Pain Management

The first step anyone should take if experiencing consistent pain in a part of their body is taking an appointment from a pain management specialist. If the pain you are dealing with is not going away by taking regular pain relievers, then the problem is more severe than you think. You can quickly look for a clinic by typing a pain management doctor near me, and a list of clinics will be displayed in front of you. Any recurring pain should not be left unchecked. In chronic cases, it might lead to a cancer diagnosis. There have been innumerable incidents when a mild ache turned out to be stage four cancer. Therefore, any kind of delay and ignorance can lead to severe after-effects.

Pain Management Specialist

Who is a pain management specialist, and what is his expertise? Whether you are experiencing excruciating pain or a minor ache, the first step you should take is to ask you, general physician to refer you to a pain management specialist. Pain management is an expert in medicine and anesthesia. He is a physician with a specialization in prevention, assessment, and treatment of pain. He would have required knowledge in treating patients like you and suggest the best course of action in a given situation. The experienced specialist would guide you through a complete understanding of your problem, treatment alternatives, available procedures, and guide you through the possible treatment. He also has the ability to use different diagnostic tests to pinpoint the cause of pain. It is imperative that you look for specific training and certification of your particular problem area. In case the doctor you are trying to approach doesn’t have the exact qualification and certification, try to find someone else.

For chronic issues, a pain management specialist can design a comprehensive treatment plan. However, as there has been accelerating progress in the field of pain management, a variety of medication and techniques are available which keep on upgrading every year. Technicians, surgeons, support staff all keep upgrading their information in the field to provide the best results to their patients. In a situation where there is a need for multilayered treatment, patients are ensured follow up physical therapies, psychological counseling, and rehabilitation programs.

Pain Management Specialist Qualification

A pain management specialist would have done a residency and/or a fellowship. They are board-certified rather sometimes dual certified in anesthesia and pain medicine Like Dr. Daniel Jacobs.

Types of Pain Treated by a Specialist

There are different types of pain treated at pain management clinics such as headaches, migraines, shoulder pain, wrist pain, neck pain, elbow pain, abdominal pain, hip pain, joint pain, ankle and foot pain, knee pain, and even cancer pain. The doctors who specialize in pain management bifurcate these into three main groups.

  • Direct tissue injury
  • Nerve injury
  • Mixed

An example of a tissue injury would be arthritis. Arthritis is further divided into two categories; Osteoarthritis (Large joints problems) and Rheumatoid (Small joints problems). A stroke could be a Nerve injury or nervous system disease. Other nerve-related disorders include Multiple sclerosis, Spinal cord injury, or Neuropathy. Lastly, sciatica pain can be an example of a mix of nerve and tissue injury. Similar to that are other body parts pain such as the neck, knee, and cancer pain.

What could be the possible treatment?

A pain management specialist would always go for a diverse treatment approach. They are trained to treat the patients in a step-wise manner.

  1. The first step a specialist would take is the diagnosis of the pain and assessment.
  2. Once the doctor is sure about the type of problem the patient is dealing with, he would come up with a suited set of treatments.
  3. Typically, pain management starts with medication. It involves anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, anti-depressants, or related medicine.
  4. If the cause is acute and doesn’t seem to be treated by medicine, then injections are used to numb pain or steroids. Sometimes units that use skin pads to deliver low-voltage electrical current too painful areas may also be used. These are all first-line treatments.
  5. The second line is the advanced form of treatment recommended to patients with chronic problems. It includes radiofrequency ablation (RFA) or viscosupplementation procedures. In these procedures, heat or chemical agents are applied to the nerves to block pain signals. Problems caused due to arthritis of the spine are usually treated through this procedure. Lubricating joints are also used to cure arthritis pain, referred to as Viscosupplementation. Both these procedures are catalyzed through more vital medication as well.
  6. The third line procedure includes an implant. This implant is done with a pain pump or a spinal cord stimulator. Since the spinal cord is the control center of the body, it has to ability to relieve the pain. Stem cell treatment also comes under the same category. Its also called Regenerative treatment.

These procedures need to be done by an expert who has qualifications as well as experience to execute these susceptible procedures. Therefore, these experts are called pain management specialists. A regular physician might not have the experience of dealing with such patients.

If you are in California!

In case you are residing somewhere near Sacramento, Vacaville, or Napa in California, you are fortunate because one of the best pain management specialists, Dr. Daniel Jacobs, is operating three extraordinary service centers in mentioned cities. He is a highly qualified, well-trained, experienced specialist with a track record of exceptional work. He is a certified Anesthesia and Pain Medicine expert and treats his patients with a thorough and comprehensive approach.