The Pain Collective is South Africa’s leading network of pain clinics, helping people live beyond chronic pain.
Our expert doctors and therapists work together to provide advanced, evidence-based treatments—without surgery.
05/01/2026
🥗 New Blog: The Role of Diet in Pain Management
We often think about pain management in terms of medication, movement, or medical treatment—yet what you eat can have a surprisingly powerful impact on inflammation and daily comfort.
In our latest blog, we explore how an anti-inflammatory eating pattern, particularly the well-researched Mediterranean diet, can support long-term pain reduction. From the role of plant-based nutrients and gut health to the impact of fibre, antioxidants, and healthy fats, this post breaks down the science in a simple, practical way.
It also highlights how shifting to a more plant-focused diet can strengthen your body’s inflammatory response—an essential tool for anyone living with chronic or persistent pain.
Plus, the blog provides insight into how non-invasive pain treatments fit into broader pain management, and why a combination approach often delivers the best outcomes.
👉 Curious how diet can reduce inflammation and support your pain management?
👉 Want to know which eating patterns are backed by research?
New Blog: Understanding the Role of Trauma in Chronic Pain: Causes, Impact & Treatment
Chronic pain is often attributed to injury or structural changes—but research shows that unresolved psychological trauma can also play a significant role in how pain is processed and sustained. This does not mean pain is imagined. Trauma can reshape the nervous system in ways that heighten sensitivity, prolong symptoms, and disrupt normal healing.
Our latest blog explores:
• how trauma affects the nervous system, stress hormones, and pain pathways
• why conditions like fibromyalgia, IBS, chronic pelvic pain, headaches, and back pain often appear alongside traumatic experiences
• how heightened vigilance, inflammation, and muscle tension amplify pain responses
• what clinicians look for when diagnosing trauma-linked pain
• evidence-based treatments such as somatic therapy, EMDR, trauma-focused CBT, mindfulness, and body-based approaches
• when to seek help—and how supportive relationships and daily routines aid healing
It’s a compassionate, science-based look at how trauma and chronic pain intersect, and how integrated treatment can empower long-term recovery.
💊 New Blog: The Role of Medication in Chronic Pain Management
Chronic pain impacts every part of daily life—but the right medication strategy can make a meaningful difference. In our latest blog, we unpack how different types of pain medications work, why non-opioid options are often preferred, and how clinicians decide what’s appropriate for each individual.
From anti-inflammatories and paracetamol to neuropathic-pain medications and certain antidepressants, the blog breaks down the key categories of treatment in clear, easy-to-understand terms. It also highlights why opioids are used far more cautiously today, and how newer classes of medication can support long-term relief without the same risks.
Whether you’re navigating chronic pain yourself or supporting patients through it, this guide offers a helpful overview of how medication fits into a broader, holistic treatment plan.
👉 Curious which medications help with nerve pain, inflammation, or muscle tension?
👉 Want to understand how clinicians choose the right combination?
🎆 Happy New Year from The Pain Collective and The Health Collective 🎆
As we step into 2026, our hearts are full of gratitude — for every patient who trusted us, every clinician and partner who shared our vision, and every moment of growth, learning, and courage along the way.
The past year reminded us that healing is not just about treatment — it’s about connection, compassion, and community. We’ve seen incredible stories of resilience from patients reclaiming their lives from pain, and from teams who continue to lead with empathy, evidence, and hope.
In 2026, we move forward with renewed purpose:
✨ To keep breaking barriers in equitable, patient-centred care.
✨ To innovate fearlessly, guided by science and compassion.
✨ To nurture wellbeing — in our patients, our people, and our communities.
May this new year bring health, peace, and light to all who walk with us.
Here’s to a year of healing, growth, and shared humanity — one that reminds us that care, in every form, is love in action.
With gratitude and hope,
The Pain Collective & The Health Collective Family
30/12/2025
🚭 New Blog: Smoking and Chronic Pain
We all know smoking harms the heart and lungs—but its impact on chronic pain is far less understood, and often overlooked.
In our latest blog, we explore how smoking affects the body’s ability to heal, recover, and respond to pain management. From reduced oxygen delivery to increased inflammation, disrupted sleep, and altered pain pathways, the effects run deeper than most people realise.
The blog also unpacks how smoking can influence mood, slow rehabilitation progress, and even change how your body responds to pain medication—making long-term pain harder to manage.
While global smoking rates are decreasing, these lesser-known risks remain critical for anyone living with chronic pain or supporting someone who does.
👉 Curious how smoking might be affecting pain sensitivity or healing?
👉 Want to understand the science behind the smoking–pain connection?
Sleep and pain are deeply connected—when one suffers, the other usually follows. For individuals living with chronic pain, disrupted sleep can quickly create a cycle that worsens symptoms, drains energy, and impacts overall well-being.
Our latest blog dives into this powerful link and shares practical, research-backed strategies to improve sleep quality and, in turn, help manage pain more effectively. From fine-tuning your evening routine, to optimising your sleeping environment, to exploring evidence-based approaches like CBT-I, this guide highlights small changes that can make a meaningful difference.
It also explores why poor sleep increases inflammation, lowers pain thresholds, and makes the body more sensitive to discomfort—insights that are often overlooked in day-to-day pain management.
👉 Want to break the cycle of poor sleep and worsening pain?
👉 Curious which habits and techniques actually improve sleep for chronic pain?
For many people living with persistent pain, home is supposed to be a place of comfort—but everyday tasks like cooking, sitting, or even getting out of bed can become unexpectedly draining.
The right ergonomic adjustments can change that.
In our latest blog, we explore how small, practical tweaks to your living room, kitchen, bedroom, and workspace can reduce strain, support better posture, and make daily movement easier. From smarter storage ideas to posture-friendly seating, energy-saving layouts, and simple tools that minimise bending and reaching—these changes don’t require expensive equipment, just thoughtful design.
If you’re looking to make your home more supportive, safer, and truly pain-friendly, this guide breaks it all down room by room.
👉 Curious which changes make the biggest difference?
👉 Want to know what OTs recommend for real, everyday comfort?
As the year draws to a close, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to our patients, families, and community for the trust you have placed in us throughout the year.
Caring for people living with chronic pain is both a responsibility and a privilege, and we are grateful to walk alongside you on your journey. We also thank our dedicated team of clinicians and staff whose commitment, professionalism, and compassion make meaningful care possible every day.
This festive season, we wish you moments of rest, connection, and renewal. May the coming year bring continued progress, improved wellbeing, and hope for what lies ahead.
From all of us at The Pain Collective, we wish you a safe, peaceful, and restorative Christmas, and a New Year filled with possibility.
✨
24/12/2025
🔎 New Blog: Essential Practices to Prevent Degenerative Disc Disease
Degenerative disc disease may sound intimidating, but it's a common age-related change—and one that many people experience without any pain at all. For others, however, weakened discs, inflammation, and nerve irritation can lead to persistent back or neck pain, mobility challenges, and reduced quality of life.
Our latest blog breaks down this condition in a simple, practical way. It covers:
• what actually happens to the discs in your spine
• why genetics, lifestyle habits, and injuries all play a role
• early symptoms worth paying attention to
• proven lifestyle changes that can reduce the risk and slow progression
• posture, ergonomics, and movement habits that protect your spine
• the role of exercise, stress management, and professional support
• when to seek medical guidance
It also highlights why early intervention matters—and how consistent habits like staying active, managing stress, eating well, and maintaining good ergonomics can make an enormous difference over time.
👉 Want to understand how to protect your spine as you age?
👉 Curious which daily habits actually help prevent disc-related pain?
After years of severe back pain and trying countless treatments—including chiropractic care, physiotherapy, cortisone injections, and even an epidural that brought no relief—Dorothy felt completely hopeless. Getting an appointment with a neurosurgeon in the Garden Route area proved impossible too.
That changed when she booked an appointment at The Pain Collective’s Garden Route clinic with Dr Suzaan Jacobs. She arrived in extreme pain and visibly crooked, even after taking strong pain medication. Dr Jacobs listened carefully and recommended a pulsed radiofrequency neuromodulation procedure combined with pain block injections.
✨ The result?
When Dorothy woke up from sedation, her pain was gone — and she could walk upright for the first time in ages. Dr Jacobs also prepared her for the healing process, explaining that full relief would take around 12 weeks with expected ups and downs. That has been exactly her experience; even her worst days now are far better than her “good” days a month ago.
Dorothy describes the entire team at The Pain Collective as friendly, efficient, and highly professional.
💬 “I am incredibly grateful to have met Dr Jacobs. I highly recommend their services to anyone suffering from chronic pain.”
As the year draws to a close, we take a moment to pause — to reflect, to appreciate, and to connect.
At The Pain Collective, this season reminds us why we do what we do: to help people move, heal, and live with less pain and more hope. Every patient story, every act of teamwork, and every small step forward adds up to something deeply meaningful.
To our patients, partners, and colleagues — thank you for trusting us, collaborating with us, and believing in a better, more compassionate model of healthcare.
May this season bring you rest, renewal, and moments of peace. Whether you’re celebrating or simply slowing down, we wish you warmth, health, and connection.
Here’s to another year of growth, integrity, and care that changes lives — one person at a time.
✨ From all of us at The Pain Collective and The Health Collective — thank you for being part of our journey.
21/12/2025
🌟 Team Spotlight | The Pain Collective
Meet Nadine Coetzee — Debtors Clerk
Nadine Coetzee is a committed Debtors Clerk at The Pain Collective, where she plays a key role in ensuring our financial processes run smoothly and efficiently. She values being part of a team that prioritizes professionalism, collaboration, and high-quality patient care.
Nadine believes that patients should feel supported throughout their entire healthcare journey — and that includes the administrative side. She approaches her work with clarity and consistency, making sure billing is managed accurately, medical aids are followed up promptly, and patients receive the correct information when they need it.
She understands that dealing with accounts and medical aid queries can be stressful, so her focus is on keeping these processes straightforward and transparent, allowing patients to navigate their care with confidence.
💬 Nadine’s approach:
• Maintain accurate, responsible billing practices
• Provide clear communication and reliable guidance
• Reduce administrative stress so patients can focus on their treatment
Nadine’s work ensures a smoother experience for our patients and supports the overall efficiency of The Pain Collective.
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Our team started in 2005 with a simple neurosurgery practice at Medi Clinic Paarl. From there we grew in numbers and expertise as we learned and grew in experience. Team members came and went. Friendships were formed and lost as therapists and doctors came and went; but our patients saw our commitment to their care and became family members and stayed.
Spinal pathology is for the greater part a life-long sentence with ups and downs. With the origin of the disease in the genetic make-up of an individual, it is a wear-and-tear disease that progresses throughout the individual’s life. All treatment for spinal pathology is temporary. Be it therapy, medication, pain procedures or surgery. Nothing remains fixed forever in this scourge of modern humanity. Our lifestyles in turn are aggrivating wear and tear disease, leading to a pandemic of back pain and neck pain.
In the beginning we operated on a large number of our patients, following the available literature and teachings of the day. With time we progressively turned ourselves towards non-surgical solutions as the literature and experiences taught us that for the better part spinal pathology can be treated in a conservative manner, with equal success as with surgery, without the risks of surgery.
Today we are housed in the ultramodern Anodyne Pain Clinic on the second floor of the Panorama Healthcare Centre, just a corridor away from the Advanced theatre complex where we perform all our pain procedures. We have in-house physiotherapy, biokinetics, occupational therapy, movement therapy, dance therapy, counselling and everything else.
Basil Adriaanse, the enigmatic owner of Adriaanse and Associates Physiotherapy has practices all over the Western Cape and calls Anodyne his headquarters. He and his team have been taking care of our patients for as long as we can remember. Involved at management level in a multitude of healthcare concerns, he is a bright star.
Linda Hiemstra and her team from Back to Work Occupational Therapy , bring academic excellence and quality of care in a no-nonsense and caring way. There is very little about pain, the physiology of pain and also the psychology behind it that Linda does not understand. She and Basil are heavily involved in step-down and rehabilitation and have practices at several Spescare hospitals as well.
Carin Terblanche of Carin Terbalnche Biokinetics is the elegance of movement in our practice. Understanding the flow and balance of muscles. Two of the loves in her life, water and dance has led her to be instrumental in developing the global Limber Dance Therapy maintenance program. She is also heavily invested in hydrotherapy as a means of reduced gravity movement and release.
Our Anaesthetists, Dr Rozali Spies and Dr Christa du Toit are extremely experienced and have evolved towards pain management over the years. Equally adept at guiding a patient through a difficult anaesthesia or performing a pain-procedure, they form the backbone of the medical expertise in the practice.
Our Neurosurgeon, Dr Liebenberg, needs no introduction. Always treading where angels fear to tread, he has remained the Captain of the ship throughout the years. A man who is very happy to call a spade a spade, he wears his heart on his sleeve and always puts the care of his patients first, whether they have the insight to know that he is doing it, or not. The Patriarch to the thousands of patients of our clinic throughout the years and the multitude of therapists, he just always seems to show up when no one expects it.
We are improving and exploring new avenues of treatment for our patients always. The magic of the Clinic is that we genuinely care and worry about our patients. Each and every one is special in their own way, their quirks, their fears and their little habits. We care for all of them. Even the patients over the years, that have fallen out with us and have left, remain close to our hearts.
