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Pain Specialists: Chronic Pain Experts
The majority of patients suffering from pain rely on their primary care physician for treatment. Pain is indeed the most common complaint in a doctor’s office, and it frequently directs the physician to a proper diagnosis and treatment. From fractures to appendicitis, from heart attacks to ingrown toenails, pain is often the guiding light. Chronic unrelenting pain is a different matter. When pain extends beyond its usefulness, or when it recurs without diagnostic or therapeutic value, it causes unnecessary suffering. Loss of function, depression, and work and family difficulties are just some of its side effects. Among the most common ailments in a pain practice include spinal problems such as low back pain and sciatica, neuralgias relating to diabetes and shingles, and osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, but the most severe and disabling pains usually involve nerve damage. Complex regional pain syndrome is a good example of a combination of severe limb neuralgia and associated dystrophic changes of the musculoskeletal system that may benefit from pain management. The main role of the pain specialist is to aid the primary care or other physician in elucidating the diagnosis, which is not always easy, and designing a treatment plan for difficult to treat patients. Most individuals suffering from pain that has lasted at least a few months may benefit from multi-modality treatments ranging from medication and physical therapy to nerve blocks and radio frequency ablation of selected nerves, or even the addition of more sophisticated procedures such as peripheral or central nerve stimulators. More important than any modality, however, is the support and reassurance that leads to a productive patient-physician alliance.
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