I WRITE in response to the articles and editorial in The Border Mail on Saturday, August 30, regarding the problem of accidental overdose with prescription drugs and the relationship to the ever-increasing problem of chronic or persistent pain.
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Unfortunately there is a broad misconception within the community and even some healthcare providers that chronic pain is merely an extension of acute pain and can be treated with the same modalities of medication, rest and other passive interventions.
Chronic pain (by definition pain persisting more than three months) is in fact a completely different “beast” from acute pain and involves significant and unfortunately often permanent physiological and chemical changes within the central nervous system.
Patients with chronic pain also commonly develop psychological and physical sequelae including mood alteration, depression, anxiety and negative thinking processes.
There is clear evidence that treating chronic pain with medications which are largely designed for the treatment of acute pain provides minimal, if any long-term, benefit and in fact can be harmful, particularly when dosage escalation occurs and multiple analgesic and other pain-related drugs are used in combination.
Albury Wodonga Health has been offering a treatment program, based at the Wodonga hospital, for chronic pain patients since 1995.
The program is an intensive, three-week group program facilitated by an interdisciplinary team including medical and nursing staff, psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and allied health assistants.
The program aims to provide participants with knowledge regarding the nature of chronic pain and skills to self-manage their pain, reduce reliance on unhelpful medication and ultimately on the healthcare system and improve quality of life.
There is good scientific evidence that gaining an understanding of chronic pain and consistently applying the concepts taught in the program can, over time, reverse some of the central nervous system changes that have occurred and reduce pain.
The program is provided to people needing such help at no cost to patients.
Further information regarding the program and referral process can be obtained by contacting the pain management team by emailing pain@awh.org.au or phoning (02) 6051 7414.
— DR ESTHER LANGENEGGER,
Manager and medical officer,
Pain Management Program, Albury Wodonga Health
