Eleven years studying chronic pain

Rosa Marquez of the Order

Chronic pain affects 26% of the Spanish population and is one of the most disabling pathologies that exist, with a poor prognosis if action is not taken in time. With the aim of publicizing the latest trends in pain treatment, the Rey Juan Carlos University has once again brought together specialists and patients in a summer course, to address it in a multidisciplinary way. “We have reviewed the most innovative therapies, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, a non-invasive way of treating pain by stimulating different areas of the brain or regenerative medicine that uses enriched plasma, rich in platelets that produces very interesting results in some types. of pain,” explained Carlos Goicochea, professor at the URJC and director of the course. The inaugural conference was given by Juanjo Beunza, from the European University of Madrid, and addressed one of the topics that currently raises the most interest: the role of artificial intelligence in medicine. “It is already being used for the diagnosis of pain, because it allows us to manage a large amount of data and be able to obtain more variables.”

Emotions have been the protagonists of one of the presentations, since they also play a very important role. “We can treat pain with medications and interventional techniques, but if we do not treat the emotional part of the patient who is suffering, the approach remains lame,” recalls Goicochea, for whom one of the main problems to be solved is the lack of psychologists in the pain units. “There is no specific training in this matter, hence patients find themselves with a lack of emotional resources.”

Together with medical specialists, the course always has the testimony of those who suffer from this pathology in first person. Isabel López, a chronic pain patient, participated in this year's edition and shared a presentation with María Madariaga, anesthesiologist and president of the Spanish Pain Society. Both have discussed active collaboration between healthcare workers and patients to be able to continue moving forward together in solving the problem.