Image source: http://i-am-girly.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/reconstructive1.png
We havent always had the privilege of having pain specialists staffing a pain clinic in the medical field. This area of medicine has only become about in the past decade or so and it was driven by the need of so many people suffering from chronic pain. Before such a field was opened up where medical students and existing doctors could focus on the many levels and types of pain, a patient may be recommended an unnecessary surgery.
Living with persistent aches can impact someones life in ways that arent even imaginable. If you have never had more than just a headache or sprained back, it may be hard to comprehend such pain. Chronic pain can be the result of an accident that resulted in an injury or a disease and its treatment. There are multiple types of medical problems that can result in a patient suffering from chronic pain.
Regardless of the reason a person might be living with and suffering from chronic pain, today there are solutions possible that wont require surgery. And those people that are suffering are relieved to hear there is help in a facility like a pain clinic so that they can avoid risks associated with surgery.
First Things First At A Pain Clinic
Before the specialists and staff members of a pain clinic can determine the proper treatment, it is necessary for the patient to complete paperwork and undergo exams, MRIs, and x-rays. Depending on where the pain is located, what the patients medical condition is and many other factors, the staff will assess their situation and determine which of these things are needed first.
Not all patients will need to undergo MRIs and x-rays. But the paperwork and exams are necessary to get the staff up-to-date on the patient and their situation and make their diagnosis. After all the preliminary stuff has been accomplished and completed, the pain clinic staff will be informed and prepared to formulate a strategy to address the patients chronic pain.
In most cases, the staff will prepare several different strategies and present those options to the patient. It is always recommended that a patient considers each options pros and cons and get a second opinion if you arent comfortable with the options presented.
Most of the time, the recommendations made by the staff at a pain clinic will be therapies and treatments to hopefully avoid any surgery. With any surgery come risks such as infection. A pain clinic is staffed with various specialists that will assist a patient with chronic pain situations with different services. The various techniques, therapy, and treatments will be designed to provide relief and in some cases, rid the patient of pain altogether.
The discomfort and pain that many people experience will have an impact on different areas and parts of their body. It may be a chronic pain in their arms, back, legs or other parts of the body. If the chronic pain is from cancer treatment, it may be in the area of the treatment as well as any surrounding areas.
A decision that patients with chronic pain are faced with is to go with a natural remedy, strong prescription medicines or a non-medicated therapy such as chiropractic treatments. Going with a natural solution will usually include various supplements combined with one or more types of therapy. The severity of a patients pain and the problems that are causing the pain will make a difference in the type of therapy that is available.
A pain clinic is staffed with those who have studied various types of medicines and have received the required education and training needed to make the recommendations a patient receives. Most have practiced in an area of medicine before going into a pain management career and have a better understanding of what a patient may be going through.
