Written by CrashMD staff
You’re in acute or chronic pain, and you don’t know where to go. You’re not sure who to trust, and don’t feel that your primary care provider won’t just slap a figurative Band-Aid on it. And, if you’re not a doctor or trained in how to diagnose aches and pains, you certainly can’t find long-term relief on your own.
Your first step should be to partner with a pain management specialist because they are highly skilled in pain. This includes how to recognize it, how to treat it, and how to ensure that the patient enjoys their ideal quality of life as quickly and as comfortably as possible.
Unfortunately, most chronic pain treatments are complex. This is because the pain that you feel in your arm, for example, might not be due to an injury or condition in the arm. Additionally, the nervous system is a complex web of nerves that connect our spinal cord to our brain, and help us enjoy function and movement. If even the smallest nerve or bundle of nerves has been damaged as a result of a car accident or traumatic event, this could lead to shooting pain in the extremities, chronic headaches, or more. So if you’re not sure what questions to ask a pain doctor, we’re here to help!
How Pain Management Specialists are Different Than General Practitioners
Pain management specialists specialize in pain. Not only that, but they know that pain is very real and should not be dismissed. It should be addressed quickly and accurately, and they aim to do this by partnering with their patients.
On top of performing a physical exam and reviewing medical history, pain management specialists will also ask all necessary questions to help them get a clear picture about your pain symptoms. It’s important, as the patient, to be honest about your symptoms and to share all details about what you’re feeling. This include mental health changes that you’ve experienced, such as depression, insomnia or suicidal thoughts.
A pain management specialist is helpful in treating the entire patient, and utilizing all of the best options out there, which are varied. Some patients might assume that pain specialists will just recommend medication, or will try only surgical options. But, one of the main benefits of partnering with a pain management specialist is that they opt for the most minimally-invasive options first, with the goal to help the patient find relief and minimize any unnecessary side effects.
Living with pain can be an overwhelming process, but treating the pain shouldn’t have to be. This is what makes finding the right pain management specialist so important for helping you finally find relief, in a comfortable and caring environment.
Five Questions to Ask Your Pain Management Specialist
If this is the first time you’re seeing a pain management doctor for pain-related issues, or even if this isn’t your first time, your head might be spinning with questions for the provider, questions about your possible treatment, and questions about when you should expect to feel relief. To make the best use of your time together, and to achieve the most optimal outcome, stick to these five main questions, which should give you a more clear picture of what to expect.
- Are there any at-home methods I can be doing to manage my pain?
Yes! Low-impact exercise has shown to decrease chronic pain symptoms because it helps to reduce inflammation, increase mobility and function, and release endorphins, which are our “feel good” hormones. A great benefit of exercise is that a patient can do suggested movements anywhere, and they’re free! You don’t need to only be indoors or outdoors, or purchase any specific equipment.
Exercises vary from person to person, especially when considering pain symptoms and the overall health of the patient, but the most common low-impact exercises include:
- Walking
- Swimming
- Yoga
- Pilates
These exercises not only help to improve a patient’s symptoms now, but can also
strengthen the bones and muscles, which help the patient to avoid future injuries. The
key with any new exercise regimen is to start slowly and to listen to your body. If you feel
any additional or worsening pain sensations, you should stop and call your specialist.
Additionally, focusing on a healthy diet, losing weight (if needed), stopping smoking, and
trying to enjoy regular sleep patterns can all help to both reduce chronic pain as well as
improve any mental health issues you might be experiencing as a result of the pain.
- How will my pain be diagnosed?
Pain management specialists will use all necessary tools to help them get a comprehensive picture of your injury as well as subsequent pain. Without knowing what caused the pain, or when it started, they would be missing a key factor for proper diagnosis.
Due to the fact that many pain symptoms can overlap, it’s crucial to look inside the body to determine what is really going on. As previously mentioned, pain that is felt in the foot might not be due to foot trauma. It could be due to an issue in the spine or hips.
Diagnostic tests that your pain management specialist might utilize include:
- X-rays: to evaluate joints and bones
- MRIs: to study soft tissues (muscles, nerves, etc.)
- CT scans: alternative to MRIs
- Nerve conduction study: helps to determine the location of nerve damage
These diagnostic tests will be utilized in addition to an exam and medical history review,
which helps your specialist to have all necessary information on hand to make the best
recommendation for your treatment.
Diagnostic injections might also be helpful in determining the source of pain. If the
provider injects anesthetic into the painful area, they know this area is the area that
needs to be treated. Other injections help to identify injuries by using contrast agents
that reveal injuries to cartilage or ligaments, which is also helpful in determining an
effective treatment plan.
- Can I use medication to treat my chronic pain?
Yes, medication is a great first step for treating chronic pain, but it is not recommended for the long term. This is because this not only could lead a person to overuse or misuse the medication, but it doesn’t address the source of pain, so the person will continue to experience symptoms that are just masked by medicine. Additionally, medication does have side effects, and adding side effects to an already complex pain situation isn’t ideal.
That being said, pain management specialists can recommend certain medications that could help to alleviate pain symptoms so that the patient can take advantage of physical therapy and/or exercise in a more comfortable manner. The most common pain medications that can help to relieve pain include:
- Topical creams and patches that work to numb the area
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that help to reduce inflammation and subsequent pain
- Over-the-counter pain relievers
- Muscle relaxers that work to reduce muscle spasms, allowing the injuries to heal more efficiently
- Antidepressants are a helpful medication because there is a direct link between chronic pain and mental health issues. By taking antidepressants, the person reduces their depressive thoughts that in turn help to reduce their feelings of chronic pain.
It is important to note that opioid-based medications are no longer widely used for the
treatment of pain symptoms, as they often lead to addiction and additional side effects.
- What treatments are available for chronic pain?
This is a great question to ask your pain management specialist because you want to ensure that you are comfortable with your treatment plan and you know each step of the treatment plan. Your pain management specialist will more than likely recommend the most minimally-invasive treatment options first (depending on your exact level of pain symptoms and believed root cause), with the goal to help you experience relief without having to deal with any additional side effects.
The first treatment step is generally medication and physical therapy. This helps the patient to more comfortably strengthen their body as well as improve movement, flexibility and function. If the patient exhibits any signs of mental health disorders, the specialist could also recommend psychological treatment to combat anxiety and depression. Alternative therapies are also helpful, such as biofeedback, relaxation techniques, chiropractic care and acupuncture that all help to reduce stress and pain.
If the patient still experiences pain, or the pain is getting worse, additional therapies have proven helpful. Injections, usually of a corticosteroid and an anesthetic, can provide immediate pain relief in the affected area, and are a minimally-invasive option that could keep pain at bay for months or years. Trigger point injections are also helpful as they target the trigger points in the muscle that prevent the muscle from relaxing.
If these methods have failed to provide long-term or adequate relief, the specialist could recommend minimally-invasive surgical implants. The most common are either spinal cord stimulation (SCS) that is dubbed the “pacemaker” for pain. This small device is implanted under the skin and provides low electrical currents that prevent pain sensations from reaching the brain. So instead of feeling pain, the patient will feel a mild buzzing or tingling sensation. The benefit to this is that the patient can control the level of stimulation, so can increase it or decrease it as needed. Another option is an intrathecal drug delivery that uses an implanted pump to deliver pain medication directly into the spinal cord, which is where pain signals travel. This allows patients to experience targeted pain relief as well as use a fraction of the pain medication they would be ingesting orally.
Each treatment option has its own risks (generally very low) and benefits, as well as a timeline for pain reduction. It’s important to determine, with your provider, what works best for you now to help you increase your quality of life, as well as for the future.
- Are there any regenerative options available?
Yes! Regenerative medicine is a great option for patients who are candidates for them, which depends on the person’s overall health. The benefit of regenerative options is that you are able to use your body’s own processes to help heal from within. Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is a popular option for some patients as it helps to regenerate and repair the specific part of the body that needs healing. By injecting platelet-rich plasma into the body, it can help speed up the healing process, essentially giving your body a boost. It has proven helpful for treating muscle injuries, arthritis-related joint pain, as well as torn tendons or tendonitis.
If you’re not sure what to ask after an accident injury, this should be a great start! The goal of these questions is to help you feel more in control of your pain-relief journey, and to find comfort in partnering with your pain management specialist. Once you both know more about your particular situation and goals, you can work together to start working toward pain relief. The CrashMD team of pain management specialists is here to answer all your questions and are dedicated to helping you find the relief you need. Please schedule an appointment today!
