Pain Management Clinic
What Are Pain Management Clinics ?
Pain management as a branch of medicine is also called pain medicine or algiatry. It makes use of an interdisciplinary approach to ease the suffering and improve the quality of life of those who have to live with chronic pain because of trauma or surgery or those who are in the throes of a terminal illness. There are now pain management clinics that are especially equipped to effectively address long term pain. The patients in this kind of clinics are usually treated not just by one medical practitioner but are treated by an interdisciplinary team usually made up of medical doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and nursing practitioners. The ranks may be joined by non-traditional medical practitioners like masseuses, hypnotists, etc. Each medical practitioner in a pain management clinic brings to the treatment room his or her particular expertise for the effective management of long term pain.
There can be some instances when the pain sometimes goes away promptly once the underlying trauma or pathology has healed. However, there may also be cases when a painful injury or pathology becomes resistant to all kinds of traditional medical treatment and continues to cause pain for the patient for a long time. There may also be instances when the cause of the pain cannot be easily identified. When this happens, the task primarily becomes relieving the suffering. The usual approach taken by pain management clinics towards long term pain alleviation includes prescribing medicines such as analgesics, tricyclic antidepressants or anticonvulsants. Some interventional procedures make likewise be implemented such as physical therapy, physical exercises, the application of ice and/or heat. Psychological measures, such as biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapy may also be used.
Going to a Pain Management Clinic
Before you go to a pain management clinic, however, you should have gone through thorough consultation sessions with your medical practitioner to ascertain whether or not going to a pain management clinic is the best approach to your condition. Members of your family may be included in the decision-making. The professionals in a pain management clinic can customize a regimen for you. Your own doctor may or may not continue to be involved in your pain management program.
In the event that pain management is being sought for a terminally ill patient, a pain management clinic or hospice care may be the best alternative to a prolonged stay in hospital. Good quality palliative care in a pain management clinic may spell the difference between a gentle death and one that is wracked with pains each step of the way. At a pain management clinic, your treatment plan will be personalized depending on your specific needs, circumstances, and you and your family’s preferences. Often the prescribed medications may not be enough to treat chronic pain. This is the reason why pain management clinics put together an array of approaches that are intended to alleviate the pain some of which approaches may be considered non-traditional and outside of the realm of Western medicine. These approaches may include acupuncture, acupressure, hypnosis, body massage, aromatherapy, medication. In extreme cases opiates maybe used to alleviate the pain.