Main Navigation

Living With Chronic Pain Resources

Center for Pain Management

Mission

The mission of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago's (RIC) Center for Pain Management is to provide a supportive, challenging, active care environment for patients experiencing chronic pain. Our program promotes an increase in the level of daily functioning and facilitates a decrease in pain and suffering. We teach lifelong pain management skills through interdisciplinary treatment and encourage patients to become self-advocates to improve their quality of life.

The RIC Center for Pain Management is committed to making advances in the treatment of chronic pain disorders by providing patients with the most current and effective treatments available. Our emphasis on research and our focus on educating health care professionals, patients and the payor community have positioned us as a leader in the field of chronic pain management.

Program Goals

Patients benefit from a multidisciplinary treatment program designed to:

Develop long-term strategies for pain management, health maintenance and a balanced lifestyle
Recover the abilities to perform activities of daily living and occupational tasks
Resolve the emotional and psychological consequences of coping with chronic pain
Manage the debilitating effects of chronic pain, without the long-term use of dependency-producing medications, unproven surgeries or experimental interventions
Facilitate a circle of support from family and loved ones to promote the patient’s continued participation in learned pain management strategies.

Learn more about the Center for Pain Management

Center for Pain Studies

RIC's Center for Pain Studies has emerged as a stand-alone research center with the cooperation of the Chronic Pain Care Center and its director, Dr. R. Norman Harden. The RIC Center for Pain Studies uses the latest tools in chronic pain research to examine quantitative and qualitative aspects of the human pain response.

Current projects include research in cervicogenic headache, complex regional pain syndrome, amputee/phantom limb pain, pain associated with spinal cord injuries, neuropathic pain and functional outcomes in the treatment of chronic pain. Research protocols include multicenter medication trials, investigator-initiated studies of novel pharmacotherapeutic agents and independent research initiatives in central and peripheral neurological processes associated with a variety of pain conditions.

Learn more about Center for Pain Studies