The best place for understanding and treating chronic pain

Treating pain is one of the most complex and difficult areas of expertise within health care. This is because pain is very individual and experienced differently by each patient. There is no universal cure, no quick-fix treatment to long-term and chronic pain conditions. However, there are some specialists focused solely on treating patients with difficult pain-related conditions.

Smärthjälpen is a specialist center for treating non-malignant pain. Patients having developed pain conditions after hand- and/or foot surgery, as well as patients with ongoing pain conditions related to autoimmune diseases for example, are all welcome at Smärthjälpen.

Atleva is a specialist care provider in hand- and foot surgery. In recent years Atleva has expanded its business to also include pain management and prevention of ill health. The collaboration between Atleva and Smärthjälpen is focused on pain management. Atleva’s patients are offered first class pain management and treatment thanks to the partnership.

Meeting an unmet need

Atleva Specialistvård was founded in 2008 by doctors who wanted to make a difference and create better opportunities for a more person-centered and holistic care. The business has expanded rapidly, today with 9 clinics in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Linköping and Malmö, but stays true to the mission of creating better care with a more holistic approach.

Smärthjälpen was founded in Gothenburg in 2016, by Dr Nenad Stankovic, a Pain Management Specialist. The center was founded due to the massive unmet need for pain management within public health care.

“There is a very big gap within health care today, and it is connected to the needs of patients suffering from pain conditions, such as chronic pain after having surgery. There are not enough specialists within the field, and the reason for that is the difficulty in pinpointing what actually causes pain and how to effectively treat it. That, and the fact that it takes many years to specialise in the field”, says Dr Nenad Stankovic.

Benefits of the holistic approach

Dr Stankovic is not only a Pain Management Specialist. He is also a hand surgeon and a plastic surgery specialist. The combination of these expert areas makes up a very strong foundation for Smärthjälpen.

Many who visit healthcare today feel that they must repeat their medical history and describe their current condition over and over. That is not how Atleva or Smärthjälpen work. Instead, they take the holistic approach, listening to each patient carefully and ensuring that the individual needs are met.

“I founded Smärthjälpen to fill in the gaps within health care when it comes to treating chronic pain. Right from the start, the mission was to provide a holistic approach to dealing with pain. Often, patients are asked to fill out so called pain diaries, but they do not know what to do with the information. What we do is take it further, combining several different methods, the pain diary is just a small part of it”, Dr Stankovic explains.

“Within healthcare, spot interventions are often carried out by physiotherapists and naprapaths and others, but there is a lack of a whole. We want to provide that approach with our tailored services at Smärthjälpen”, he clarifies.

Atleva has moved all three Gothenburg-based clinics to GoCo Health Innovation City during 2023. The move is part of the strategy of Atleva to meet the patient of the future and their care needs, where continuous improvement is key.