Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than six months. It can range from being mild to agonizing, episodic to consistent, and inconvenient to incapacitating. Whatever the case, chronic pain greatly affects the life of those suffering from it, resulting in a decreased quality of life. This is because symptoms of chronic pain affect individuals as a whole – physically, mentally, and emotionally – affecting both the body and the brain. Symptoms include:

  • Persistent pain that may or may not radiate to other areas of the body
  • General feelings of soreness, tightness, stiffness, and discomfort
  • Fatigue
  • Sleeplessness
  • Disability – inability to perform or withdrawal from daily activities, including work, due to pain
  • Weakened immune system
  • Feelings of stress and hopelessness
  • Irritability
  • Anxiety
  • Depression

Chronic pain affects 1 in 10 Canadians aged 12 to 44, and the prevalence becomes significantly higher for individuals over the age 65 (approximately 25% of the population). Most commonly, chronic pain patients report suffering from ongoing back problems (pain and spasms), and generally women report frequent migraines as well. Lastly, injury is the most common cause for chronic pain (about 40% of cases), and a third of patients are unable to recall what is the cause of their pain. These statistics are unsettling because they show us that chronic pain is a frequently occurring disease that is affecting millions of Canadians who have not been able to have their initial acute pain healed. This is because their pain was not treated as a symptom of the whole body.

Our approach to treating chronic pain treats the body as a whole in order to tackle the root causes of your pain. This involves prescription drug treatment, lifestyle and behavioural education, trigger point injections, peripheral nerve blocks, intravenous lidocaine infusions, and evidence-based therapies such as acupuncture, natural health products, and psychological therapy. Our treatment plans aim to remove the barriers to recovery that are preventing the body’s healing response so that you can return to a better quality of life free from pain.