It seems like there are specialists for everything these days. With over 100 million people living with chronic pain (in the United States alone) it is only fitting that there should be specific doctors for this epidemic.
The term “pain specialist” can encapsulate multiple types of techniques and treatment methods but all these doctors have the same goal of managing pain for their patients. Many of these doctors have training in anesthesiology, physical therapy, or even neurology and treat conditions ranging from headaches, to recent injuries, to chronic illness. These specialists are often referred by your primary care doctor and work in tandem to treat underlying problems.
Some common issues that are treated by pain specialists include: back pain, neck pain, knee pain, Arthritis, neuropathic pain, headaches, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), pelvic pain, Fibromyalgia, autoimmune diseases, herniated disc, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD), Sciatica, Scoliosis, wrist pain and Carpal Tunnel, Postherpetic Neuralgia (pain after shingles), Diabetic Polyneuropathy, phantom limb pain, spine and spinal cord disorders.
There are a variety of treatment options for dealing with this pain and a specialist makes this decision based on an individual basis. The type of pain, cause of the pain, and patient lifestyle are all contributing factors to this decision. That being said, common interventional pain management methods include: implantable devices (stimulators), injections (steroid, anesthesia, epidural), nerve blocks, physical therapy (massage, occupational/recreational therapy), trigger point injections, branch blocks, and Rhizotomy.
Pain management has come a long way from the simple prescription of medications with new, cutting-edge treatments always being implanted. We work to understand, treat, and prevent your pain so that you don’t have to be limited in living the life you love.
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