During the four-week program, patients check in the clinic daily and participate in various pain management therapies for eight hours each day that focus on physical activities as well pain coping skills. During this time, patients are expected to stop taking all prescription pain medications. While some may experience a modest decrease in pain levels, patients who completed the program have demonstrated:

• 50 percent decrease in depression
• 50 percent improvement in pain coping skills
• 70 percent reduction in pain related behaviors
• 400 percent increase in walking tolerance
• 400 percent increase in stationary bike riding tolerance
• 50 percent increase in trunk motion
• 30 percent increase in leg range of motion
• 15 percent increase in neck range of motion

After completion of the Pain Management Program, a patient leaves with tools for healthy management of pain and will decrease health care utilization. Even more importantly is learning that pain is not a barrier to daily activity. If experiencing any new problems or questions after completing the program, contact our staff at any time to answer questions.

The Nebraska Medical Center’s Pain Management Program is just one facet of a comprehensive Pain Management Department, which also includes programs for acute, cancer and postoperative pain. For more information about Pain Services, call us at (402) 559-4364.