Newcastle & The Hunter’s leading pain management clinic

Dr Simon Tame and Dr John Prickett set up NIPM in 2011. Our aim was to combine the highest quality pain management treatments within a personalised, humane environment, and to work as an “integrated” team with patients, their family and other practitioners involved in care.

Living with pain is a great burden. In addition to the pain itself, pain normally leads to difficulties in many areas of life. Pain effects fitness, relationships, hobbies, work, and all other aspects of life. Many people with chronic pain struggle with mood and anxiety problems as a result.

At NIPM we treat all kinds of pain – and all aspects of living with chronic pain.

At NIPM our doctors take a personalised, tailored approach. They evaluate the likely causes of pain and what options there are for reducing pain. They evaluate how pain impacts patient’s lives in terms of home life, social life and work life.

We develop easy to understand plans for managing pain. These plans normally include the following kinds of options:

Physical therapy – to help safely improve activity levels and improve fitness with ongoing pain.

Psychological strategies – to help people suffer less with pain, and improve quality of life despite pain

Medication optimisation – to reduce side effects and maximize benefit where medications are appropriate for pain treatment.

Procedural pain management – to reduce pain without medications.

Other options outside the clinic if required such as surgical treatment, rehabilitation treatment, psychiatric treatment, and many others.

Your treatment plan will be developed with you in partnership. Your preferences for treatment are focused on and explored. Some patients prefer to learn how to safely exercise more with pain, some patients want to know the exact cause and treat it directly.

At NIPM you will be cared for by one of our doctors. You may also see our other specialist practitioners including our nursing, exercise physiology and pain psychology teams.