Pain therapy

What is pain therapy?

Pain therapy is the treatment of acute and chronic pain after surgery or in case of a chronic pain disease. Pain is an individual sensation, and so every patient feels pain differently.

Acute and chronic pain

Acute pain serves our body as a warning signal, and is often a symptom of an underlying illness.

Chronic pain in contrast has lost its warning function and has taken on a life on its own. A sort of pain memory develops as a consequence. Acute or chronic pain can emerge even without any organic cause, and, thus, without any damage of tissue according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (1986). Chronic pain can be a disease itself.

Treatment

We treat patients with acute and chronic pain within our outpatient, multimodal pain therapy. Multimodal pain therapy is an interdisciplinary treatment of pain by different physicians and therapists at the same time (neurosurgeons, orthopedics, neurologists, radiologists, physiotherapists, psychologists, etc.). A holistic treatment is possible this way.

Based on the interdisciplinary cooperation of pain specialists, we derive an individual treatment adapted to patients´ needs in order to improve quality of life, ease the pain and minimize side effects.

Our work complies with the recommendations of national and international associations (e.g., German Pain Association, German Association for the Study of Pain).

If patients visit us for their first time, they get a comprehensive pain questionnaire they can fill out at home until the next appointment. The questionnaire is important for finding the symptoms and symptom-related problems and other factors influencing the pain.

Surgery hours

Monday – Wednesday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and by telephonic arrangement
Phone: +49 (0)228 90 90 75 0 You can phone us, and we find an appointment matching your preferences.

Treatment focus

The following passage is an excerpt of our therapeutic range of services. If a certain disease or type of pain is not listed, it does not mean that we do not treat it. Please contact us in this case.

  • different types of headache:
    • migraine
    • tension headache
    • headache deriving from cervical spine
    • cluster headache
  • face ache/facial pain:
  • pain of the musculoskeletal system:
  • pain after herpes zoster infection (postherpetic neuralgia)
  • neuropathic pain
    • e.g., nerve damage, amputation, phantom pain, etc.
  • fibromyalgia
  • tumor pain
  • complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)

Treatment options

Oral drug therapy

We conduct an individual pain therapy adapted to patients´ needs. If necessary, we combine drugs of different active ingredients. The phase in which we adjust the drug dose necessitates patience and personal care. In the beginning, side effects can emerge and make this phase more difficult. We discuss of course every open question with you and your relatives.

schmerztherapie

Invasive pain therapy

The invasive pain therapy is carried out mostly by injections. The following procedures belong to this group of pain therapy:

  • therapeutic local anesthesia
  • plexus blocks, epidural anesthesia
  • sympathetic block

Whether these types of pain therapy match your needs or not, is decided after a comprehensive preliminary talk. You will be informed in detail about the kind, range and application of your pain therapy.

TENS

TENS is the abbreviation of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. TENS is a stimulation current being used especially for the treatment of different kinds of pain but also for the stimulation of muscles.

To apply TENS, electrodes are placed on the skin surface stimulating nerves and muscles. TENS is often perceived as tickling or tingling. It has the aim to influence the nervesso that pain perception in the brain is reduced or blocked. After instructing the patients, they can take the device home to stimulate themselves.

Psychosomatic primary care (client-centered therapy)

Chronic pain correlates with depression, anxiety, aggression and helplessness, and it often interferes strongly with daily life. These limitations can also be a contributory cause of pain (biopsychosocial model). Within the range of the psychological pain therapy, we talk to the patient to find out more about the pain, problems it causes or factors influencing it. There is also the possibility to talk to a psychiatrist/psychotherapist.

Physiotherapy

At the department of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, Beta Sport & Reha, you are treated with physiotherapy and medical strengthening therapy (sports therapy, special training machines) by skilled physiotherapists to improve strength, endurance and mobility.

Acupuncture

‘Acupuncture can heal or ease what is out of balance, but it cannot heal what is already destroyed.’
(source: http://www.daegfa.de/PatientenPortal/Akupunktur.Wann_Wird_Akupunktur_empfohlen.aspx)

Acupuncture is a treatment method that has its philosophical and theoretical roots in the ancient traditional Chinese medicine 2000 years ago. The acupuncture points are systematically arranged in so-called meridians, which contain life energy, in Chinese Qi, with the two different parts YIN and YANG in balance.

Acupuncture has become more important in our Western world, especially in the fields of pain therapy, allergic and psychosomatic diseases as well as disorders.

Acupuncture is a treatment method in Germany that is used a as complement to or instead of academic medicine. It is only one of the 5 backbones of Chinese medicine. The others are: nutrition, gymnastics (Qigong, Tai Chi), herbal medicine and massage (Tuina).

Acupuncture treatment

First treatment and preliminary talk

The acupuncture is a treatment with the patient as a whole entity in its center but also considering environmental factors. Diagnostic criteria like abundance or weakness of life energy are important. The clinical diagnose is only secondary.

An efficient treatment with acupuncture entails diagnosing according to the traditional Chinese medicine. The diagnostic measures comprise, for example, evaluation of face color, appearance of tongue, state of the pulse, the occurrence of sweating as well as the comprehensive history of illness and the patient´s conditions of life. The first treatment takes about 45-60 minutes.

Further procedure

The further acupuncture treatment depends on the symptoms. A treatment series encompasses 8-12 appointments. Because everybody reacts differently to acupuncture, more or less treatments are necessary in some cases.

After 4-5 sessions, we evaluate the success and discuss the expected chances for success. Some patients feel better after the first session, some need more. If the condition does not improve, we advise to stop acupuncture.

Acupuncture in case of acute diseases

  • ideally 2-3 sessions per week
  • needs much time and patience
  • start: 1-2 sessions per week; improvement given: 2 sessions per month, later 1 session

Prophylaxis/prevention, e.g., hay fever

  • during the months before allergy starts

Acupuncture treatment in practice

5-15 thin needles are inserted into the body, the head or the ear. The prick of the acupuncture needle can hurt a bit, mostly at the surface of the skin. After the placement of the needles, patients can have a feeling of weightiness or pressure in or around the puncture site, rarely a feeling of slight electrification (the Chinese call this De-Qi), transitioning into a pleasant feeling of relaxation after short while.

Acupuncture treatment is undergone in a laying position and lasts about 20-30 minutes after the needle placement. During this time, it is important to relax.

In some cases, especially in case of chronic diseases or withdrawal from smoking, it makes sense to permanently induce the acupuncture points. This is possible by using permanent needles. Those needles remain at the same place for several days. Placing the needle can be more painful in comparison to the normal acupuncture needles. Patients can stimulate themselves with the needles when needed.

The undoubted efficiency of acupuncture has not been proven by recognized test procedures so far. So, acupuncture is a healing attempt with an effect during or after the treatment or without an effect.

Surgery hours

Dr. Alice Chon-Völker Monday-Wednesday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and by telephonic arrangement Phone: +49 (0)228 90 90 75 0 You can phone us, and we find an appointment matching your preferences.

Costs of acupuncture treatment

Private German insurance companies cover the expenses in general according to the German Physician´s Fee Ordinance (GOAE), especially for pain patients if the acupuncture treatment is not ruled out in the individual contract. Please talk to your insurance company about cost coverage prior to the acupuncture treatment.