Multimodal, continuous care approaches are critical for chronic low back pain care

This post is about what we have learned from people living with chronic low back pain, as well as other types of chronic pain.

We surveyed 437 individuals.  The vast majority have been living with their pain for more than two years. In fact, almost 50% of all respondents have suffered from their pain for more than 10 years.

How is Chronic Low Back Pain Treated?

Each respondent has tried an average of 5 different treatments. Treatments are chosen through a random process of trial and error. Clearly, what the current health industry offers is not working. There is no one treatment that will solve everybody’s pain. Your pain is unique to you, and pain management programs need to be tailored to each individual.

We were curious to know what types of treatments people have tried, see the chart below. Some of these surely provide some pain relief, but unfortunately it is only temporary. Most common answers included trying medications and physical therapy, followed by more invasive alternatives like injections and electrical stimulation.

Frustration and Worry

After prolonged periods of living with chronic low back pain and trying one treatment form after another without the desired results, where does this leave people? Not surprisingly, almost all are, or have been, frustrated with their pain care, and worry that their pain will get worse.

Where do we go from here? It is clear to see that there is a need for a scientifically validated pain management program that actually reduces pain permanently. Chronic low back pain is very complex. There is no single cure for it, instead what is needed is an understanding of the different processes at play, and a multimodal approach targeting each of these.

A Multimodal Pain Management Program

This is why at Aivo we offer a continuous care program that reflects the fluctuations of a person’s pain and puts it in relation to other aspects of that person’s life and experiences. Mood is one of these aspects. As we can see, over 50% of respondents struggle with sadness in addition to their pain.

Another one is sleep, and as can be seen below, almost 90% of chronic pain patients have trouble sleeping. For tips on how to improve sleep, visit our sleep hygiene guide.

Daily measures of experienced pain level, as well as mood and sleep are at the core of Aivo's program. Data shows that sadness and problems with sleep are very common among pain patients, and our science has proven that the emotional learning circuits in the brain play a big role in chronic pain. A multimodal, individually optimized approach, recognizing that the brain is the central target for chronic pain treatment is what we offer.