Pain specialists believe that better information and more open attitudes to treatment can work wonders for the health of people in long-term pain. Specialists in pain management say that one of the most common problems with health systems is that patients are not referred to the correct treatment for their specific pain at the right time. This can be due to financial restrictions within health systems, but it can also be due to clinicians' lack of awareness of the benefits of available therapies and the health outcomes that may be achieved. According to Dr Simon Thomson, consultant in pain medicine and neuromodulation, there are many different types of pain, and a wide range of physical components to consider for each. In addition, each patient will have psychosocial factors that may impact the outcome of treatment, including the patient's attitude to their pain and to the available treatments - of which there are now many different types.
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