It can be brought on by a sudden injury, or can develop over time as we age caused by weakening muscles that support the spine or bone deterioration.
You can have acute back pain which is short-term and lasts from a few days to a few weeks and then subsides. Chronic back pain, however, is defined as pain felt in the back that continues for 12 weeks or longer. It is important to consult a specialist to discover the cause and treat the symptoms.
How to live with chronic pain
You can get help for living with chronic pain by using prescribed medications and treatments designed to relieve pain and inflammation. Treatments can include analgesics such as acetaminophen and aspirin, or steroid joint injections to help relieve pain and inflammation of painful joints.
Your doctor may recommend using strong non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which can be prescribed, or standard NSAIDs such as ibuprofen that can be purchased over the counter.
What is the best pain medication for chronic pain?
The best pain-killing medication to treat your chronic pain condition will be the one that is best for your individual needs. There is no one-size-fits-all pain medication for all chronic pain as symptoms can vary between individuals.
It is generally safe to use over-the-counter pain-killing medication to help reduce your pain so you can manage your day to day activities. However, you need to be careful not to overuse them or rely on them as your only source of treatment.
It can help to have a consultation and assessment with Dr Bhadauria to help find the cause of your chronic pain and receive the most appropriate treatment to suit your indvidual needs.
What is the difference between acute and chronic pain
Acute pain can be caused by a sudden injury or a specific disease, but it is self-limiting and will usually get better within a few days to a few weeks.
Chronic pain is often diagnosed and considered to be a disease state. Chronic pain symptoms will outlast those of an acute pain experience, and will often be an ongoing condition that requires long-term management and care.
In most cases, chronic pain conditions will be treated with a multidisciplinary approach involving a combination of pain medication or treatments along with physical therapy, diet and lifestyle management.
