How to get help with your pain during COVID-19
Is virtual non-medication pain management possible?
It turns out that virtual pain management is possible and can be quite effective. Through inquiry, active listening, instruction, guided musculoskeletal unwinding, life skill suggestion, and routine check-ins, pain management specialists can help guide their clients through the healing process.
Many pain management specialists, including myself, are physically unable to see clients as this pandemic is underway. Of course, pain symptoms and issues have not ceased to exist, and in some cases, might be getting worse! People are isolated, unable to be physically touched, and are continually listening to frightening information. Pain management via telephone, Zoom, and FaceTime can literally "save the day"!
Who might benefit from virtual pain management?
Those experiencing acute or persistent nagging pain in any area of their body
Those who don't want to mask symptoms with medications, substances, or invasive procedures
Those interested in non-medication pain management and healing from the inside out using basic life skills and support from an experienced pain management specialist
How does virtual pain management work?
The clinician must:
Gently inquire and carefully listen to the client tell their pain story, and pay attention to the client’s speech and breathing patterns
Instruct and support the client into a physical position that decreases the pain and quiets the nervous system
Guide the client through a musculoskeletal unwinding, which further reduces the pain and soothes the nervous system
Suggest small life changes to impact pain management directly, such as:
Getting gravity off your body periodically
Hydrating
Keeping protein on board every few hours
Follow up with routine check-ins and unwinding sessions to promote healing
Experienced pain management specialists understand the need for an integrated connection between the human mind, body, and spirit. They also know that the beautifully integrated connection is lost during a pain episode. They must approach the situation with a well organized and systematic methodology to re-integrate and diminish their pain.
The systematic methodology I use in my practice is based on the Prolonged Pain Complex© model of care that I have developed over time. This model of care has been created through:
Clinical experience
Tried and true non-medication healing strategies
Well developed listening skills
Deep understanding of human kinesiology: the study of the principles of mechanics and anatomy in human movement
A non-judgmental and non-shaming relationship with the client
A clear understanding of how an individual can make a sustainable change: The Change Model©
Redefining chronic pain to be known as Prolonged Pain Complex©
This method's structured yet flexible nature can be easily translated virtually.
Virtual pain management in action:
A few weeks ago, a young woman called me asking for help. She is a working mother with two small children experiencing an acute back pain episode and couldn't get out of bed.
My first goal was to calm her nervous system. I did this by reassuring her that I could help her through this in a timely fashion. Secondly, I had her (with the help of her husband) get her body into a pain relief position (see picture). I then helped slow her speech and breathing patterns. These simple interventions immediately led to some initial relaxation. The natural feel-good hormones in her body began to release, and she could relax. With her nervous system quieter, she became more resilient and more able to take in information and continue reducing pain.
I had her tell me her pain story. I listened carefully to the details she was sharing while paying attention to her speech pattern and hearing the tightness in her throat and chest. We then systematically reviewed her symptoms. At this point, I was able to reassure her that she was most likely experiencing a musculoskeletal crisis due to:
Fatigue
Stress
Musculoskeletal overload and cellular devastation (exhausted from the inside out).
Over the next couple of days, I supported her in moving through the levels of my healing protocol:
Quiet the nervous system and reduce the pain
Rebalance the musculoskeletal and physiologic systems
Restore normal activity with good body mechanics and self-care at a rate based on pain symptoms
Here is what she had to say once we completed my healing protocol:
"Terrie is wonderful at listening and assessing one's immediate needs and providing advice and care for immediate results. She assisted me over the phone, and my pain level immediately improved after taking the advice and steps she suggested. She followed up with calls, texts, and regular check-ins throughout the weekend and beyond. Within 24 hours, I was able to be up and functioning pretty well. Her support through the week that followed led me to a symptom-free and normal activity level. Thank you, Terrie, I am grateful. I also have taken heed to your advice about pacing myself and practicing good self-care."
– Robin Jackson, Client
If you are having a past or present pain episode, please reach out to me for a 15-minute complimentary consultation to see how I might of help to you.
Many Blessings,
Terrie Carpenter, P.T.
