How are you coping with the daily experience of living with chronic pain? Unfortunately, many patients feel like this pain is taking over their lives since chronic pain can disrupt many of the activities that are happening throughout the day.
It’s important that you find strategies to not only cope with the current pain symptoms but also address the underlying causes contributing to your pain. A pain management specialist can assist with treatments to alleviate your symptoms and offer recommendations for at-home strategies to help you feel as comfortable as possible.
What Is the Role of a Pain Management Specialist?
Patients usually meet with a pain management specialist for one of these reasons:
- Their primary care physician is sending a referral to the specialist
- The patient isn’t achieving the results they desire through general medical treatments
A pain management doctor specializes in alternative treatments that can help with various types of pain. The goal is to improve the person’s quality of life and function throughout the day.
Primary care physicians have limited options for helping patients with chronic pain. For example, your primary care physician might be able to offer medications for immediate relief. But they don’t have the experience to diagnose different pain-related conditions or design a treatment plan that offers long-lasting results.
One of the most notable benefits of working with a pain management specialist is that this doctor helps you find treatment options to avoid heavy reliance on medication or the need for surgery.
Through your personalized pain management treatment plan, it’s often possible to manage, reduce, relieve, or even eliminate pain. As a result, you can return to your normal daily activities without worrying about symptoms that limit your lifestyle.
Interdisciplinary Approach to Pain Management
When you schedule a consultation with a pain management doctor, you’ll be glad to know that this provider offers a full-service approach to addressing your healthcare needs. There are often multiple professionals involved in helping with the treatment plan, including:
- Internists
- Psychologists
- Physiatrists
- Anesthesiologists
- Nurses
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- And more
The goal is to treat the whole patient, not just a small set of symptoms or one part of the body. When all healthcare providers work together, it’s possible to improve the overall quality of life.
Step #1: Diagnosis
Before a pain management plan can be developed, the specialist will first diagnose the cause of your pain. Sometimes, this diagnosis is evident if there is a physical cause, such as a bone fracture or bulging disc.
On the other hand, there are times when the diagnosis is elusive. For example, you might be living with many years of chronic pain and not have any specific answers about the underlying causes of your pain. A pain management specialist will work to identify the root cause. If no identifiable reason is found, treatment options are still available to help you find relief.
During the diagnosis process, your pain specialist will want to know as much information as possible about your symptoms, history, and more. In addition, they will ask questions about the type of pain you are experiencing, related symptoms, and doctors you have worked with.
Other questions are often related to your daily experiences. For example, the doctor will want to know how and when the pain started, a specific description of the symptoms, and activities that reduce or increase the pain.
Additionally, a pain management specialist can gain valuable information by discussing the types of treatments you’ve already used. The doctor will leverage as much information as possible through conversation and physical examinations, as well as any other diagnostic tests that might be helpful.
Step #2: Personalized Pain Management Plan
Once the pain specialists understand your symptoms and any underlying causes, it’s time to design your personalized treatment plan. This process involves two focuses.
First, the primary goal is to alleviate your immediate pain. However, helping you feel better right away can contribute to positive results going forward because you can participate in more treatment activities, like physical therapy.
Next, the pain management doctors will be looking at treatment options to reduce your pain in the future. The goal is to help you return to as normal of a lifestyle as possible, without the limitations that pain puts on your daily activities.
Other Tips for Pain Management
Your pain management specialist takes a whole-body approach to help you feel better. In addition to the treatments offered in the office, the specialist will also discuss lifestyle factors that could be contributing to your pain.
Additionally, you can learn strategies to manage the pain when the symptoms start to flare up.
Here are a few things you can implement at home to help you find relief from your ongoing pain:
- Relax with Meditation or Deep Breathing: Take time to learn relaxation techniques so you can work through pain episodes. Deep breathing or meditation can be powerful ways to relax the body, which may ease the pain.
- Manage Your Stress: When a person is living in highly stressful conditions, these stress levels can contribute to chronic pain. Manage your schedule and learn to take control of your stress so you can avoid these lifestyle factors that could be aggravating your symptoms.
- Exercise and Stretching: Even though pain often makes you want to stay in bed, there are many times when moving is the best thing you can do for relief. Not only does exercise release endorphins in the brain, but improving strength and flexibility in the body can be beneficial. Also, work with your doctor to manage other health conditions, such as diabetes, to minimize neuropathy.
- Avoid Alcohol and Smoking: Identify anything you are using that could contribute to chronic inflammation. For example, stop smoking to improve your overall circulation. Also, minimize alcohol consumption since too much alcohol can play a role in chronic pain.
- Track Your Pain Levels: Consider keeping a small notebook to track your changes in pain and different lifestyle factors that could be contributing. You can share this journal with your doctor, including a “pain score” that shows the severity of your pain throughout the day.
Following the Doctor’s Orders for Pain Management
Your pain management specialist will design a personalized treatment plan to help you find relief from the pain. Sometimes, it takes multiple treatments to achieve the desired results, which is why it’s crucial to establish an ongoing relationship with your doctor.
If you are looking for alternative pain management treatments, then reach out to us at Kentuckiana Pain Specialists. Our comprehensive approach to pain treatments is different than what you can access from primary care physicians. We’re located nearby in the Louisville, Kentucky, area. Call our office at (502) 995-4004.