When Should You See a Pain Management Doctor?
Dr Ahmed Abdel Rahman is an exceptionally accomplished pain management specialist in Rockwall, TX. He completed his internship in General Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). His efforts earned him a position as an Anesthesiology Resident at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF), one of the most famous training... more
If there’s one thing that’s certain, it is that we all experience physical pain at some point in our lives, as a result of a medical condition or an injury. While there are times when we can just “tough out” pain and it goes away on its own, there are instances in which it can linger on and gnaw away at our sense of well-being, thus requiring specialized care.
If your pain has become persistent or chronic, or has brought about significant quality-of-life issues, your primary care physician (PCP) will likely give you a referral to see a pain management doctor. Let’s delve into how a pain management doctor can tackle the source of your pain and help you live well with it— or even conquer it.
How a Pain Management Doctor Can Help
By collaborating with your primary care doctor or other specialists and carrying out a thorough assessment (which likely includes a physical exam and medical imaging tests), your pain management doctor can provide an accurate diagnosis and create a suitable treatment plan for you.
Your treatment plan may include any or some of these nonsurgical interventions:
- Physical therapy
- Steroid or nerve block injections
- Spinal cord stimulation
- Trigger point injections
- Facet joint injections
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Medications
While the ultimate goal of a pain management doctor is to essentially help control your pain and facilitate functional restoration, they can also help you establish treatment goals that are unique to you.
It is also worth noting that although a pain management doctor can prescribe medications, the focus of their care is to help you successfully manage your pain through nondrug, minimally invasive treatment modalities, many of which work by preventing transmission of pain signals to the brain. This helps you both reduce your reliance on medications and delay or even eliminate the need for surgical intervention.
A pain management doctor can also give you lifestyle recommendations, such as making healthy dietary choices, exercising more often, managing your stress levels, getting plenty of sleep, and refraining from smoking and excessive alcohol intake. These simple self-care strategies can go a long way toward managing your pain and improving your overall quality of life.
