The Pain Rehabilitation Center (PRC) at Mayo Clinic's campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota provides a three-week program for adults.
The Minnesota PRC also offers a two-day educational program for adults.
The Minnesota PRC offers pediatric programs (both 15-day and two-day programs) for adolescents (age 13 to young adult).
3-week pain rehabilitation program
The Pain Rehabilitation Center's three-week program is intended for people whose chronic pain or symptoms interfere with normal functioning and result in significant declines in health, physical and emotional functioning, and quality of life.
Understanding chronic pain
Chronic pain and symptoms can impact many aspects of a person's life. Cognitive behavior therapy is one of the most effective methods to help people learn to reduce their chronic pain and improve functioning and quality of life.
In the programs, people learn pain coping skills and techniques for physical reconditioning. Staff supervises medication changes, including tapering of pain medications, and may also address the use of other medications that may be harmful when used long-term.
Each PRC program uses an integrated team of health care professionals trained in many areas, including pain medicine, physical therapy, psychology, occupational therapy, biofeedback and nursing.
The staff focuses on helping each person reach personal goals regarding the self-management of chronic pain and symptoms. The program offers several core components to help people reduce chronic pain and symptoms and address functional impairments, improving quality of life.
Special programming is offered for family members and loved ones of adults in the program to learn how to support those with chronic pain and symptoms and also care for themselves. Aftercare programs can help PRC graduates continue the progress they made during treatment.
2-day pain rehabilitation program
The two-day pain rehabilitation programs at Mayo Clinic's campus in Minnesota provide education for adolescents and adults about chronic pain and symptoms. The programs include an overview of self-management skills necessary for improving pain and symptoms. Medication management and physical reconditioning are not included in these brief interventions.
Candidates for the two-day program may have fewer symptoms or less functional impairment, or may not currently be able to attend the three-week program because of time limitations or financial concerns.
Pediatric pain rehabilitation programs
A three-week pediatric pain rehabilitation program is available at Mayo Clinic's campus in Minnesota for adolescents (age 13 to young adult). A parent or legal guardian is required to be present for the three-week pediatric program. Parent and family groups are a major component of the pediatric program.
Adolescents age 13 and older can participate in the pediatric pain rehabilitation programs offered at Mayo Clinic's campus in Minnesota.
Staff members in this program meet with adolescents as a group and address the additional challenges faced by young people with chronic pain and symptoms. Because teenagers with chronic pain and symptoms often aren't active in school, a group setting can help them develop better social relationships and the skills needed to tolerate returning to school and social activities.
In addition to core components, staff in the pediatric program covers topics specific to adolescents from a teenage point of view, such as:
- Learning about dysfunction in involuntary body functions (autonomic dysfunction)
- Understanding the difference between short-lasting (acute) pain and long-lasting (chronic) pain
- Managing a difficult day
- Returning to school
- Resuming leisure and recreation activities
- Taking personal responsibility
Chronic pain and symptoms affect all family members. The pediatric program includes daily sessions for parents to learn more about chronic conditions, how to respond to people with chronic pain and symptoms effectively, and how to lessen the effects of these conditions on family members. Other family members and siblings may be welcome to attend.
The PRC at Mayo Clinic's Minnesota campus also offers a two-day program for adolescents and young adults with chronic pain. The two-day program doesn't include physical or occupational therapy.
Mayo Clinic's campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota all offer Pain Rehabilitation Center (PRC) programs based on an interdisciplinary cognitive behavioral treatment model with supervised daily physical reconditioning, opioid medication discontinuation and reduction of polypharmacy. This treatment is based on a proven model of care.
Medication management
PRC staff members help participants taper off of opioid pain medications and any other medications that are no longer effective in managing pain.
The primary goal of the PRC programs is to restore function and quality of life for people who have chronic pain. People whose chronic pain has negatively affected their moods and overall health or whose pain has caused them to experience a decline in quality of life, personal tasks or work responsibilities may be candidates for the programs.
The programs incorporate discontinuation of pain medications. People not taking opioid analgesics are welcome to attend the program, and they compose a large proportion of our patient population. Other important goals include:
- Return to regular daily activities
- Increase physical strength, stamina and flexibility
- Eliminate the use of opioid analgesics and reduce the use of muscle relaxants and sedatives
- Minimize behaviors drawing attention to pain
- Learn stress management and relaxation techniques
- Return to gainful employment, school or volunteer activities (if applicable)
- Resume leisure and recreational activities
- Improve interpersonal relationships
- Reduce reliance on health care professionals by improving the ability to self-manage chronic pain