An estimated 1 in 5 Australians suffer persistent pain, which is defined as pain that continues for more than 3 months 
Different types of pain include:
Acute pain which is usually of short duration and the result of surgery, injury or other short-term problems.
Severe persistent pain persists despite attempts to diagnose and treat an underlying cause. There are many conditions that may lead to persistent pain, such as shingles, amputation, severe burns, spinal cord injury, low back or neck injury.
Cancer pain may be acute and or persistent.
When pain is brief or short-term, it acts as a warning for the body to seek help. However, when pain never goes away, becomes severe and persists month after month despite any causes being treated or excluded, it may lead to drug dependence and have psycho-social implications.
In adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to pain management Dr Crawford, and Dr Raj Anand aim to address the underlying problems causing the pain and hope to return each person to a functional lifestyle.
Procedures that may be useful in managing chronic pain include:
- Lumbar Sympathetic Blocks
- Facet Joint, Sacroiliac Joint and Periradicular Nerve Blocks
- Epidural Blocks
- Percutaneous Neurotomy
- Spinal Cord Stimulator Implants
- Occipitital Nerve Implants
- Intrathecal Pump Implants
- Botox injections