Acute and Chronic Pain Management

Pain is a symptom of damage to different tissues and/or nerve structures which transfer pain. Therefore, we differentiate three types of pain: nociceptive, neuropathic and mixed type of pain (both nociceptive and neuropathic). Nociceptive pain is the most common pain and is caused by direct damage of the tissue (bones, ligaments, muscles and others). Neuropathic pain is caused by direct damage to nerve structures and can sometimes occur without a clear cause. Mixed type occurs when along with tissue damage, there is damage to the adjacent nerve.

Today, pain syndromes associated with degenerative changes in the locomotor system are very frequent. The following syndromes are in this group: lumbosacral, cervicobrachial, craniocervical and others who make up the majority of patients at our Center. Every person has at least once in their life had pain caused by the aforementioned syndromes.

According to the length of duration, we differentiate acute (up to a month) and chronic (more than 3 months) pain.

Paint is best treated with a multidisciplinary and personalized approach, as well as appropriate multimodal method of treatment (choosing two or more techniques of treatment).

The main goal is to reduce pain because in pain syndromes, chronic pain occurs during a few years of unsuccessful treatment and endangers the patient's physical as well as psychological health.

Sometimes, diagnostic procedures cannot find the basic cause of pain, so we treat it symptomatically.

Center for pain treatment also deals with acute and chronic pain problems through a comprehensive approach. The focus is to treat the patient by resolving every problem which causes pain and deteriorated the quality of life.

This complex approach to resolving pain conditions is called „PAIN MANAGEMENT“ and is done by a multidisciplinary educated team (radiologist, physiatrist, surgeon, neurosurgeon, orthopedic surgeon, anesthesiologist). This is why Saint Catherine Specialty Hospital is unique in Croatia.

At our Center for pain we treat the following diagnoses:

• Acute and chronic headaches
• Acute and chronic conditions of the bones and joints (coxarthrosis, gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis, arthritis of autoimmune inflammatory nature such as rheumatoid and ankylosing arthritis, etc.)
• Acute and chronic pain syndromes (lumbosacral syndrome, ischialgia, cervicobrachial syndrome, thoracic syndrome, craniocervical syndrome, etc.)
• Acute and chronic conditions of muscular origin (myofascial syndrome)
• Neuropathic pain (trigeminal neuralgia, postherpetic neuralgia, diabetic polyneuropathy, etc.)
• FBSS (Failed Back Surgery Syndrome) – postoperatively after a neurosurgical treatment when pain still dominates
• Phantom pain (after limb amputation)