Your child's care team has extensive training and experience evaluating and treating pain in children. They work together to ensure your child receives the right care for their needs.

We use a broad approach to manage pain — not just medications. If we think your child may benefit from complementary treatments, we’ll discuss it with you. Examples include massage, acupuncture and yoga therapies geared specifically for children with persistent pain. Other therapies, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, treat the mind-body connection.

Our child life specialists are here to assess your family's needs and connect you with programs and services in the community. They can help with school accommodations to keep your child engaged and successful in their studies. In addition, our team can provide services like yoga therapy and massage therapy to address the physical, mental and emotional aspects of a child's pain, to enhance their overall well-being.

Our specialists meet with you and your child to review your treatment options. We'll create a customized care plan during your first visit to our Pain Management Center.

Cook Children's Inpatient Pain Management Team is comprised of doctors, nurses, therapists and clinicians who are specially trained in treating infants, children and teens who are having surgery or a treatment at our medical center that requires additional pain management.

While many minimally invasive surgeries are virtually pain free or only require short-term pain relief, other more complex surgeries need more specialized pain care. In these cases, we work closely with your child's hospital team to determine the best plan of care to control or manage your child's pain. If rehabilitation therapy is part of your child's recovery, our pain management therapists will support and assess your child's functional ability and progress toward their pain management goals.

If your child is receiving treatment in the medical center for an illness such as cancer or juvenile arthritis, our pain specialists will work with your child's medical team to manage pain and side effects from treatment safely and effectively. Because many treatments can feel very stressful to a child, our goal is to reduce as much pain and anxiety as possible so your child feels more comfortable and relaxed.

For children who are hospitalized for a serious injury, expert pain management can be a critical part of their healing and recovery. From broken bones to head injuries to burns and more, you can trust that one the finest pain teams is caring for your child.

Because each child referred to us is different, you can expect that we will work with your child's entire health care team to create a plan that is unique to your child's needs. Your child's care includes:

• Referral consultation
• Individualized pain plan of care
• Continual assessment of your child's pain
• Modified pain plan of care as needed

We see patients for chronic pain or recurrent pain in our Outpatient Pain Management Clinic. Chronic pain is a pain that has lasted longer than the expected time of normal healing and is generally present for three months or longer. Conditions that we treat in our clinic include but are not limited to chronic or recurrent headaches, back pain, chronic or recurrent abdominal pain, myofascial pain and neuropathic pain. It may be related to other chronic conditions like juvenile arthritis or hypermobility or less common conditions like complex regional pain syndrome. If your child is experiencing a chronic pain, you may have a referring physician send a referral for us to meet with you and your child for a new patient consultation. We accept referrals for patients up to 18 years of age. If the patient is 18 years old at time of a new patient appointment, the visit will be consultation only and your provider will discuss a transition plan to an adult provider.

Our outpatient team is made up of a pediatric board certified anesthesiologist specialized in pain management, a nationally certified counselor specialized in psychophysiology and physical therapists dedicated to the treatment of chronic pain. Depending on your insurance and demographic information, your initial visit may be with our entire team.

Our team is dedicated to gathering a thorough history and exam, discussing treatment options with you and your child and providing you with a tailored plan of care. This care plan may include:

• Medication management
• Physical therapy and/or occupational therapy
• Pain-focused cognitive behavioral therapy
• Guided imagery
• Biofeedback
• Relaxation therapy
• Herbal supplements
• Aromatherapy
• Massage therapy
• Yoga therapy
• Medical acupuncture / acupressure
• Clinical hypnosis
• Virtual reality
• Lifestyle therapies with a focus on exercise, nutrition, sleep and social activities
• Interventional pain procedures, including injections of numbing medications, steroids or botulinum toxin (Botox)

Cook Children's Pain Management is the first children's hospital in Texas to partner with Boston Children's Hospital to offer the Comfort Ability Program workshop for our patients and caregivers. The Comfort Ability Program is a brief, cognitive behavioral therapy-focused intervention that teaches adolescents (ages 10-17 years old) and their parents/caregivers the evidence-based skills from psychology for chronic pain management. The workshops includes 12 hours of intervention (6 hours for patients and 6 hours for caregivers). It is administered as a one-day workshop for our pediatric patients with a variety of chronic pain conditions. This workshop allows us to widen our networking abilities to elevate care for our pediatric patients, increasing accessibility to chronic pain specific care. Visit thecomfortability.com for more information about the program and related resources.

For more info, contact our site coordinator: 682-885-4825

In the news

• Comfort Ability Program teaches children how to manage pain, changes lives

Children who struggle to improve or regain their function despite adequate outpatient services may benefit from our inpatient pain rehabilitation program. Our 2-week inpatient pain rehabilitation program uses a team approach to equip patients with the tools to manage and overcome their pain. Our team consists of a board certified anesthesiologist trained in pain management, a clinical therapist licensed in psychophysiology, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a nurse coordinator and additional health care team members. Patients participate in daily intensive physical and occupational therapy while engaging in clinical therapy sessions. Our goal is that this program will set the impetus towards further recovery and functionality.

To determine eligibility for our inpatient pain rehabilitation program, patients should be referred to our Outpatient Pain Management Clinic for an initial consultation.