Camden Pain Service (CPS) is a multi-disciplinary service consisting of specialists within the fields of medicine, physiotherapy, psychology, nursing, and exercise therapy. Some or all of these different specialists may be involved in your care. The team works closely together to ensure that each patient is supported as best as possible.

Chronic pain can be complex, and it is not always possible to achieve pain relief. Where this is not possible, our aim is to provide appropriate support and advice to help you further develop the ways you manage and cope with your pain. This will be based on your individual needs and can consist of several approaches. We provide care for the whole person focusing on the pillars of pain management.

What to expect?

The first step is to have an appointment with a pain management specialist. They will ask for details of your pain history, including any test results, previous medical advice, treatments you have had, and any medications you are taking. The focus will be on asking questions about your experience of pain to help you understand it better.

Following your assessment, we may offer appointments with different members of the team to help you develop your ways of managing pain.

Having completed your appointments we will discharge you back to your GP with all the information you need to manage your ongoing pain.

What does each specialist do?

Advanced Practice Physiotherapist: Provide assessment of your pain condition and help you understand your symptoms. Review your current management strategies and offer input from our team if appropriate or redirect your care.

Physiotherapist: This is different from traditional physiotherapy and will look at your day-to-day function and pain management strategies. It does not involve passive hands-on therapy, but instead will focus on helping you understand your condition and become confident to self-manage your pain.

Psychologist: This can help you change your relationship with pain so that it has less impact on your life, and you can return to doing the things that are important to you. It can also help you to cope with the emotional impact of living with pain.

Pain Consultant: To discuss and review injections and medications. In specific pain conditions injections can help with pain levels for a certain amount of time and may allow you to increase your activity levels.

Medication review: To review and optimise your current pain medication. We have found that many patients have tried many different medications and maybe taking medicines that are not helping or giving side effects, we will work together to find the right balance of benefit and side effects..

Exercise Therapist: To help support you with exercise and fitness in the presence of pain.

TENS: Appointments to find out more about the use of TENS machines in pain management.

Pain Management Programme (PMP): A group run by both a physiotherapist and a psychologist where you can learn skills to self-manage pain and meet other people living with pain.

Exercise Classes: to improve fitness, strength, and confidence with movement. This can help limit disability from pain and improve functional ability.

Camden Pain Service provides care for the whole person, focusing on a number of Pillars of Pain Management:

• Introduction to the Pillars
• Understanding Your Pain
• Medical Input
• Sleep
• Relationships & Communication
• Meaningful Actions
• Emotional Responses to Pain
• Eating for Health
• Physical Activity

Online Resources:

Self-Managing Pain

Fibromyalgia Action UK: Fibromyalgia Action UK is a registered charity administered primarily by unpaid volunteers. The majority of volunteers are also fibromyalgia sufferers who work extremely hard, despite their condition, in order to forward the cause of fibromyalgia. FMA UK was established in order to provide information and support to sufferers and their families.

Pain Concern:  Information and resources, including podcasts, to help understand and manage pain.

Pain Tool Kit:  Links, resources and online support to help understand and manage persistent pain

Better Movement: Links to blogs, podcasts and articles related to living well with pain

My Cuppa Jo: Science and stories to bridge the gap between patients and health professionals

Living Well with Pain: Created by someone suffering from persistent pain to help others understand and live well with pain.

Osteoarthritis

Versus Arthritis:

Social connections

Age UK

Live Well with Pain: Footsteps