Pain indicates an underlying condition that requires attention and is expected to resolve. However, pain can persist and deliberate despite apparent healing or no apparent cause. Many usual medications are ineffective.

The Pain Clinic provides expertise in the management and treatment of chronic, intractable or recurrent pain after emergency or urgently amenable causes have been excluded.

Chronic pain can present as persisting pain (more than 1 month) even though healing of the underlying condition has taken place. Chronic pain can also be a significant feature in some conditions with a diagnosis e.g. cancer but palliative treatment and pain relief rather than curative treatment can only be offered.

There are also many intractable pain conditions with no apparent diagnosis.

Muscle pain is one of the commonest under-diagnosed causes of chronic back, neck and headache pain. It can mimic many conditions and has resulted in diagnostic errors, poor therapeutic results and unnecessary surgery.

The Pain Clinic can offer expertise in the diagnosis of the type of pain - ociceptive (associated with acute inflammation), musculo-skeletal pain, neuropathic (associated with nerve conditions e.g. injury).