SERVICES
Recovery From Debilitating Pain
SIMP treats all factors that influence disability and pain. Our approach involves helping you learn skills that will allow you to better manage and cope with pain to improve your functioning.
A Comprehensive Approach
When pain begins to interfere with work, home responsibilities, or day-to-day life—and leads to a decline in fitness and health, weight gain, mood changes, or reliance on medications—a structured rehabilitation approach becomes essential.
Our comprehensive program addresses the full range of factors contributing to pain and disability with an evidence-based approach that is different from traditional treatments, one that focuses on equipping you with practical skills to manage and reduce pain over the long term. The goal is to restore your function, improve your quality of life, and empower lasting change.
SIMP Evaluation
An initial comprehensive evaluation helps determine the most appropriate treatment—whether it’s a pain management program or another approach. This includes:
- A half-day appointment with a rehab physician, pain psychologist, and vocational counselor
- A treatment decision made collaboratively at the end
- Occasionally, a brief follow-up visit may be required for more information
SIMP Program
The program is tailored to each patient's unique needs. It includes:
- A team approach with a physician, pain psychologist, vocational counselor, and occupational/physical therapists
- Exercise and reconditioning: stretching, strengthening, and cardio fitness
- Training in body mechanics and pain coping strategies
- Vocational support for work-related disabilities
- Neuroscience education to better understand why pain persists, better understand why you feel the way you do, and build your confidence with getting active again
Program Length
The program runs Monday–Friday, 9 AM–4 PM, for 20 days. Afterward, a long-term home exercise plan is created. Follow-ups support progress for 3 months.
A preliminary phase is available for those not ready for full days, typically 45 minutes each of PT and OT, 5 days/week, for 1–4 weeks to ease the transition.
SERVICES
SIMP Outcomes
Persons served in the SIMP Program improved on all measures. There were improvements in reported pain, pain worry, fear avoidance beliefs, depression, self-reported function and objective measures of function. Individuals treated also reduced their use of opiates, sedatives, alcohol and tobacco.
Physical Outcomes
Nearly 70% of people improve their physical capacity level by at least two levels and nearly 30% improve their physical capacity by three levels (e.g. sedentary to light-medium).
Psychosocial Outcomes
Over 40% of persons served report clinically meaningful reductions in pain worry, pain interference, disability, depression, and anxiety. Over 60% report clinically meaningful reductions in pain fear/avoidance.
Medication Outcomes
Of those who start the program on opioids, only 14.37% are still on opioids uponcompleting the program. Of those 14.37% still on opioids, their opioid dose has decreased significantly.
Vocational Outcomes
At one year after completion of the program, 70% of persons served have either returned to work or are in retraining.
PATIENT TESTIMONIALS
What our patients have to say
Doris Young
John Briggs
Spence Salina
