An example of the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to persistent pain is the patient with Kinesiophobia (fear of movement associated with anxiety related to an injury).  Just as stress and anxiety can make pain worse, kinesiophobia can prevent a patient from recovering to their full extent and achieving relief from muscle pain.

An example….

Consider the case of a 50-year-old woman who was visiting the Norman Marcus Pain Institute for the treatment of her foot and ankle pain. The pain started two weeks after a fall, and had plagued her for five months. Because she felt that she was unable to walk without support, she used a walker or a cane. She complained of pain in her heel and ankle and in her Achilles tendon.  Her foot was cold and clammy. Attempting to move her foot up and down and applying pressure to the painful areas caused the pain to become much worse.

She was overwhelmed with her pain and fearful that she would never get better. With her continued pain, tenderness, stiffness, and cold and clammy feet, her doctor told her she had RSD and needed to see a pain doctor for medications and possibly nerve block injections.

When she came in to consult with Dr. Marcus, he wanted to see if he could help increase the range of motion in her ankle. He used Ethyl Chloride spray to briefly make the area cold and numb. She moved her ankle and her pain was gone! Once she felt relief from her original pain, Dr. Marcus asked her to stand. However, she couldn’t because she was too weak. Five months without walking had weakened her muscles and made her unable to walk. She needed strengthening exercises, so she was referred to a physical therapist that helped her re-learn her walking technique while strengthening her muscles. She is now without pain because she no longer holds her ankle stiffly.

Kinesiophobia created more problems than necessary

Her fear of pain and her belief that not walking or moving her ankle would protect her caused her to become disabled, relying on her walker or cane. This could have easily been mistaken for RSD and lead to unnecessary, expensive and painful treatments. She had kinesiophobia, or fear of movement. This is an important factor when a patient is trying to overcome the effects of a painful injury.