Chronic Illness Symptoms – Pain

Pain is a very common symptom of chronic illnesses. Chronic illnesses have different types and causes of pain, but some of the pain-related symptoms you might experience include: headache, muscle pain, joint pain, back pain, and gastrointestinal pain.

Chronic pain is different from acute pain, such as what you might experience after a sprained ankle or the flu; that type of pain resolves once the injury or illness heals. Chronic pain lasts for a month or more and may cycle between improving and then worsening, but the pain persists. It may relapse and remit along with other symptoms of the chronic illness, such as fatigue and problems thinking clearly.

Because pain is so debilitating, it is a leading cause of depression in people with chronic illnesses. Medical doctors may prescribe different medicines to try to alleviate symptoms of chronic pain, depending on the cause or features of the pain. Other treatments might include physical therapy, chiropractic care, massage, and other rehabilitation therapies.

While alleviating pain is a primary goal of treatment, it is essential to recognize that pain in chronic illness doesn't happen in isolation -- it's part of chronic illness. It can't be separated from the other symptoms; it's so tightly interwoven that a worsening in pain will often provoke increased sleeplessness, fatigue, cognitive problems, and other symptoms.

Patricia Fennell's Four-Phase Treatment (FFPT) model looks at an individual's complete spectrum of symptoms and functional capacities and offers a whole-person, individualized approach to illness management. FFPT examines a person's symptoms, what phase of illness he or she is in, and his or her symptoms and capacities, then designs a treatment plan that incorporates every aspect of the person's life. For more information about the capacities of chronic illnesses (pain, fatigue, poor sleep, cognition, and thinking, walking, and other movement, mood, and gastrointestinal symptoms), please see the categories at left.

Ultimately, the Fennell Four Phase Model and the Albany Health Management Associates approach to health management seeks to help people identify the most effective treatments; comply with medical, alternative, and psychological therapies; and learn to better self-manage their lives and their chronic illnesses.

If you would like more information about the Albany Health Management Associates approach to treating chronic illness, please contact us.