Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Brain Hospital Anesthesia and Reanimation Specialist Prof. Dr. Füsun Eroğlu shared important information about chronic pain and its treatments.
Chronic pain can become a condition that affects the quality of life extremely negatively and disrupts psychology. Stating that a pain can be effective 24/7 and for months, experts said that they care more about the intensity of the pain felt by the patient rather than the level of pain. According to experts, even if the pain is of low intensity, it should be taken into consideration and should not be neglected.
Pain lasting more than three months becomes chronic
Stating that pain lasting more than three months is chronic pain, Prof. Dr. Füsun Eroğlu said, "In pain centers, the cause of pain is investigated and treatment is applied. Pain is an unpleasant subjective feeling that originates from any part of the body, which may or may not be due to an organic cause, and covers all past experiences of the person. The department dealing with pain is defined as Algology. Algology is the field of medicine where the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of pain lasting 3 months or longer is performed."
Many chronic diseases can be treated
Prof. Dr. Füsun Eroğlu talked about the treatment areas of the Pain Center as follows "In the pain center, chronic pain; cancer pain, headaches, pain due to nerve damage, i.e. neuralgia, musculoskeletal system pain; neck pain, shoulder-arm pain, back pain, waist-leg pain, pain due to vascular occlusion, pain of unknown cause are treated. Anyone with chronic pain such as headaches and cancer pain can apply. People with acute pain can also benefit, but acute pain is a defense mechanism of the body, a stimulus. It is a message that the person should take seriously to go to the doctor. The aim of algology is to restore the quality of life lost due to chronic pain."
Pain treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach
Stating that pain treatment is a teamwork and requires a multidisciplinary approach, Eroğlu said, "The team should include specialists in radiology, physical therapy, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics and psychiatry. Doctors can help relieve some of the pain, but chronic pain treatment is a team effort. If this team is present, pain treatment is successful. For this reason, experienced pain specialists are being trained in this field in our country. In order to become an algologist, physicians who have completed 6 years of medical school must receive two years of Algology sub-specialty training after receiving specialty training in Anesthesiology, Neurology or Physical Therapy."
Chronic pain negatively affects life
Prof. Dr. Füsun Eroğlu said that chronic pain is a condition that affects the quality of life of people extremely negatively and disrupts their psychology, "Sometimes a person experiences this pain 24/7 and for months. If there is a psychiatric illness, they may also feel pain due to it. Chronic pain is treated in the pain center. Most of the time, people in pain go to many specialists. They try all methods to make their pain go away. Pain centers aim to improve the quality of life of these people by focusing on their pain and taking a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment process. Painkillers and anti-depressants are widely used all over the world. As Pain Centers increase, the right painkiller will be used in the right patient, thus unconscious use of painkillers will decrease."
Pain should be taken into consideration even if it is of low intensity
Pointing out that the intensity felt by the patient is more important than the level of pain in the treatment performed in the pain center, Eroğlu said, "Pain is a subjective feeling. It varies from person to person, culture to culture and comorbidity. The intensity of the pain the person feels is the intensity for us. For example, when evaluating the intensity of pain, if the patient feels the pain at an intensity of 9 out of 10, we accept the patient's pain as 9. The approach should never be "this patient does not have such severe pain". Pain is important even if it is of low intensity. The pain threshold is generally the same in all people, but there may be differences in pain tolerance. If there is a problem affecting the pain threshold, such as a tumor or a disease affecting the nervous system, there may be a problem in reaching the pain in our brain."
Chronic pain can impair psychology
Prof. Dr. Füsun Eroğlu said that chronic painful conditions are treated in the pain center and concluded her words as follows:
"Chronic pain reduces the quality of life. People stop doing the things they used to be happy to do, start using medication, tension, sleep disorders, burnout, withdrawal from society, and disrupt their work if they are working. In fact, pain is a source of great unhappiness. Naturally, it affects the psychology of the person and even the psychology of his/her close environment and family. As a result, chronic pain can cause psychological disorders, and some psychiatric conditions also have an important place among the causes of pain. Patients with chronic pain should definitely be evaluated psychiatrically. Therefore, it is very important to include a psychiatrist in the Pain Center team."
