Common chronic pain conditions

There are unfortunately many myths and misconceptions surrounding lower back pain, many of them directly contributing to patients ongoing problems. Discover some facts about back pain here that could change your life

There are many different types of headache. However, lots patients are not given an accurate diagnosis often leading to ineffective treatment. Effective help relies on knowing what actually triggers headache in the first place

Osteoarthritis refers to changes in the appearance of our synovial joints usually visible on x-rays or MRI scans. However, it is normal that joints look different as they age and a significant proportion of people with these changes do not have pain

There is a significant relationship between some chronic pain and joint hypermobility. Above average flexibility is not necessarily abnormal, it just means that those joints have less ligament support and are more reliant on muscle

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), is a complex condition with several disabling features including chronic tiredness, pain and associated mental health comorbidities. As with Fibromyalgia, there are no reliable diagnostic tests

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a widespread pain condition that has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients. Treating FM using a biopsychosocial model is the most effective way to alleviate suffering and improve pain and function. There are currently no diagnostic tests for FM

There is a great deal of overlap between symptoms arising from the lower back, pelvis and hips due to their connections. Initially, as with all persistent pain, scans and other tests are used to rule out serious pathology such as stress fractures, infection or malignancy.

Initially we want to rule out any serious medical conditions to do with the spine or organs in this area. Once scans and other tests rule out seriously pathology, patients can be reassured and we will start to explain conditions such as ‘IBS’ using a biopsychosocial framework.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a debilitating condition involving sensory and movement impairments usually following injury or immobilisation of a limb. Symptoms are disproportionate to the severity of any initial injury with pain hypersensitivity a major symptom. It requires multidisciplinary treatment.

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) or Work Related Upper Limb Disorder (WRULD) are ‘umbrella’ terms used to describe pain, often in the upper limbs, linked with repeated movements and postural stress. It isn’t a diagnosis on its own but covers conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Once investigations such as scans and blood tests have ruled out any serious medical explanation for pain, most chronic pain then falls under the label of ‘medically unexplained’. This is frustrating for patients who are still searching for an answer and anxious that nobody seems able to understand their symptoms.

Conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus and ankylosing sponylitis are chronic diseases that affect patients joints leaving them feeling painful, stiff and sometimes hot or swollen. Because RA is a systemic disease it will usually affect joints all over the body as opposed to osteoarthritis which affects isolated areas.