What methods can be used to manage pain?

Our approach to pain management

The best way to achieve pain relief is to make sure you receive interdisciplinary pain management from a team of health professionals. They will work with you to create a tailored pain treatment plan from a range of different treatment methods. Your unique treatment plan will aim to reduce your pain, improve function and help reduce any disability.

This is where our patient resources will become an essential part of your pain management plan. Our team will help you to fill the toolbox with tools to self-manage your symptoms as they arise.

Our patients receive whole-body, interdisciplinary care at the Julia Argyrou Endometriosis Centre at Epworth. We work with pelvic floor physiotherapists, psychologists, pain physicians and other healthcare professionals that can support you to manage and relieve endometriosis pain.

What are some of the ways to manage pain?

There are many different methods available to manage pain. Some will be self-managed by you; others will require the assistance of health care professionals. Not all the methods will work for you, or you may need a combination of different approaches to achieve the greatest pain relief. It will be a matter of trial and error to see what works for you under the guidance of your health care professionals.

Some of the methods that may be used in your interdisciplinary pain management are included below.

Pain psychology

As pain comprises of psychological and emotional factors, it can be helpful to see someone that specialises in this field. By learning to understand the thoughts and emotions that have contributed to your pain, you may be able to reduce the pain you’re feeling.

Pelvic floor physiotherapy

Pelvic floor physiotherapy can help relax muscle tightness in your pelvis and restore elasticity to tissue. This is helpful for people suffering from endometriosis. Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialised area of physiotherapy. Our pelvic floor physiotherapists can help you improve your pelvic floor function.

Lifestyle changes

One of the quickest ways to relieve your pain is by making simple changes to your lifestyle. You can quickly and affordably help your pain by changing some of your habits. Some of these can include:

• simple dietary changes
• getting more sleep
• exercise
• pacing
• complementary therapies.

Medication

Medications can help with pain but will only provide you with relief for a short amount of time. To achieve maximum pain relief, you should always combine medicines with other non-drug treatments in your pain management plan. You should never rely on medications as the only method to manage pain. Different types of medications can include:

• analgesics (or pain killers)
• neuropathic agents
• adjuvant treatments
• cannabinoids

Interventional pain management

Interventional pain management is a pain management strategy that aims to provide minimally invasive procedures and treatments so that patients with pain will less rely on medications. Some of the treatments include:

• Botox injections
• nerve blocks
• sacral nerve stimulators