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Show ' ' pr j f p - - '- " ' I ;-tT .11 J tl 1 DAVID L. CONNELLY Olinic gives aid to pain sufferers Editor's note: This is the first ar-icle ar-icle in a two-part scries on con-rolling con-rolling chronic pain. This article eals with methods of pain control sed by the pain clinic in Pleasant Irove. By LINDA HARRIS In the old West, where odds of in-urring in-urring a painful injury or condition vere high and remedies few, the dvice of family, friends, and aregivers was often to "bite the ullet." Today experts on pain control have ome up with some new methods for ot just enduring, but achieving a ain-free state methods that do not arry the bullet's danger of lead-loisoning lead-loisoning and are hailed as being uccessful , in 90 percent of those reated. Contrary to a route taken by many reaters of pain, the staff at the Utah 'alley Pain Clinic and Counseling Center located at 140 South Main, Pleasant Grove, Suite 4, advocate little or no use of narcotics in the treatment of chronic pain. Nor do they advise patients to "take it easy." The goals of the clinic, according to staff psychologist David L. Connelly, are to have the sufferer decrease medication, to increase activity or scope of activity, to decrease time away from normal activities and to learn to manage pain. "Use of narcotics usually leads to side effects more devastating than the purpose for which they are taken," said Connelly. "Our goal is to have the person become independent of their pain so they do not need to keep coming here to have us block their pain," he said. Connelly said most people with chronic, or long-term, pain usually spend most of their waking hours in See Pain Clinic on page 3 Pain Clinic- he sustained some dental injuries during his football career, he found himself able to control his pain while in the dentist's office by a process of distraction. Also as an athlete, he learned that pain becomes your ally. "You never run a marathon without experiencing pain. But if you continue to worry about it, it will never be of value. Every athlete fights a battle with pain. It's part of the conditioning process. It makes cowards of some," he said. "I find pain doesn't get in my way. There are too many things going on to let it get me down. I find a way to get around it," he said. "I can't think of a worse way to live than with self-doubt that comes through pain," he added. The clinic receives clientele only on referral from a private physician. This way if there is an underlying disease process going on which is treatable medically, the patient can receive the most appropriate care. One 65-year-old lady with shingles experienced pain even when the wind touched her skin. Since going through the clinic she has had no pain for two years. .- "Our approach to pain takes a lot of communication. If the person is constitutionally sound and still socially active," said Connelly, "we can usually help them." )0)(S ontinued from pagel) i n0 me type of sedentary activity such 7 A lying in bed. "We teach them to move. Inactivity : k t causes stiffness and an anticipation an-ticipation of pain. Then the amount of rerAin is increased even more," he id. daw The staff's aim is to get their clients ibO feel they are in control. They use i nTweral different methods to bring ut Jus about. Counseling, biofeedback, re jSlf-hypnosis and activity all help twister the high success ratio, tak A factor that enhances a person's ain indirectly is stress. "We help ery iem to eliminate any stressors in m,.jeir life that take away their jpijoysical and emotional ability to intntrol pain," said Connelly. ra i;Such factors might be parent-child 'dilations, spouse relations, financial lrdens, obesity, or smoking. "Some ; ink the world should be fair. The j''brld is not fair. This causes a lot of 8"sople stress. We teach them to look ?. " life with a more positive per- 5ctive," said the therapist. J -The staff has found that an upbeat titude greatly faciltates a healthy 'deling. "Depression only adds to -the Problem," said Connelly, who claims it e staff members are really a fun or Biynch to be around. Connelly sites the like Sample of one man who had chronic hatpin until he saw a series of comedy Movies. "He laughed his way well," fyyesisaid. that In attacking chronic pain directly, 'ays-e clinic also uses biofeedback. This 'onnj';a monitoring system which teaches iu what is going on in your body and liketfcw to control it. Thermographics, or luialdy temperature measurement, and Jidtkiectromyogram (EMG) 'UT Or - measurements also help the person learn control of his body. "Even small things that are going on inside you can make a big difference dif-ference to you," said Connelly. He said sometimes a person is not aware of the tension he or she is feeling inside. "We sometimes lose contact with our body. So we try to help people develop an awareness of their body," he said. Another biofeedback device they use at the clinic is a galvonic skin response measuring instrument (GSR). It measures the changes in amounts of perspiration on the skin. Since perspiration is an indicator of stress, the person can determine their level of stress and then learn how to lower that level. Self-hypnosis helps a great deal, also. For instance, pain is usually described as burning or hot, so the patient is asked to think of something cool whenever he experiences pain. One person thinks of freezing caterpillars, while another may put in his mind the image of being on top of a high mountain in the middle of winter with the wind blowing. People with migraine headaches are taught a technique for preventing their occurrence. "This is the most successful technique that has been developed for people with migraines," said Connelly. The three-member staff at the clinic all become involved during a person's counselling there. On the staff besides Dr. Connelly, are psychiatrist Anthony Gillett and marriage and family therapist Bill Marshall. Connelly became interested in pain control through a series of events that started with his fascination with hypnosis as a young boy. Then when |