Our understanding of chronic pain has changed over the years.
Traditional Western medicine views new concepts and treatments with well guarded optimism.
Chronic pain sufferers are more than eager to adopt any new method of treatment that enhances their hope of relief and healing.
Modern theories on pain
One can have a visible source of injury (for example, a herniated disc) and not experience pain.
Conversely, there are millions of chronic pain suffers whose physicians are unable to locate a specific source or reason for the experienced pain.
Chronic pain actively involves the brain. As the brain adjusts to the on-going emergency in the body, it can develop habits that make the pain feel worse. For an information yet brief reading we recommend: The Other Side of the Desk by Stuart Donaldson Ph.D. (A story about a chronic pain specialist who became a chronic pain patient).
Our Approach to Treating Chronic Pain Is…
…Progressive.
Applied psychophysiology is a relatively new field.
Psychophysiological techniques, commonly known as biofeedback, work towards reducing and eliminating pain.
Biofeedback is a process that enables an individual to learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance.
Precise instruments measure physiological activity, such as brainwaves, heart function, muscle activity, and skin temperature.
These instruments rapidly and accurately “feedback” information to the user. The presentation of this information – often in conjunction with changes in thinking, emotions, and behavior – supports physiological changes. Over time, these changes can endure without the continued use of an instrument. (Definition provided by a joint task force of The Association of Applied Psychophysiology, Biofeedback Certification Institute of America, and The International Society for Neuorfeedback and Research.) In addition to biofeedback, we offer restorative yoga to support all of the work you to lessen your pain.
…Collaborative.
Our experience is that management of psychophysiology offers an important adjunct to traditional treatments for chronic pain control. For that reason, we work closely with many pain specialists in Chester and surrounding counties to make sure that all of our patients receive well coordinated care.
