Community Pain Management

The Pain Management Service provides support, education and short-term pain management treatment for patients with chronic pain.

What is Chronic Pain?

Chronic or long-term pain is pain that carries on much longer than expected after an illness or injury.

If you get injured, it is normal for your body to take between 3 and 6 months to heal and pain to stop. This is called ‘acute’ pain or ‘short term’ pain.

However, for some, this pain can continue beyond 6 months, even after your body has healed. In the UK, about 30 million people live with chronic pain.

If you have chronic pain, you may find that your medication doesn’t work as well long-term, and you want to find another way of managing your pain.

Community Pain Management

To help manage your symptoms the Community Pain Management service provides education and advice, a variety of physical activity sessions, holistic therapy interventions and psychology sessions, all of which are proven to have an impact on the management of long-term chronic pain.

We understand how frustrating chronic pain can be and we will work with you and support you to gain a better understanding of your pain and how to manage it to improve your quality of life.

Who the service is for

You can use this service if you:

Are 18 years or older
Are registered with a Hull or East Riding GP
Have experienced pain for more than 3 months, although less than 3 months will be accepted if there is a risk of the pain becoming chronic
Have a diagnosis of chronic, non-malignant pain
Not already receiving pain management care

Who the service is not for

This service is not suitable if you:

A musculoskeletal (MSK) condition that has not been triaged by Community MSK Services. For Musculoskeletal issues please seek advice and resources at www.chcpmsk.org.uk
Acute pain/pain for less than 3 months, unless there is a risk of the pain becoming chronic.
Known/suspected pathology requiring further investigation
Pre-natal back pain/pelvic pain
If you are under the age of 18
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (unless the main symptom is pain)
Palliative pain
Do not live within Hull or East Riding of Yorkshire

What to expect

You can be referred by a healthcare professional, such as your GP.
Once we receive your referral, the team will review it (this is called triage) to decide who is best to support you.
You will usually be assessed within 4 weeks of your referral
Your first assessment is usually by phone. We will send you a text message or email with a booking link, so you can choose an appointment time that suits you.
The appointment will be with either a pain management nurses, or other qualified clinicians with dual roles, such as a Psychological Nurse Therapist or Advanced Physiotherapist.
During this appointment the clinician will ask you lots of questions about your pain, how this affects you physically, emotionally and socially and together you will agree a treatment plan. This will include education and advice, as well as an assessment of your posture and some gentle stretches tailored to your pain.
Any other treatments will be discussed and agreed at that time, if they are suitable for your type of pain.

Can I get my pain medication from you?

We are not a prescribing service and any alterations to medications will be sent to your GP for consideration. We aim to reduce medications if possible and focus on a more holistic approach to pain management.

How long will I be with your service for?

Patients are usually with us anything between 2 month and 2 years. We are not a long-term service, and our focus is to give you the tools and skills to be able to self-manage your pain.