Help Yourself and Your Aberdeen, SD Family Break the Cycle of Chronic Pain

A New Way to Manage Chronic Pain

by Suzanne Barston

We have all felt pain at some time or another. Any woman who has gone through childbirth, any child who has skinned a knee, any man who has been struck with a headache no amount of aspirin can cure- all of us know firsthand how horrible pain can be. Imagine, then, what it would be like to be in constant pain? And what if the very drugs your Aberdeen, SD doctor gave you to curb that pain were, in fact, harming you all the more?

Over 50 million people in the United States suffer from chronic pain. Many are now addicted to pain medication, an addiction that can cause psychological and physical problems. Still, traditional medicine has one main way of treating pain, and that is to medicate, or use surgical intervention.

Dr. Brenda Klass, Ph.D., MFT. DACFE, has a different approach to handling chronic pain. As the founder of Care Center Rehabilitation & Pain Management, she has helped numbers of "pain individuals" put their lives back together.

Often, people turn to Care Center after traditional avenues have failed them. "We live in a drive-thru world," says Klass. "People have this concept of a quick fix. [Care Center] teaches them to stop looking for someone to fix them, and take responsibility for their own health."

Klass knows firsthand how difficult this can be. A chronic pain sufferer herself, she was totally disabled for 13 years, and was told she would never leave her wheelchair and walk again. She describes herself as having been "the perfect patient." She followed her physicians advice, which included total bed rest for months on end, took every prescription her various doctors gave her, despite a growing awareness that the drugs were not only not helping, but in fact causing negative interactions. Klass went through quite an ordeal, and, as a result, is determined to help others who have had similar experiences.

Care Center models its treatment similar to a 12-step recovery program in which the individual takes responsibility for his or her own recovery. Klass believes pain is an addiction like any other. The Center takes a multi-disciplinary approach, combining "conventional medical and physiatric approaches to pain" with physical and occupational therapies, acupuncture, cognitive-behavioral techniques, stress management, and family counseling.

The family counseling portion of the program is of grave important to Klass. She believes children of pain addicts are in danger of becoming "adult children," similar to that of "adult children" of alcoholics. These children are forced to take on many adult responsibilities, since their parent is using all their energy to deal with their own pain. Klass stated she has seen many cases of child negligence at Care Center due to over-medication and the child becoming the parent. She works hard to help the entire family, not just the patient. "We see an awful lot of family issues here, a result of a family in pain," she says.

Another danger to children of pain individuals comes from our nation's flawed system of Worker's Compensation. Often, when a parent is injured, the family is affected in more ways than one might expect. The balance of power is shifted; the parent who was once the primary caregiver is now a dependent. On the other side of the coin, a child may see an injured parent making more money off their worker's compensation than they ever did working, and start believing that this is a pattern to be emulated. Klass sees cases of generations of Aberdeen, SD families who end up with work-related injuries, often because this is the only lifestyle they have been exposed to.

Klass feels so strongly about protecting the children in these situations because she has two children of her own. From her own experiences in her years of pain addiction, she knows first-hand how children can be affected. "It's devastating when you see some of these kids," she says. "You just feel so helpless. I am lucky, through very hard work on the part of both of my children and myself, that my children are exceptional parents. What I find most important is the special bond I have with my grandchildren. We have close relationships that are not diverted by pain or drugs. If I had chosen to give in and not take responsibility for recovery from my pain, I would not experience the pleasure of being there and watching my six grandchildren."

Care Center provides help and hope for those in chronic pain, using a multi-faceted approach that teaches its patients to deal with the pain, rather than just cover it up. Klass believes that the more education and awareness there is about pain management, the more successful recoveries will happen, and the more Aberdeen, SD families will be helped.

Her own story proves just how important it is for the entire family to be involved in the recovery process. Klass still suffers from pain, and at times, she does feel urges to deal with it in ways she knows are unhealthy. Luckily, her family helps her though this in a most unusual way: "They ignore me, " she admits. By not enabling her, her family allows Klass to calm herself down, use the tools she and the Center teach, and approach her pain from a smarter direction.

Care Center is unique in many ways, but perhaps what makes it most special is Klass. Her own experiences with chronic pain give her a perspective that is truly valuable. "Recovery should be proud," she believes. Klass is a shining example of what the outcome can be, if those plagued by pain go through Care Center's challenging and thorough process of rehabilitation.

For more information on Dr. Brenda Klass and Care Center, please visit www.carectr.com or call (800) 301-CARE.