Pain, be gone! - New ways of treatment
A film by Kurt Langbein & Stefan Wolner
TV documentary -
completed

Chronic pain, especially of the musculoskeletal system, is one of the most common ailments. Nearly 40 percent of the population complains about recurrent complaints in the neck or back, one in two have headaches regularly. The majority of the medical system is engaged with the direct or indirect control of chronic pain. In 2016, there were 660.000 sick leave days in Austria for diseases of the muskoskelettal-system, in Germany the numbers are similar. The economic costs are enormous, at around 1,5 percent of gross domestic product. Everywhere, some non confident-inspiring pain therapists offer their sometimes expensive services. But most people who struggle with constant pain through their day do not get the appropriate treatment. Because physicians and patients often have an outdated view of the phenomenon pain.

"According to this one-dimensional model, a stimulus is directed via a nerve into the pain center of the brain, the pain is perceived," explains Rudolf Likar, head of the Klagenfurt pain clinic. "If the cause of irritation is eliminated, everything is fine again."

But the equation "no stimulus - no pain" does not work that way, because pain is a very complex phenomenon.


The film shows new findings and the resulting therapy approaches.

 

 

22.08.2018 | 20:15 3sat

Director: Kurt Langbein, Stefan Wolner | Script: Elisabeth Tschachler | Production Manager: Brigitte Ortner | Producer: Brigitte Ortner

TV Documentary | Austria | 2018
52 Minutes | HD
A coproduction by Langbein & Partner with ORF 3sat and the Federal Ministery of Education
Supported by Vienna Film Fund and Austrian Television Funds