Unfortunately, pain is a well-known feeling for many people. To tackle the medical side of this problem, a Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic was set up in our hospital at the beginning of 2004. Because pain can have many causes and is often complex, it is approached from different angles. Whenever necessary, specialists from other disciplines are called in. Every year, the pain specialists see patients who mainly suffer from back, neck and nerve pains. These patients are always referred by a general practitioner or specialist.
During the initial consultation, ample time is taken to provide the patient with an accurate picture of their symptoms. After a thorough consultation and examination (40 minutes) it is decided what the therapy will consist of:
Naturally, your GP will be informed in writing after each visit.
In principle, pain is a warning signal. The body tells us that what we are doing now is not good, and may cause damage to the body. For example, holding an object that is too hot can burn our hands. We feel pain and let go of the object.
However, sometimes the warning signal is lost. Persistent pain will appear for no apparent reason and not adequately go away by resting or taking painkillers. And these painkillers often have side effects. This can make it very difficult to get through the day and can seriously disrupt normal (working) life. (Chronic) pain can cast a shadow over our lives, for which we must seek help.
In the treatment of patients suffering from acute and subacute pain, we must make sure to prevent it from becoming chronic and to anticipate it in time by means of interdisciplinary treatment.
Treatments can also be complemented by a multidisciplinary treatment plan. In that case, we speak of the MPC (Multidisciplinary Pain Centre). Through this process, the patient receives multidisciplinary support. Under the supervision of a pain physician, the pain nurse coordinates the cooperation between the physiotherapist, psychologist, occupational therapist and social assistant. The aim of the MPC is to increase the patient’s quality of life through the biopsychosocial approach.
The doctors at the MPC work closely with Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Psychiatry, Neurology and Physical Medicine.
In addition to the interventional treatments and the MPC within the pain clinic, there is a MAT (multidisciplinary algology team) within the Jan Yperman Hospital. This MAT consists of an algologist/anaesthetist, nurse, pain specialists and a clinical psychologist.
