Pain Management: what we offer

• PMP aims to develop a broad set of strategies for managing the impact of the pain on your physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. The course will explore your personal values to support you in making changes to improve your quality of life.  
• It is a group programme delivered by a team including a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, and psychologist. 
• You will meet once a week for 12 weeks, either in person or online. 

• SMP sessions build on your current knowledge of pain management focusing on activity management, managing difficult thoughts and emotions, relaxation, communication, and flare-up management.
• It is a group programme delivered a member of the pain management team, and a trained volunteer who has personal experience of persistent pain.
• You will meet once a week for eight weeks, either in person or online, with other people who are challenged by persistent pain. 

• Backpack supports people who are functioning well but struggling with variable levels of pain and flare-up episodes. This may be impacting on family life, work, social and leisure activities. By developing a set of strategies, we aim to improve activity and functioning whilst minimising the impact of worse days and flare-ups.  
• It is a group programme run by a by a physiotherapist and psychologist.  
• You will meet once a week for 6 weeks, either in person, or online.    
• You can be referred by your GP, physiotherapist, local MATS (musculoskeletal assessment and treatment service), spinal surgery services, and the pain service.  

• This is for people with persistent pain who also struggle with insomnia, to help you explore the science behind, and the various factors that affect sleep. We aim to tailor this information to the individual challenges you have, and to help you build strategies for improving the quality and duration of your sleep.
• It is a group programme facilitated by our assistant psychologist and a trained patient volunteer.
• It is a five-week course, online or in person. 

• This group offers support to adults (over 18) who support our patients. It aims to discuss challenges, support each other, and look after ourselves.  
• It is facilitated by staff.  
• This is a rolling group that takes place online once a month.

• This workshop is for people who are managing pain whilst in work but may also be helpful as a first step for those who are keen to move towards returning to employment.  
• You will be introduced to the legislation (laws) about employment and long-term health conditions such as persistent pain. You will then discuss ideas about how to use self-management skills in the workplace, and how best to communicate your needs effectively to employers and colleagues.  
• It is a one-off group meeting online.  

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that is recognised worldwide, particularly in relation to health and stress. It involves learning a number of techniques that are practiced throughout the day and have been shown in numerous studies to improve your ability to cope. 

The techniques are based on simple meditation techniques. These are linked with being more able to actively manage health conditions which cause pain and fatigue. 

• The programme aims to give you a deeper understanding of biological systems involved in the persistent pain experience, and to directly link this understanding to gaining tools for managing pain, primarily through helping you develop a more compassionate stance towards yourself and your pain. 
• The course will help you understand what ‘compassion’ is, how to build self-compassion, and why this is important and helpful in the management of persistent pain. 
• It is a group programme led by a psychologist from the pain service, and a psychologist from the ME/CFS service.
• It is held once a fortnight for eight weeks online. 

• This programme aims to help identify patterns in relation to activity and exercise and support you to work towards your activity goals in a flexible and sustainable way. 
• There are strategies to support self-compassion and self-care throughout the programme. 
• This is an eight-week online programme led by a physiotherapist.

• This course is based on the Neuro Development Sequence – the movement patterns we go through as babies when learning to walk. We revisit these movement skills as adults to help improve our function and confidence with movement now. The course also includes other fundamentals of movement. These include (where possible) regaining symmetry in movement patters, the role of breathing in movement, mobility and stability exercises, and looking at the neural pathways as a key component of successful movement.  
• It is run by the physiotherapist from the pain management and ME/CFS service.  
• It takes place online (on Zoom) for 6 weeks on a Thursday at 13:30-14:15. You may have the option to join some follow-up movement sessions held periodically though the year.

• This is for people with persistent pelvic pain. It covers some of the same topics as the generic PMP such as understanding pain mechanisms in the body, flare-up management, stress, relationships, and sleep. It also covers specific pelvic pain topics such as bladder and bowel function, pelvic floor exercise, hormones, and psychosexual health.
• It is a group course run by the gynaecology and pelvic health physiotherapy services. You will also have one individual appointment with the pelvic health physiotherapist.
• The sessions last two and a half hours and are once a week for 12 weeks.