Physical Therapy Management in the Treatment of Chronic Pain

Excerpt

In the field of physical therapy, the traditional treatment approaches to chronic pain have been less than rewarding. In recent years, however, efforts have been made to develop alternative approaches to the difficult problem of pain. This article presents an example of one such approach—our physical therapy program in a pain management center setting.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Our Pain Management Center is a satellite unit of the Department of Psychiatry in conjunction with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. The Center is staffed by a multidisciplinary team that includes: physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, physiatrists, psychologists, registered nurses, a biofeedback technician, a program coordinator, and social workers. We believe that cooperation and communication between these team members is essential to the successful treatment of chronic pain.

The underlying theme in our treatment method is behavior modification.¹…