Chronic Pain Management Program in Calgary

In the first week, we’ll introduce you to what pain is, how acute pain differs from chronic pain, and how pain develops into a chronic form. We’ll then discuss the 4 pillars for managing chronic pain: exercise, rest, nutrition, and meditation & breathing techniques.

We’ll introduce a pain journal where we’ll discuss how to track your pain. Tracking your pain allows you to notice patterns in what improves or worsens your pain. We’ll also discuss diet and sleep habits. An anti-inflammatory diet and proper sleep hygiene can help reduce inflammation and other perpetual side effects of chronic pain like fatigue. Finally, we’ll introduce light exercise.

In the second week of the program, we’ll focus on stretching and diaphragmatic breathing techniques. We’ll do a group yoga class as a low-impact activity that incorporates breathing techniques. We’ll also introduce mindfulness meditation, which has been shown to quiet the hyper-active mind of individuals with chronic pain, helping to relieve stress, improve sleep, and reduce pain.

In week 3, we’ll introduce moderate cardio exercises. We’ll start by carrying out testing to determine appropriate levels of exercise for you and your unique pain, and show you how to incorporate cardio into your life safely. We do this by recommending cardio exercises for how and where you feel your pain. If you have knee pain from arthritis, for example, we’ll show you low-impact cardio exercises that help to reduce pain, not increase it.

In the final week, we’ll introduce light resistance exercises. Resistance exercises can be done with your own body weight, light weights, or equipment like resistance bands based on how and where you feel your pain. As always, we’ll introduce exercises in a safe, supportive environment.