• Pain
• Consequences
• Frequency
• Aims of the Pain Therapy Station
• Subject areas
• Treatment strategies
• Outlook

At our Pain Therapy Station, we have been using a multimodal therapy approach to treat chronic pain patients since April 2003. One of the most dominant symptoms of the illnesses we treat is pain in the musculoskeletal system. This pain has a devastating effect on the everyday lives of the children and young people affected. The pain thrusts itself on the children during their daily activities; going to school becomes an agony, and vocational training has to be abandoned.

The ensuing social isolation increases the feeling of suffering for the affected child or adolescent. Insomnia and dizziness are frequent accompanying symptoms. Before long the pathology of pain affects the whole family, who find themselves limited in their radius of movement. The financial obligations involved as a result need no further comment.

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Pain amplification syndrome has increased steadily over the last 10 years. The numbers of the Rheumatic Clinic for Adults and our own experience show that patients with pain amplification syndrome have become the third-largest patient group in specialised rheumatology clinics. These numbers are compounded by a considerable shortage of specialised residential care staff.

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Since the subsequent problems involved with

• pathological pain,
• including the suffering of patients,
• the consequences for the development of children,
• the increasing number of people affected and
• an awareness of the shortage of residential care staff,

are close to our heart, we extended the range of services we provide to include our special Station in April 2003.

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We chiefly deal with chronic pain amplification syndrome, although, more rarely, therapy is also provided for acute pain.  Chronic pain amplification syndrome can be divided into a generalised form and a localised form.  The localised form is complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS I, also known as sympathetic reflex dystrophy, Sudeck's dystrophy and causalgia), which manifests as trophic changes in tissue in addition to severe localised pain.  Children may also experience individual localised pain points that are extremely painful for no objectively verifiable reason.  The generalised form, involving pain that moves throughout the whole body and vegetative accompanying symptoms such as tiredness, headaches and stomach aches, was formerly referred to as fibromyalgia syndrome or soft tissue rheumatism. The majority of patients suffer from this form of the illness.  Acute pain is seen with active arthritis, systemic rheumatic illnesses or invasive procedures, e.g. post-operatively.

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Our treatment strategies are drawn up on an individual basis and are always adapted to the symptoms of the patient in question. The complex range of problems caused by pain and the bio-psycho-social effects of these problems mean that a multidisciplinary programme of treatment centred around the patient and the family will always be required.

At our Station, a team of therapists works in a multidisciplinary network.

The following services are offered:

• physiotherapy with activating exercises in our training therapy room; massage; electrotherapy; thermotherapy; occupational therapy: osteopathy; a therapy pool; dance therapy; music therapy; and hippotherapy
• Psychological care with programmes for dealing with pain and managing stress, physical therapy, relaxation therapy and conversation therapy.
• Appropriate provision of nursing care with motivation, activating therapy units and help for children and young people in managing their own pain symptoms.
• Medical care with peripheral, central and coanalgetic therapy options and medical information about the illness in question.
• Social care with information and explanations of social aspects of pain amplification syndrome and advice for relatives.
• Complementary medical therapy approaches such as acupuncture, naturopathically-orientated drug therapy, diet therapy, craniosacral therapy and reflexology massage.

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A survey of 115 of our patients showed that most of them are happy with the range of treatments we offer. We therefore hope that our Pain Therapy Station will let us provide a better quality of care to (often despairing) patients and families.

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The following contact persons represent the Pain Team:

Assistant Head of Department

Dr. Renate Häfner

 haefner.renate(at)rummelsberger.net

Ward physician

Dr. Matthias Richter

 richter.matthias(at)rummelsberger.net

Tel.: 08821- 701- 350/2.

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