Pain Medicine
Pain medicine is a branch of medicine easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of those living with chronic pain
Our pain medicine service provides for the assessment and management of sudden, severe and long-lasting pain.
What is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is characterised as pain that has been on-going for 12 weeks or more despite the use of simple pain medication like ibuprofen and paracetamol and despite carrying out a course of exercise and physiotherapy.Chronic pain is a disease of the central nervous system and can be defined as pain that either persists beyond the point that healing would be expected to be complete or that occurs in disease processes in which healing does not take place. The pain may be continuous or intermittent and can typically present for 3-6 months before patients seek active treatment.Chronic back pain, 95% of which originates from the lower lumbar spine, can be very debilitating, with patients often predisposed to sleep loss, long periods of absence from work and, in some cases, patients can develop depression.Chronic back pain can manifest with pain on one or both sides of the lower back and the pain can extend to the buttocks or thighs but often not lower than the knee
Pain can be classified by the type of pain or by body region.
Classification by pain types includes:
- Neuropathic pain: burning, stabbing, tingling, insect crawling, shooting, associated with allodynia, hypersensitivity or other sensory changes.
- Nociceptive pain: aching, boring, worse on movement, anatomically defined, fluctuates in severity.
- Mixed Pain: combination of both neuropathic & nociceptive pain symptoms.
- Visceral pain: dull, diffuse, ill-defined.
- Although chronic pain is often neuropathic, it can also arise from other types of pain and it is possible to classify chronic pain by the underlying condition or body region which is causing the pain.
Common painful disorders seen in our chronic pain service include but are not limited to:
- Post Surgical Pain
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- Post-Herpetic Neuralgia
- Peripheral Nerve Injuries, including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
- Myofascial Pain
- Persistent Post-Surgical Pain
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Joint Pain
- Cancer Pain
Our pain services include the following:
- Facet joint block - A needle is inserted into the jointand delivers a steroid medication which anaesthetises the joints and blocks the pain
- Nerve root blockade for sciatica - An injection is given to relieve low back pain
- Joint injection - An injection into the point to relieve pain
- Epidural - An injection given to relieve pain
- Intravenous infusions for management of chronic pain - Intravenous infusions (where medication is injected into the vein)can help manage long-term pain.
- Psychology Services - Dr Gillian Moore-Groarke
Contact Details for Psychology Services:
Dr Gillian Moore- Groarke worked for over 10 years as part of a pain management team. She regularly takes referrals from Consultnats in the Hospital. Stress and anxiety can compound pain and psychological intervention helps patients to reduce pain intensity, frequency of flare-ups and to live within the limits of chronic pain
CBT teaches patients to pace themselves and to set realistic goals to manage their pain.
Tel/Fax: 021 4343073
Email: gmg@eircom.net
Website: www.irishpsychological.com
Private clinic address: 5a Block B, Harley Court, Sarsfield Road, Wilton, Cork
Dr. Christine Cleary
Consultant in Pain Management
Biography
Dr. Cleary graduated from University College Cork in 2004. She completed training in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine on the Irish National Anaesthesia Training Programme. Dr. Cleary was a Clinical Research Fellow in Pain Medicine at St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada, where she trained in the pharmacological, interventional and multidisciplinary management of cancer pain and a broad range of chronic pain conditions. Dr. Cleary completed further training in advanced interventional pain techniques at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London, a prestigious centre particularly recognised for the interventional pain management service and the INPUT pain management program.
Dr. Cleary is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, College of Anaesthetists of Ireland and also a Fellow of the Faculty of Interventional Pain Practice, World Institute of Pain.
Dr Cleary is expert in a broad range of interventional techniques and offers evidence-based, multimodal management of a broad range of pain conditions including spinal pain, chronic postsurgical pain, chronic abdominal and pelvic pain, neuropathic pain, headache and cancer pain with a strong emphasis on holistic patient care.
Dr. C E Cleary MB, BCh, BAO, BMedSci, FCARCSI, FFPMCAI, FIPP
Additional Information
Clinic Times:
Monday PM 1.30-6.00
Tuesday AM 9.00 - 12.00
Thursday AM/PM 9.00 - 5.30
Appointments
Referrals & Enquiries Email:
contact@painmanagementcork.ie
Contact Details
- Dr. Christine Cleary
- Suite 21, Clinic B,Cork Clinic, Western Road,Cork, T12 Y7CW
Secretary
- Denise Slattery
- Tel: 021 4856595
Dr. Donal Harney
Consultant in Pain Management
To access these services, you will need a letter of referral from your GP
To make an appointment, please contact
021 4345633 - Dr Christine Cleary
0214935137 - Dr Donal Harney
