Welcome to the Mayo Clinic Chronic Pain & Symptoms Rehabilitation blog. Here, you can find information about the Pain Rehabilitation Center (PRC) at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, including best clinical practices, lifestyle management techniques for chronic pain and symptoms, and PRC staff and patient graduate highlights. Follow the blog for the most up-to-date knowledge on chronic pain and symptoms rehabilitation.

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Multidisciplinary Team

The Mayo Clinic PRC takes an interdisciplinary approach to rehabilitation using several core components to assist individuals in managing their symptoms. These core components include: pain and symptom education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, biofeedback, and medication management. The primary goal of the PRC team is to work collaboratively to improve the individual's self-management of pain and symptoms.

Pain Psychology

The PRC utilizes pain psychology with emphasis on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to increase the individual's ability to handle the difficulties associated with CSS. This method teaches new ways of thinking to assist in retraining the nervous system. Problem solving is used to challenge irrational thoughts and develop healthier methods of stress management. This is provided in group session format, allowing for open discussion and group support.

Occupational Therapy

The focus of occupational therapy is to improve an individual's quality of life through engagement in meaningful activities. CSS is known to significantly impact all aspects of life, influencing work, selfcare, social, and leisure activities. Occupational therapy focuses on implementing techniques that allow the individual to participate in their daily activities through moderation and modification. Each patient will also receive individual biofeedback sessions. By participating in biofeedback sessions, the individual will gain insight into their breathing patterns and muscle tension so that new skills can be learned to calm the nervous system. 

Physical Therapy

The role of physical therapy is to increase the individual’s strength and stamina for improved functioning. Sessions include stretching and aerobic exercise with education on proper body mechanics. Pain and symptoms are typically associated with our body telling us to avoid using a body part and rest. However, in the case of CSS, doing this leads to fear of movement which in turn causes deconditioning and increased pain and symptoms. Physical therapy challenges fear of movement through graded exposure to exercise and education on pain behaviors. 

Nursing

The PRC nursing staff works with each individual to reduce pain and symptom-focused medication. This is a gradual process taking into account the person’s overall health and functioning to allow for the best possible outcomes. Research has shown that the use of medication for CSS is not helpful and can lead to more harm than good. To successfully retrain the nervous system, eliminating unnecessary medication is key to achieve improvement of the individual's wellbeing. Each patient will be assigned a nurse to help manage any personal concerns or requests.