Chronic Pain Care: When Pain Reduction Keeps Patients Stuck

<p>What do you do when a patient says, “I don’t care about goals—I just want less pain”?<br/>This moment shows up every day in pain care—and how you respond can either reinforce stuckness or help someone get their life back.<br/><br/>In this episode, Mark Kargela breaks down why pain reduction isn’t wrong—but often incomplete—and how clinicians can navigate this conversation without invalidating the patient or taking away hope.<br/><br/>You’ll learn:<br/> • Why pain reduction alone can narrow a patient’s life<br/> • Red flags that someone is stuck in the pain reduction loop<br/> • How pain scores function as communication—not thermometers<br/> • How to use “creative hopelessness” without confrontation<br/> • Ways to pair short-term relief with long-term valued living<br/> • How to reframe goals when patients fear movement and activity<br/><br/>This episode is for clinicians who want practical, psychologically informed tools to manage complex pain conversations—without abandoning pain relief or overstepping their role.<br/><br/>If you work with persistent pain, this discussion will sharpen how you listen, how you frame goals, and how you help patients move forward—even when pain doesn’t fully disappear.<br/><br/>👉 Subscribe for weekly evidence-informed conversations on modern pain care. - <a href='https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCqK42w36yZpvI6puDoQ86Zg'> @ModernPainPodcast </a> <br/><br/>👉 Explore the links below for related resources and deeper learning:</p><ul><li><a href='https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-01391-003'>Kenneth Craig Paper on Social Communication Model of Pain </a></li><li><a href='https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1328232/'>A biopsychosocial formulation of pain communication </a></li><li><a href='https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TWRW9bT2QVu9PxoQOGWCcbcR-Bqpy7L3/copy'>Creative Hopelessness Guide </a></li></ul><p><br/>*********************************************************************<br/>📸 - Follow us on Instagram  -  https://www.instagram.com/modernpaincare/<br/><br/>🐦 - Follow us on Twitter -  https://www.twitter.com/modernpaincare/<br/><br/>🎙️ - Listen to our Podcast - https://www.modernpaincare.com<br/><br/>____________________________________<br/>Modern Pain Care is a company dedicated to spreading evidence-based and person-centered information about pain, prevention, and overall fitness and wellness</p>