Chronic Pain is defined as any persistent or intermittent pain that lasts more than normal tissue healing time, thought to be three months. This type of pain can continue even after the injury or illness that caused it has resolved.  

There are many exciting recent advances in pain research that reveal how pain works and how we can manage pain. Pain is complex, there is no easy fix or quick ‘cure’. The more we understand pain though, the better control we have over it. A great resource for understanding pain better is the book, Explain Pain.

Really good question. People with chronic pain are three times more likely to suffer from mental health difficulties including mood disorders such as depression. Actually, some believe there is no other health condition more closely linked to mental health difficulties than chronic pain. Interestingly, individuals with depression are also more likely to develop chronic pain.

Fatigue is a common compliant in the chronic pain community. Roughly three in four patients with chronic pain report fatigue as a concern. Some conditions include fatigue as a main symptom, however there are also many reasons why chronic pain can cause fatigue.

Fatigue can be a result of inflammation in the body, broken, lack of or less quality sleep due to pain, or even medications used to treat pain that affect energy.

We hope so. There are many new research findings and treatments for chronic pain being discovered each year. Don’t give up. The more you understand about the systems of chronic pain, the more control you will have of your pain so keep searching for healing, learning about this condition and gathering the best healthcare team who genuinely care about you, your body, family and your daily life.

Chronic pain impacts everything in a person’s life. It affects mobility, work, energy levels, mood, appetite, personal care, finances, relationships, hobbies, intimacy, life goals, retirement. Need we say more?

Thankfully there are practical solutions to many of these changes chronic pain causes. Please visit our workshop page for more information on our approach.

Chronic pain definitely can affect intimacy in a relationship. It often begins with fatigue and pain causing a decrease in desire or energy for sex. Many individuals also report dyspareunia, which is the medical term for painful sex. If that wasn’t enough, relationship issues may arise when a couple’s sexual relationship is altered by pain.

In the book, The Chronic Pain Couple the three key areas of intimacy affected by chronic pain are explored in depth with practical solutions and exciting tips clearly laid out for people with chronic pain and their partners.

Anxiety is an emotion characterised by worried thoughts about future events and research is clear that chronic pain frequently coexists with anxiety. Interestingly, our central nervous system (CNS; our brain and spine) is quite complex and chronic pain and anxiety are processed in the same system within our CNS. If your CNS is wound up because of anxiety, this will make it more difficult to control chronic pain. If your chronic pain is heightened, this will increase the likelihood of increased anxiety.