Individuals with chronic pain and other medical conditions often feel isolated and alone. Knowledge can be a powerful tool in the search for control over your pain. We strongly encourage you to become an informed consumer of health care and get actively involved in your own treatment. Below is a list of national and local resources, including organizations that focus on pain research and treatment across the U.S. and those that provide valuable consumer advice and information.
Get connected, seek support, and know that you are not alone in your serach for relief and a better quality of life.
The Doleys Clinic
A Comprehensive Pain Management Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama
Pain Resources
American Chronic Pain Association
The ACPA is an organization with dual missions: To facilitate peer support and education for individuals with chronic pain and their families, and to raise awareness among the health care community, policy makers, and the public at large about issues of living wtih chronic pain. The organization produces some excellent video and brochure information resources for patients, families, and health care providers. The website is easy to navigate and includes a list of chronic pain internet links that can be quite helpful.
The American Pain Society
The American Pain Foundation
Pain.com
The "consumer" section of the website is designed for patients with pain and includes some interesting links to Q&A's with physicians, some pain questionnaires and other resources, and expert interviews.
Central Texas Spine Institute
Check out the patient education section of this website. It has a wealth of easy-to-understand explanations about varoius spinal conditions and animations of some of the most common spinal surgeries.
Pain Action
Requires a free registration, but it's worth it! Excellent self-management strategies for pain management.
Other Suggestions
Caregiver Cornerstones - Click the link for a wonderful brochure for caregivers produced by Partners Against Pain (Purdue Pharma, LP)
Managing Pain Before it Manages You - Click the link to bring you to the Amazon.com page for this excellent self-management workbook. Author: Margaret Caudill, MD, PhD
The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook - Another link to another excellent guide to relaxation technique and other helpful skills. Authors: Martha Davis, PhD, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, MSW, & Matthew McKay, PhD
