Pain management (Complex Pain Service)
Complex pain is defined as pain that:
- has been present for more than three months and is impacting on a young person’s physical and/or psychological functioning
- has not responded to routine management
- pathology has ruled out as being caused by serious disease.
Who we are
The Complex Pain Service (pain management) team include experience pain consultants, psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, senior physiotherapist, senior occupational therapist and a teacher who work closely with families as outpatients in Clinic K.
The CPS team includes experienced medical, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, clinical psychology and teaching staff.
Conditions we manage
- Chronic widespread pain/Fibromyalgia
- Chronic headaches
- Recurrent Abdominal Pain
- Chronic musculoskeletal pain
- Chronic idiopathic testicular pain
- Central pain syndromes related to stroke / spinal cord injury
- Complex post-surgical pain syndromes
- Neuropathic pain syndromes e.g. post-herpetic
- Persistent pain despite appropriate disease management
Services we provide
The team works closely with young people and their families, offering group and individual programs with a strong focus on self-management as well as coaching and mentoring for parents to help support young people through treatment.
At least one parent or guardian is expected to actively participate in their child’s treatment program.
There are different pathways to enter our service.
- Ideally the patient and their family attend a 3-hour appointment called an interdisciplinary team assessment. This is an opportunity for the pain story to be shared with our pain consultant, psychiatrist, psychologist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and teacher. A plan will then be created after listening to and confirming the patient and family goals.
- Medical only: as you may already have a physiotherapist, psychologist or occupational therapist.
- Pain management programs (including modules and the comfortability program). We also have a transitional clinic where a pain consultant assists with safe pain medicine management.
When a young person has completed their main treatment program, Telehealth follow up and maintenance sessions can be provided for regional families to minimise the need to travel to the hospital.
Referrals
Children and adolescents may be referred to the Complex Pain Service by their treating doctor at PCH.
When our medical team is satisfied that serious diseases are being treated or have been ruled out as an underlying cause of your child’s pain, they will refer your child to the Complex Pain Service.