LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Louisville-based health care company is showing a path forward to treat pain with a new documentary.
More than one in five Americans live with chronic pain, according to Confluent Health. “Pain, Misunderstood” is a documentary that pushes for new ways to treat pain that centers on education, movement and individualized care.
“Pain is a universal human experience and the reality is that as a result of understanding pain, it’s false you’ll never experience pain again, but you’ll understand what is going on and you’ll be able to take a step back and look across your lifetime and understand what are the things I can do to manage it and overcome it,” said Dr. Stephen Clark, Chief Clinical Officer at Confluent Health. “We often say ‘function over pain’ which is easy to say, but the reality of that and stepping every steps of the way through that really does become the job of the physical therapists.”
The documentary follows three patients with different life experiences, including a former WBA international boxing champion, a young woman living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and a survivor of a traumatic hunting accident.
“These people are fearful of not being able to return back to what they want to do, or so fearful of experiencing pain at all that it really puts them in a position to not function,” Clark said.
The documentary also features pain neuroscience experts like Dr. Adriaan Louw, Dr. Colleen Louw and Clark.
Clark said pain is an individual experience and people feel pain in different ways. The documentary shares ways to learn about individual care.
“The art of medicine really is that there are some things in humanity that are consistent across the board. It’s the application of those things to someone’s life that makes it different,” Clark said. “Pain is often misunderstood and understanding more about pain is the first step to take. There’s so much more to be known, but just the ability to question and ask the questions of yourself and your life and the support group around you.”
While the documentary provides knowledge on pain care, it’s also intended to provide hope to patients and providers.
“Patients are probably questioning more than ever how the health system can help them because they’ve been failed,” Clark said. “This documentary provides that there is hope.”
The film is now available to be streamed. Confluent Health said the documentary will premiere at a Louisville theater later this summer.
To learn more about the film, click here.