When treatment is started, some people may have increased pain from lack of exercise and flexibility. However, over time treatment should decrease the pain and increase your ability to function. You may learn new ways of doing ordinary tasks to reduce pain. Often chronic pain cannot be cured, but it can be managed well enough to significantly improve the quality of your life.

Some chronic pain is caused by specific conditions that can be treated. 
Example: Treatments for headaches, arthritis, neck pain, low back pain or depression.

The goals of treatment are to reduce chronic pain and increase your ability to function. This includes improving your sleep and coping skills and reducing stress so you can return to your regular activities. Initial treatment depends on what kind of pain you have and how severe it is, as well as whether your pain is related to an illness, injury or an unknown cause. Often, the best approach is a combination of therapies.

It is important to develop a clear treatment plan for chronic pain with your health professional. Part of this plan includes identifying ways for you to manage your pain. Only you know the severity of your pain and how it affects your life. Remember to ask your health professional if you are not clear about what steps you can take when pain occurs or gets worse.