Toolkit for Individuals

The Toolkit for Individuals supports personalized training in self-management for preventing chronic pain. It also improves the outcomes of treatments for a pain condition that may involve medication, therapies, injections, and surgery. Once registered to receive a toolkit, an email or text will sent to the patient allows a person to be easily registered in the training program with consent forms and simple instructions for training and, optional use of a health coach.

Each Toolkit includes:

1. Pain Assessment: This on-line assessment instrument will help people review their pain conditions, compare severity with others, identify risk factors, review protective factors, and establish goals to achieve
2. Self Management Training: A self-paced on-line self-management training programs that is personalized for each individual based on their assessment will help them learn about preventing chronic pain. The personalized content includes targeted videos that covers how to reduce risk factors and and strengthen protective factors in each of the seven realms including mind, body, lifestyle, emotions, spirit, social and physical environment
3. Experiential Handouts on each risk factor and protective factor and how to make changes
4. Preventing Chronic Pain Book that is mailed to each person
5. In-Person Seminar on Preventing Chronic Pain
6. Access to on-line store for pain preventing tools such as massage, exercise, supplements, and monitoring tools (purchased separately)
7. Access to a Health Coach (purchased separately)

Pain, whether acute or chronic, is the body’s way of signalling that a potential threat to our health or problem exists. Thus, determining the causes to the pain, whether it be a single cause, such as a splinter in our finger or an injury to our ankle, or it may be multiple causes of chronic back pain or headache. The key to understanding, managing, and preventing chronic pain is to determine what combination of factors are contributing to delayed recovery and the chronic pain condition. These contributing factors exist in the seven realms or domains of our lives include the Body, Lifestyle, Emotions, Society, Spirit, Mind, and Environment. Interestingly, the acronym for these seven realms is BLESS ME. The tool kits include brief training on enhancing protective factors, reducing risk factors and preventing chronic pain. The following factors are focused on:

The physical and pathophysiologic aspects of the body. We only have one body, and thus, it is important to learn how to use it well and not abuse it.

1. Stretching
2. Strengthening
3. Conditioning
4. Relaxation
5. Posture

The Lifestyle realm includes behaviors and actions that we do on a daily basis including both work and home activities.

1. Sleep habits and disorders
2. Sleep environment
3. Eating Habits
4. Healthy Diet
5. Pacing and activity level
6. Chemical Use
7. Work activities

Emotions are the personal expressions of feelings that we experience and they can have a significant impact on pain.

1. Know your feelings
2. Emotional coping skills
3. Staying calm
4. Creative pursuits
5. Positive future outlook
6. Smile and laughter
7. Cultivate happiness

The people that surround us on a daily basis can also contribute or help prevent chronic pain.

1. Social support and importance of connectedness
2. Listening and communication skills
3. Relationship building with honesty, kindness, tolerance
4. Helping others
5. Conflict resolution
6. Avoiding Secondary and Tertiary Gain

Maintaining higher level beliefs, purpose, and direction that support health, productivity, and passion in life while avoiding stress and burn-out.

1. Self-esteem and love
2. Purpose, aspirations, and passion
3. Defining beliefs
4. Insight and inner strength
5. Prayer and meditation
6. Gratitude

We are what we think and if we can change our mind we can change our pain. Our thoughts will determine our emotional reactions, our behaviors and actions, and ultimately our physical functioning. As Socrates states in 400 BC: “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” We need to think, wonder, and be wise in our thoughts.

1. Honesty
2. Mindfulness
3. Problems solving and decision-making
4. Self-efficacy and self-Responsibility
5. Open learning and concentration skills
6. Resilience and coping
7. Optimism and being realistic
8. Effective planning

Environmental protective factors are often associated with a life that is orderly, organized, and clean. When life is organized, there are less injuries, trips, falls, low risk-taking, low infection-risk and low risk of adverse events.

1. Organization
2. Cleanliness
3. Driving safely
4. Prevent personal accidents
5. Avoid personal risk-taking
6. Air, water, and food quality