San Antonio, TX—San Antonio’s Wellness Center will host V.R. Karuparthy, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, when he presents his community outreach seminar, “Chronic Pain Management: An Integrative Educational Seminar.” The program is open to the public and health care professionals alike. It takes place on Saturday, March 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at SAWC’s Learning Space, 4833 Fredericksburg Rd., just north of the intersection of Loop 410 and Fredericksburg Rd.

Chronic pain is a social health problem of epidemic proportions, yet pain is under treated most of the time, according to Dr. Karuparthy, who did his Clinical Fellowship in Pain Management here at UT Health Science Center in 1994. American Association of Pain Management statistics show that pain causes more disability than cancer and heart disease combined. Low back pain is estimated to cost the U.S $80 to $100 billion per year. And, approximately 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.

Dr. Karuparthy says he feels the biggest obstacles standing in the way of chronic pain reduction are patient participation and the current medical model. The AAPM echoes his sentiments and sites “a deficiency of credible information” as one of the primary reasons for inadequate treatment of chronic pain. Doctors are forced frequently to spend no more than a few minutes with chronic pain clients, and, therefore, become frustrated with not being able to impart much information for self-care to their patients. However, patients can be taught complementary medicine techniques, in a seminar format, that are very simple and relatively inexpensive for practice at home, Karuparthy states.

AAPM statistics further show that chronic pain affects not only individual patients but friends, family and co-workers as well. Pain patients are disabled in many areas of life, including work, mood, sleep, energy, concentration, and general level of enjoyment. Many factors perpetuate chronic pain, such as obesity, smoking, alcohol and diabetes. These physiological factors can combine with mental factors, like: depression, fear, anxiety and frustration to create pain that is often not responsive to conventional therapies (like pills and injections) for the long term.

To make true progress, according to Dr. Karuparthy, it is important to address every issue responsible for the physical pain or its secondary effects in an integrated fashion. He believes it is important to explain all essential modalities of treatment concurrently and with the patient’s full participation and understanding. Therefore, his community education seminar, combines demonstration and training in various holistic approaches to pain management (acupuncture, Ayurveda, hypnosis and Yoga) with explanation of how to properly use drug therapies.

Most importantly, Dr. Karaparthy says, these holistic techniques make the same medications work better without losing their effectiveness over long periods of time. Effective combinations of modern and ancient techniques provide more tools to, not only compliment modern therapies, but also decrease side effects of medicines, he states. Therefore, integrating these techniques into patient education is an important step towards better outcomes, he believes.

The holistic approach requires true partnership with patients and a thorough educational process that gains understanding and commitment of patients, Dr. Karaparthy says. Kathy Moore, Director of San Antonio’s Wellness Center, and host for the program agrees. She said, “We are delighted to have a physician of Dr. Karaparthy’s caliber coming to conduct this vitally important community service program at our learning space. Our primary goal at SAWC has always been to help our clients understand that they are in charge of their own health.” The mission of any holistic program or practitioner is to empower patients to take charge of their lives and their health, Dr. Karaparthy and SAWC Director Moore agree.
To Register

The cost to attend the workshop is $25 per person or $10 for students. To register, contact Kathy Moore at (210) 735-6766 or e-mail her at mooreinspire@earthlink.net. To register on-line or to see a complete workshop itinerary, visit: www.mooreinspire.com/painseminar.html. Register early as seating is expected to fill up fast, according to Moore.

Other programs at SAWC Learning Space

SAWC offers a wide range of holistic wellness programs and classes, such as Tai Chi, Yoga, Jazz/Funk dance for stress reduction, and a wide range of seminars on various healing modalities. To find out more, contact Kathy Moore or view the on-line calendar at www.mooreinspire.com/news.html or see individual listings for SAWC classes on www.craigslist.com.