How do you know you are getting the right support?

Many who suffer from chronic pain have a hard time determining the what, when and how of getting the proper support. Pain suffers make the common mistake of solely relying on their physicians and therapists to get the support they need. While doctors and therapist should always be an important component of a person’s support network, pain suffers must also explore other options. Other support venues outside of the medical practice include friends and family, online forums, neighborhood support groups, and social networking groups (facebook, myspace). While varied, the level and appropriateness of the support is often inadequate.

For instance, with online support forums, a member may respond to your question, but he or she might not be online tomorrow or next week. So if you have issues that require consistent long term support, you may have to post your question again and hope for the best.

So how does a pain suffer determine what is right for them? The key criteria any pain sufferer should consider when seeking support is time, urgency and complexity.

• How much time do they have to invest to get the support that they need?
• To what degree is the pain debilitating and how urgently must it be address?
• And finally, is the treatment resolution simple or complex?

Some of the above issues can require individualized dedicated support, while others can be addressed with a single answer. In addition, depending on the complexity of the issue, the duration of the support may require one day to one month too resolve. This means that you must know which support option (message board, doctor, friends, social networking etc.) can best address your needs.

Given the hectic nature and multiple demands of every day life getting the right level of support can be a daunting and frustrating task. As a result, the best you can hope for from traditional support channels is that you receive “ad-hoc support” that isn’t outcome focused, and relies on personal preferences.

To address the varied and daily concerns of pain sufferers a new category of pain support called the pain support system has been developed. Pain support systems provide a consistent level of support to address most of the issues of pain sufferers must confront. In future blog post I’ll discuss why they systems work and why they are needed.