Written by CrashMD staff
As with any medical condition, you would want to see the best provider possible. So if you have a skin condition, you’d see a dermatologist. If you have a toothache, you’d see a dentist. The same goes with pain, especially if you’ve been in a car accident and are suffering from chronic pain.
While a primary care provider or a general health practitioner might be able to help with some of your pain symptoms, there is a great chance they won’t know how to accurately and properly diagnose all symptoms, as well as recommend the best treatment plan specific to your needs. Not that it would be a “take two Aspirin and call me in the morning” situation, but it could be something along those lines.
Pain management specialists have years of extensive and in-depth training as to the ins and outs of both pain symptoms and possible causes of pain. This allows them to help all patients who are suffering from pain by creating a customized treatment plan just for them. The goal is always to both help them experience pain relief now, as well as avoid any complications or future pain symptoms in the months or years after the accident.
The Importance of a Personalized Treatment Plan
Chronic pain is a complex condition that could stem from a variety of causes. The two main causes are either a traumatic event, like a car accident, or an underlying health condition. In the cause of an injury, chronic pain can often be a result if the patient did not seek help immediately, the care given didn’t address the underlying cause of pain, or there is lasting damage from the injury, which could include nerve damage.
Additionally, every person experiences pain differently. Depending on age, lifestyle factors, overall health and emotional well-being, the pain could either greatly diminish a person’s quality of life or it might just be a mild annoyance here and there. The pain could also alter a person’s emotional state, leading to psychological factors that could continue to contribute to the chronic pain symptoms.
What makes personalized pain management so important is that it’s the best way to experience chronic pain relief because pain management specialists use a comprehensive approach that is tailored to each individual patient. What works well for one person might not work well for the next person. A blanket approach to pain management from a general provider doesn’t address each individual person’s particular symptoms or needs. But by partnering with a highly-skilled pain management specialist who specializes in only pain management, you’re giving yourself the best chance of healing and finding relief.
Benefits of Personalized Pain Management
Just like you shouldn’t see a cardiologist for a broken bone, you shouldn’t see a general healthcare provider for chronic pain. The reason being is that a “general” care approach isn’t going to yield the same results as a customized approach from a highly trained doctor who specializes in treating pain. Not only are they able to treat chronic pain symptoms and the root cause of pain, but they can also recognize any potential future issues and take steps to avoid those issues from happening.
While there are many benefits to partnering with a pain doctor for a customized treatment plan, the main benefits patients can expect to enjoy include:
- Comprehensive approach to care: pain management specialists utilize every possible approach to determine the best treatment plan. In addition to reviewing the patient’s symptoms and their complete medical and health history, pain management specialists will perform a physical exam and use diagnostic tools, such as MRI, CT scan and nerve tests. On top of that, they’ll review the patient’s goals in regard to their ideal level of activity and quality of life, and how their current chronic pain has impacted that. This helps to give them a clear picture of the patient’s current health so that they can tailor a specific plan to help get them out of pain utilizing the most minimally-invasive and effective treatments possible.
- Personalized treatment options: now that the pain management specialist has all the information they need, they will craft a customized treatment plan specific to that patient. This could, and most often, includes a multi-prong approach that will allow for the best possible outcome. Recommended treatment could include pain medication to help the patient more comfortably enjoy physical therapy, as well as alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic care and biofeedback. If needed, nerve blocks, injections and stimulation therapies can all prove helpful for providing both immediate and long-term relief. There is no reason to waste time trying out a method that isn’t the best possible option for treating each specific symptom and cause of chronic pain. This wastes the patient’s time, as well as keeps them in pain longer. Pain management specialists are dedicated to immediate, efficient, comfortable and long-lasting pain relief for each and every one of their patients.
- Reduced side effects: by crafting the specific needed approach for each patient’s chronic pain, pain management specialists are able to avoid “trial and error” approaches. This helps to reduce unnecessary side effects for treatments that either weren’t the best course of treatment or not needed at the time. This has two main benefits. The first is that patients can utilize more minimally-invasive options first, like physical therapy, before opting to more intensive options, like surgery. Secondly, if and when patients are able to find relief with recommended alternative therapies and physical therapy, this reduces their need to take pain medications for extended periods of time. By reducing the need for surgeries and pain medications, the pain management specialist is able to minimize negative side effects and longer recovery periods.
- Integrative approach: often chronic pain is not just about living with pain, it’s also about how the pain is affecting your life. Many people who suffer from chronic pain also suffer from emotional and psychological effects, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and insomnia. Pain management specialists are aware of this connection and aim to provide a holistic approach to healing that doesn’t just involve taking medicine. A pain management specialist could recommend therapies like yoga, meditation, biofeedback and mindfulness to help combat the negative emotional and psychological issues that often come hand in hand with chronic pain, especially if the person suffered through a traumatic event like a car accident. A pain management specialist is also able to recommend any needed lifestyle changes, such as an exercise regimen and a healthy diet, which help to not only improve pain treatment now but can also minimize future injuries and ailments. By treating the entire patient, the pain management specialist is able to focus on helping them achieve their pre-accident and pre-chronic pain quality of life.
- Patient partnership: pain management specialists work to partner with each patient so that the best outcome can be achieved. It is not a one-sided approach. Rather, the patient is part of the treatment plan process, which not only helps to improve engagement but also the outcome. Patients who understand the “why” behind the treatment plan are more dedicated to the outcome, versus just being handed a prescription and scheduled a follow-up visit. As stated before, each person’s chronic pain issues are unique to them, so it’s essential for a pain management specialist to understand the complete picture so they can recommend treatment, which is why it’s essential to partner with the patient. Additionally, if the treatment plan needs to pivot at any point, the pain management provider can immediately make needed changes to improve the outcome.
- More ideal outcomes: partnering with a pain management specialist has proven to improve outcomes for patients. This is because a customized and comprehensive approach to care is better than a general approach to care because it targets exactly what needs to be targeted the first time. Personalized pain management affords patients more immediate chronic pain relief, improved function and mobility, and an overall improved quality of life. As an added benefit, by reducing and eliminating chronic pain through minimally-invasive options, patients don’t have to undergo surgeries, which pose their own risks and side effects.
If you’re suffering from chronic pain, either because of a traumatic event or a car accident, you deserve to have the best care possible. If you didn’t receive care immediately after the event because you were hoping that your pain symptoms would remedy themselves, or you did receive care but it was from a general healthcare provider and you are still feeling pain symptoms, it’s time to seek care from a pain management specialist. The CrashMD team is dedicated to providing their patients with comprehensive and compassionate care that is tailored to their specific symptoms and needs. This personalized approach to pain management helps to not only provide immediate pain relief, but also yields more comfortable outcomes with less risks. We have years of experience helping patients finally find relief from chronic pain issues, and we would love to help you. Please schedule an appointment today so that we can learn more about your chronic pain issues and partner together to create the best plan for you and your lifestyle goals.
