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Presentation 

The Pain Unit at Hospital Germans Trias is a highly specialised medical unit, made up of a team of professionals in Anaesthesiology, Psychology and Nursing, which is responsible for the research, diagnosis and treatment of patients with chronic or acute pain. 

Acute pain is a symptom or a direct manifestation of tissue damage. In contrast, chronic pain is considered a disease in its own right. It lasts for more than three months, is often difficult to control, can have a significant impact on the patient's life and negatively affect their quality of life. It is a public health problem in all developed countries.

The high prevalence of chronic pain necessitates specialised care in an environment that guarantees quality and safe assistance. For this reason, Pain Units have been created, specific spaces where techniques and treatments are applied to relieve or eliminate pain, regardless of its cause.

The Pain Unit at Germans Trias provides a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach to pain. It is a pioneer among hospitals of the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) in providing psychological support to patients with chronic pain, a line of work that has been maintained for over 18 years. It is also a pioneer among hospitals of the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) in providing psychological support to patients with chronic pain and in creating the ‘Pain Map’, which aims to deliver a rapid response to the patient, alleviate pain, monitor their progress and improve the quality and care. Since 2023, the Unit has been working in partnership with the Directorate of Digital Transformation to develop a mobile app that enables the digital monitoring of patients treated at the Unit.

How does the unit work?

The care process at the Pain Unit begins with a comprehensive assessment, which includes a clinical interview, a physical examination and a review of previous diagnostic tests. From there, an individualised treatment plan is defined, which may include various combined interventions, depending on the patient's progress and needs.

The Unit also offers ongoing support and follow-up through face-to-face consultations and, in certain cases, remote care via videoconference. Since 2023, the use of a mobile app has been introduced to facilitate digital patient monitoring, enabling smoother communication and a better adaptation of treatment to daily life.

The Unit actively promotes healthy lifestyle habits, providing guidance on self-care, adapted physical activity, anti-inflammatory nutrition and other recommendations to improve overall well-being and promote patient autonomy.

It also actively works on the emotional front, with therapeutic spaces offering psychological support, either individually or in groups, to help people understand their pain, manage their emotions, adapt to new limitations, strengthen social relationships and develop strategies for coping with the challenges of daily life.

This comprehensive care is made possible by the close coordination of the team's professionals and the active participation of the people receiving care, who are at the centre of our care model.

Healthcare services

The Pain Unit at Germans Trias is accredited as a level IV unit, meaning it performs high-complexity procedures, according to the classification by the Spanish Society of Pain and the Ministry of Health, since November 2020. It is also accredited as a high-complexity unit by the Catalan Public Health System (SISCAT).

The unit's objective is to relieve pain, improve functionality and increase the quality of life of people who suffer from it. To this end, different therapeutic strategies are combined, adapted to each patient and taking into account their physical, emotional and social needs. The techniques used include:

• Pharmacological treatments, which act on the mechanisms of pain generation and transmission.
• Minimally invasive techniques, such as nerve blocks or radiofrequency, which allow the activity of the nerves that transmit pain to be modulated or their sensitivity to be temporarily reduced.
• Neuromodulation systems, such as the use of electrical currents (TENS) or iontophoresis, and, in selected cases, implantable devices such as catheters or infusion pumps.
• Topical treatments, such as the application of capsaicin patches for neuropathic pain.
• Intravenous drug infusions, indicated in specific situations of systemic chronic pain.

Research and teaching

The Pain Unit develops an extensive teaching and research programme, with the aim of promoting clinical excellence, therapeutic innovation and the continuing professional development of healthcare professionals. It is an accredited teaching unit for several leading training programmes:

• Training of faculty in the Continuing Education Master's in Pain Medicine of the Spanish Pain Society (SED).
• Nursing teaching on the Master's in Anaesthesia, Resuscitation and Pain Therapy Nursing at the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Postgraduate Anaesthesia Nursing Training course at the Catalan Institute of Health (ICS).

Furthermore, it is a centre of excellence for training in capsaicin patch therapy, an advanced technique used for the management of neuropathic pain.

The professionals actively participate in working groups and scientific committees of both the Spanish Pain Society (SED) and the Catalan Pain Society (SCD), contributing to the development of clinical guidelines, protocols and innovative research lines.

The team also promotes internal continuing education through clinical sessions accredited by the Catalan Council for Continuing Education in Health Professions, which foster the constant updating of knowledge and interdisciplinary debate.

This commitment to teaching and research allows us to provide the highest quality care, based on scientific evidence and the continuous improvement of care processes.

News 

Here you can access the most prominent news from the Pain Unit: 

• Prominent participation of the Pain Unit in two specialised training courses on radiofrequency techniques
• The Hospital's Pain Unit participates in the European debate on pain management and joins the World Day Against Pain