Our understanding of chronic pain has changed. We now know that strong painkillers (such as tramadol, dihydrocodeine and morphine) don't work that well for many pains and these medications are addictive, can affect mood and sometimes even amplify pain in the longterm. Fortunately the evidence is that physiotherapy, activity and psychological inteventions can have much better benefit on this debilitating condition in the long run. Please look at the video link of the thoughts of one of our local GP colleagues on how to begin this process.

The NHS website contains lots of useful information, tips and advice on living with chronic pain.

There is also an excellent podcast about chronic pain available here.

East Lothian has specialist, local teams to help support people with chronic pain. With help from your GP and other services we hope that  sufferers can become more independant, reduce the severity of pain and assist in day to day managing of these symptoms. 

Useful Links

• Back pain
• Neuralgia
• Complex regional pain syndrome
• British Pain Society