It is a normal part of living with long term pain to have occasions when the pain flares up or worsens. Sometimes it is because there are particular goals you want to achieve, exceptional circumstances or important life events. Sometimes there is no obvious reason.

People tell us how frightening it can be when they have a “flare up”. This is a time when, perhaps like you, they say:        

            “Maybe something has been missed”

            “I knew there was something wrong”

            “I need to get this sorted”

However, most recurring episodes of pain are not caused by serious damage, and will normally improve over time. You can record your flare ups and pain levels on the ‘My Pain’ tracker in the ‘Take Action’ section of the patient online platform, available for patients registered with the pain service and accessible through the Pain Service website. You can also do this yourself by setting goals on paper (see the section on ‘Goal Setting’).