Pain Management Doctors
- Cheeko
- 0
- on Jul 21, 2022
A doctor that is considered a pain management specialist is someone capable of not only evaluating pain but also treating it. A doctor that specializes in pain management or a pain specialist can help with headaches, chronic pain, back pain, and more. They typically see patients in their clinic and the patients go home the same day. These doctors usually prescribe medication and offer procedures that help to treat the root cause of the pain.
Different Types Of Pain:
Different types of pain can be treated by these doctors. They typically fall into one of three different groups. One of the groups is tissue injuries. These include things like arthritis. Another kind of pain that they treat is caused by a nerve injury or even a nervous system disease. Whereas, the third kind of pain that can be treated would be a mix of both nerves and tissue which includes chronic back pain.
Various Disorders That Can Result In Pain:
- Osteoarthritis
- Other types of arthritis
- Stroke
- Nerve damage
- Spinal cord injury
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Cancer
The Background Of a Pain Management Doctor
These doctors will typically have a good 9 years of professional medical training. Not only do they go to medical school, but they also have to get hands-on training within a speciality field. These can include physical medicine, neurology, or something else. After that, they have to complete another year of training that is specially designed to learn the ins and outs of treating pain. Once they do this, they can earn a certificate from the American Board Of Pain Medicine.
A Different Treatment Approach
The pain treatment needs to start with a primary care doctor. It starts with basic medication and goes to physical therapy. However, if you need advanced treatment and specialized care, you will go to a specialist known as a pain management doctor. These doctors can effectively treat you in a much better way than a general doctor.
The first thing they are likely going to attempt to do is to give you medication. These include everything from anti-inflammatory medication to muscle relaxants to stop spasms. They will also use a lot of other advanced treatment devices including TENS which deliver low-voltage electricity to your muscles.
They will then go for the second-line treatment options that can include more advanced procedures. These can include viscosupplementation, RFA, and more. These things are typically used to help curb the pain signals from being relayed. It’s typically more used for serious injuries with severe pain like spinal injuries. Viscosupplementation is when lubricating liquid is injected directly into the joints and it helps to curb inflammation and help provide more lubrication to avoid joints from rubbing too much. They are likely going to start prescribing more or stronger medication at this point too.
The third-line treatment will typically involve a lot more advanced methods including but not limited to a pain pump or even a spinal cord stimulator. These things help to relieve the pain you are experiencing that’s being signalled from the spinal cord. This is where the body controls pain. Therefore, it can help to mitigate the pain signals at the source. Another option would be regenerative or stem cell treatment.
Your Doctor
It is necessary to have good communication between the patient and the doctor. Having a good relationship is key. Not only do you need to have medical and professional experience and knowledge, but also compassion and empathy.
Some Of The Best Quality In a Pain Management Doctor Include:
- Having direct knowledge of different pain disorders.
- Being able to evaluate patients.
- Having the ability to choose the right procedures and medication.
- Being able to do diagnostic tests to find the root cause of the pain.
- Having a network of outside providers that you can send patients to.
- Having updated equipment.
- Having a friendly and responsive office staff.