What to Expect in Your First Pain Management Visit—Will it Hurt?
Before, there were two approaches to pain—medicine or surgery. Now comes a third option, Pain Management with minimally invasive techniques performed by Board Certified physicians in Anesthesiology and Pain Management.
You are in pain and need to know what to expect in your first pain management visit. Behind your concern is the unspoken question—will it hurt?
Pain Management physicians are medical doctors first and pain management specialists second, so chances are your first visit will involve a thorough history and investigation as to the cause and source of your pain. The physicians credo is "First do no Harm," so for a pain management specialist, the first visit will involve a careful and comprehensive taking of past history, allergies, current and past drug regimens, previous surgeries, family history and a complete physical exam including and examination of heart, lungs and nervous system.
At a Pain Management physician center, you may be asked to participate in your care and treatment options, and an important part of this procedure is the sharing of information with your physicians. As a part of the comprehensive history and physical exam, you will be evaluated by an anesthesiologist, board certified in pain medicine. The evaluation consists of the history and physical exam, including review of diagnostic studies, previous treatments, and medical records from prior physicians.
It will be important to the pain management specialist to know whether you have been treated by any other pain management physicians and if you have undergone any treatments, including surgeries. Your doctor will review copies of previous diagnostics, including X-rays, MRIs, CTs, or myelograms. Comprehensive patient work-ups include history evaluations, physical examinations, review of any diagnostic tests and often the prescription of further diagnostic tests.
Diagnostic fluoroscopic injections are often used to confirm precise anatomic location of pathologic and painful structures. The pain medicine specialist, after a careful evaluation, often performs diagnostic injections usually with fluoroscopic guidance. These injections isolate and confirm the source of the patient’s pain. The pain can emanate from soft tissue, tendons, ligaments, muscles, bones, joints, discs and nerve structures. Once identified, these painful structures are medically treated.
Comprehensive treatment plans are formulated and an individual plan of treatment will be developed for you and discussed with the referring or primary care physician. Your physician will also discuss your diagnosis and treatment options with you. The treatment schedule and follow up evaluation visits will be determined to fit your needs and individual schedule.
Pain Medicine is a new and rapidly evolving medical specialty dealing with Acute and Chronic Pain. Over the last twenty years, many chemical and anatomic pain pathways have been identified and studied. With recent advances in technology, new techniques and minimally invasive procedures in interventional pain medicine have eliminated the sources of pain, allowing many patients to return to a normal level of activity while avoiding the need for surgery with its potential for infection and lasting consequences.
With the ageing of the population, the number of people suffering from degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis and sciatica has dramatically increased. A well-trained spine pain specialist can help most of these patients.
In pain management, family involvement is often crucial to a successful outcome. Pain Management physicians may actively encourage the patient to bring supportive family members to the first visit and participate in the process.
Want more information about pain management and what to expect in your first pain management visit? Visit http://www.helpain.com
At Palm Beach Spine & Pain Institute, Board-Certified physicians are dedicated to stopping pain. They specialize in performing innovative, minimally invasive techniques and procedures that eliminate pain at its source. The goal is to allow patients to return to a normal activity level — minus the pain.
Founders are Board Certified Specialists in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Management, Lawrence Gorfine, M.D. and Douglas MacLear, D.O.
Leslie McKerns, McKerns Development writes about issues in the professions. http://www.freewebs.com/mckernsdevelopment/
Pain Management physicians are medical doctors first and pain management specialists second, so chances are your first visit will involve a thorough history and investigation as to the cause and source of your pain. The physicians credo is "First do no Harm," so for a pain management specialist, the first visit will involve a careful and comprehensive taking of past history, allergies, current and past drug regimens, previous surgeries, family history and a complete physical exam including and examination of heart, lungs and nervous system.
At a Pain Management physician center, you may be asked to participate in your care and treatment options, and an important part of this procedure is the sharing of information with your physicians. As a part of the comprehensive history and physical exam, you will be evaluated by an anesthesiologist, board certified in pain medicine. The evaluation consists of the history and physical exam, including review of diagnostic studies, previous treatments, and medical records from prior physicians.
It will be important to the pain management specialist to know whether you have been treated by any other pain management physicians and if you have undergone any treatments, including surgeries. Your doctor will review copies of previous diagnostics, including X-rays, MRIs, CTs, or myelograms. Comprehensive patient work-ups include history evaluations, physical examinations, review of any diagnostic tests and often the prescription of further diagnostic tests.
Diagnostic fluoroscopic injections are often used to confirm precise anatomic location of pathologic and painful structures. The pain medicine specialist, after a careful evaluation, often performs diagnostic injections usually with fluoroscopic guidance. These injections isolate and confirm the source of the patient’s pain. The pain can emanate from soft tissue, tendons, ligaments, muscles, bones, joints, discs and nerve structures. Once identified, these painful structures are medically treated.
Comprehensive treatment plans are formulated and an individual plan of treatment will be developed for you and discussed with the referring or primary care physician. Your physician will also discuss your diagnosis and treatment options with you. The treatment schedule and follow up evaluation visits will be determined to fit your needs and individual schedule.
Pain Medicine is a new and rapidly evolving medical specialty dealing with Acute and Chronic Pain. Over the last twenty years, many chemical and anatomic pain pathways have been identified and studied. With recent advances in technology, new techniques and minimally invasive procedures in interventional pain medicine have eliminated the sources of pain, allowing many patients to return to a normal level of activity while avoiding the need for surgery with its potential for infection and lasting consequences.
With the ageing of the population, the number of people suffering from degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis and sciatica has dramatically increased. A well-trained spine pain specialist can help most of these patients.
In pain management, family involvement is often crucial to a successful outcome. Pain Management physicians may actively encourage the patient to bring supportive family members to the first visit and participate in the process.
Want more information about pain management and what to expect in your first pain management visit? Visit http://www.helpain.com
At Palm Beach Spine & Pain Institute, Board-Certified physicians are dedicated to stopping pain. They specialize in performing innovative, minimally invasive techniques and procedures that eliminate pain at its source. The goal is to allow patients to return to a normal activity level — minus the pain.
Founders are Board Certified Specialists in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Management, Lawrence Gorfine, M.D. and Douglas MacLear, D.O.
Leslie McKerns, McKerns Development writes about issues in the professions. http://www.freewebs.com/mckernsdevelopment/
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