You are WORTH  IT – The GOALS of PREP are organized in five areas

Work Readiness: to strengthen and reeducate muscles.

Ongoing behavior change: to adapt to chronic pain.

Reduce Stress: to decrease its effect on pain.

Tell your story: to gain support and insight.

Healthy Eating: to help the body heal.

Using information and training.

Details of the WORTH goals of the PREP program

W - Work Readiness: to strengthen and re-educate muscles

Most patients with chronic pain have some aspect of pain that relates to the myofascial system.  For many patients, this is their primary area of discomfort.  Pain causes all of us to move differently in the world, because of the specific pain and the stress that living with the pain brings. 

Bodywork focuses on relearning how to move and use the body, and strengthen the muscles.  Activities may be both active and/or passive, depending on the patient and the stage of pain. Participants will learn relevant anatomy and factors that effect pain. They will learn to prevent future injury and to improve function with their current pain level.

Activities

Experience different types of movement therapies that may include: Chiropractic, Massage, Neuromuscular Reeducation.

Learn a home program for flexibility, and strengthening.

Analysis and training in safe and ergonomically correct movements at work and home.

Review of your journal records of your practice and application of these techniques.

Reading on the relevant anatomy and physiology to understand the nature of pain. 

O - Ongoing Behavior Change: to adapt to chronic pain

Individuals with chronic pain are often in a vicious cycle of stress, muscle tension and spasm, pain and increased stress. Factors apart from their pain, i.e. family, work, personal issues, past history often add to this cycle and cause exacerbations of their stress and therefore their pain.  By using stress reduction techniques and behavior change strategies and skills, they are better able to break the cycle of pain.

Working with the IMC Balance of Health areas in a multidisciplinary model is the most effective approach to chronic pain management.  These new behaviors require the slow, steady, reinforced process of changing habits and attitudes that may have been present for years. Individuals must have the specific skills to incorporate this into their daily lives.

Activities

Behavior change coaching – working with specific goals, new skills, and putting into practice every day.

Readings and discussions about complementary modalities that may help pain.

R - Reduce stress; to decrease its effect on pain

Chronic pain is stressful. Stress is well documented to exacerbate pain.  Stress reduction techniques have been shown to reduce pain and often reduce the use of pain medications.

Activities

Experience several types of meditation and relaxation practices: meditation, sitting, walking, intuitive eating training, self hypnosis and guided imagery. 

T - Tell your story: to gain support and insight

Symptoms of chronic disease have been shown to be dramatically reduced simply with the opportunity to talk about traumatic and stressful events. Even longevity with a terminal condition like cancer has been effective with patients participating in support groups. PREP participants have experienced a chronic condition of pain.

Activities

Counseling and creating a Healing Story book to document your story of pain and recovery.

H -  Healthy eating: to help the body heal

Many patients with chronic pain have an inflammatory component to their pain and benefit from several approaches to nutritional support including food choices, herbal and nutritional supplements, and elimination diet trials.

Understanding the rationale and scientific support for such approaches helps in the sometimes difficult challenges associated with changing eating habits.  Making new choices in food usually affects all members of the family. Therefore making realistic, small step changes, making it fun, trying new foods and preparation techniques are all part of the sometimes slow process of changing eating patterns.

Activities:

Lectures and discussion of the facts regarding foods.

Personal meal planning.

Trying out new foods.

Discussion regarding participants attempts to make food changes.

Journaling regarding food choices to see patterns.