Reviewed 2/21/2023
Chronic pain is any type of pain that lingers for at least six months. And there's no denying it can interfere with the quality of life and your everyday activities. But many treatments and coping techniques can help. How much do you know about chronic pain?
True or false: Stress can make pain worse.
True. Physical pain can cause stress. And stress, in turn, can make it harder to cope with pain. But reducing your stress may help you manage pain. Exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest and eating a well-balanced diet are some positive stress-busting techniques.
True or false: Positive thinking and self-talk can help make pain more manageable.
True. While good thoughts and optimism won't simply make the pain go away, they can make a difference. That's because, experts say, positive self-talk may help alter your perception of pain. Sometimes it's a matter of reminding yourself that you are moving toward feeling better and regaining a good quality of life.
True or false: Taking powerful narcotic medicines is the only way to treat chronic pain.
False. Other medications—and even nonmedication treatments—can often help people manage their pain. These include things like massage, physical therapy, nerve blocking injections and even surgical procedures. The options available to someone depend on the specific pain condition and other factors.
True or false: Taking part in relaxing pastimes can help you manage pain.
True. A positive distraction, such as a hobby, can help with pain management. Reading or listening to music are other ways to focus away from the pain. Connecting with other people—in person or online—can help too.
True or false: Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and put up with pain.
False. It's important to speak up about your pain. Tell your provider how it feels—and how it affects your life. Does it keep you from sleeping, enjoying activities or doing daily chores? Work together to create a plan to address your pain. You don't have to deal with it in silence.
Chronic pain is a common problem that can pose many challenges. But it is also treatable or manageable. There are many ways to cope with pain—and live your life more fully.
Sources: American Chronic Pain Association; American Psychological Association
Water's Edge is a unique medical facility that offers a wide range of services to provide a comprehensive solution to manage chronic pain. Water's Edge provides nearly 10,000 square feet of modern offices, exam rooms and procedure rooms for pain treatments. A relaxing waiting area furnished with comfortable reclining chairs allows patients to contemplate the peaceful waters of Yakima's Lake Aspen while they await their procedures.
Many Americans have worked hard and played hard during their lives. It is not unusual for farmers, ranchers and others whose livelihood involves physical activity to suffer chronic pain resulting from work-related accidents and other stresses. Others may experience pain from recreational injuries, surgery, diabetes, lifestyle choices, and other causes.
When pain sufferers seek relief, they often think of the immediate cessation of pain available from various medications, but at Water's Edge, our physicians and staff take a broad, multidisciplinary approach to managing many different types of pain. Our goal is to conduct a thorough examination to identify the root cause of your pain and through a variety of approaches, treat the cause, not just the symptoms of that pain.
Our approach to pain care is comprised of five basic elements.
At Water's Edge we use a variety of oral medications, including both narcotic and non-narcotic medications to treat chronic pain. However, sometimes routine oral medications can cause side effects, such as upset stomach or inability to focus, and can result in additional problems for patients. Our goal is to identify a multi-faceted approach to reducing pain. This may include oral medications used in conjunction with procedures or rehabilitation to reduce the dosage and frequency of prescribed oral medications.
Some medications can be injected near or into the spine, muscles, joints and soft tissues. Injections allow the medications to enter target areas more quickly, and often with fewer side effects than oral medications.
Some injection therapies include:
Medication injections can be used for treatment as well as diagnostic purposes. For instance, if a local anesthetic injected into a facet joint causes an immediate cessation of pain, then doctors can more accurately diagnose the source of a patient's pain.
In order to maximize patient safety and compliance, our physicians monitors medication use with urine/blood screens, patient/provider contracts, pharmacy checks, pill counts and other measures. Patients must take medications only as prescribed or seek help from another provider.
Our goal is to find a holistic approach to managing pain that reduces the need for regimented medications.
The goal of pain management is to help the patient return to the highest level of function and independence possible, while improving the overall quality of life - physically, emotionally and socially. Rehabilitation is a key element in helping patients return to their normal lives. Used alone or in conjunction with other pain management approaches, rehabilitation therapies can assist in reducing the suffering experienced by a person with chronic pain.
In order to help reach these goals, rehabilitative pain management programs are customized to each patient. They may include the following:
Rehabilitation therapies help doctors find a holistic solution to pain management that can reduce the dependence on drug and procedure therapies.
At Water's Edge, our approach to pain management is to look at all available treatments to find a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to managing chronic pain. Some patients seek out alternative or adjunctive therapies when conventional medicines have failed. Others find alternative medicines to be more congruent with their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward health and life. At Water's edge we marry traditional therapies and alternative therapies to find the best solution for each individual patient.
Some alternative or adjunctive therapies include:
Logically, most people understand that anything in excess is not likely to be healthy. However, sometimes it's difficult to apply that logic to our lifestyles. Too much alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, or even too much activity can have negative effects on our bodies. On the other hand, a lack of exercise, not getting outdoors in the sunlight, or eating unhealthy foods can also wreak havoc on our lives.
The Lifestyle Choices Clinic at Water's Edge was developed to help those with chronic pain related to their lifestyle find resources to help manage that pain.
Some lifestyle choices that can help you better manage your chronic pain are listed below.
The Lifestyle Choices Clinic can help you find ways to incorporate good life style choices into your daily life. For more information, call 509.574.3805.
Education is the key that ties all of these elements together. We teach people how to manage their pain so they can lead normal, balanced lives.
Water's edge is a referral-based practice. We work closely with your primary care physician to understand any underlying medical conditions that might effect your treatment. A referral is required to be treated at Water's Edge. Talk to your doctor to see if our services are right for you.
For neck and arm pain:
For chronic neck pain and headache:
For diagnosing disc pain:
For diagnosing disc pain in the low back and leg:
For low back and leg pain:
For chronic low back pain:
For chronic low back and buttock pain:
For upper and middle back pain:
For chronic upper and middle back pain:
Other services:
Advanced Practice Providers
