Who is a pain management specialist?
A pain management specialist is a Doctor of Medicine (MD) who specializes in treating and managing pain from an injury or illness. Pain is a sensation that acts as a defense mechanism to inform the brain that a body part requires attention. This sensation travels from pain receptors (certain nerve endings) at the site of tissue injury to the spinal cord and ultimately to the higher centers in the brain, where it receives a message that a body part is hurt or unwell.
Pain is a widespread symptom of many acute and chronic health conditions and injuries. It can also result from specific surgical treatments (postoperative pain) or manually performed adjustments. The following are the many forms of pain:
- Acute: Leading causes of acute pain include fractures, burns, muscle spasms, and diseases like shingles or appendicitis. This type of pain is sharp, requires immediate medical attention, and gets better with treatment.
- Chronic: Doctors classify pain that lasts for over six months as chronic. Untreated injuries, illnesses, and musculoskeletal conditions cause chronic pain. These include arthritis, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, and nerve damage.
- Neuropathic: Problems with the nervous system can send pain signals to your brain by mistake, causing this type of pain. Diabetes, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and multiple sclerosis are some diseases that cause neuropathic pain.
- Nociceptive: When you get injured, your nerve cells' endings (nociceptors) send pain signals to the brain. Nociceptive pain occurs when you bump your head, pull a muscle, or fracture your bone. It can be of two types - visceral (impacts your internal organs) and somatic (impacts your musculoskeletal system).
Pain management specialists may use one or a combination of several approaches to relieve pain. Some methods include rehabilitation, therapy, exercise techniques, medications, and injections. Pain management specialists are present in disciplines such as anesthesiology, physiatry—also known as physical medicine and rehabilitation—interventional radiology, psychiatry, or neurology. Some specialists also obtain an additional year of training in chronic pain.
What training do pain management specialists receive?
Pain management specialists receive a minimum of nine years of medical training. They complete four years of medical school, followed by four years of training in anesthesiology, neurology, or physical medicine and rehabilitation. Finally, they undergo one year of intensive training focused solely on pain management. After this, they are eligible to get certified by the American Board of Pain Medicine, for which they must clear an exam.
What conditions do pain management specialists treat?
Pain management specialists have knowledge of a wide range of illnesses, as several indicate pain as a symptom. Treatment plans may differ for different types of pain. Some long-term disorders may require a more comprehensive plan than sudden injuries.
Here are some common conditions that pain management specialists near you can treat:
- Arthritis, muscle, and joint problems can occur due to inflammation and swelling in the joints and are common in the feet, hands, knees, lower back, and hips. Muscle stiffness, arthritis, and joint disorders will likely increase with age. A pain management specialist may recommend medication and physical therapy.
- Back pain and injuries, such as low back pain and sciatica, can increase with age or a sedentary lifestyle. Pain-relieving medications like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), physical therapy, steroid injections, adjustments, and minimally invasive surgery are some treatment options for back problems and injuries.
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result when an object strikes the head or pierces through the skull, causing physical damage to the brain tissue. Headaches, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, loss of consciousness, memory loss, and imbalance are some symptoms that indicate TBI. Most doctors advise pain-relieving medications and physical and occupational therapy to restore normal function.
- Endometriosis is a condition where the tissue that makes up the endometrium (lining of the uterus) grows outside the uterus. These tissues can form in the fallopian tubes, ovaries, rectum, intestines, bladder, uterus, and vagina. Apart from causing irregular periods and fertility challenges, endometriosis also causes severe abdominal pain.
- Pain management specialists also treat facial pain, which has a variety of causes. These include dental problems, tooth abscesses, and trigeminal neuralgia (a chronic condition causing intense and abrupt bouts of pain affecting a particular side of the face).
Common pain management techniques
Depending on your condition and severity, pain management specialists may incorporate several methods into your treatment plan. Pain management typically includes a combination of the following minimally invasive methods:
- Physical and occupational therapy can help to increase your range of motion and strength if you're recovering from an injury. Exercise programs like swimming, yoga, walking, and rowing can improve your muscle tone and help you perform daily activities and work without pain.
- Medications and steroid injections are standard pain management methods, especially for short-term or acute conditions. Steroid injections relieve pain directly from the pain area. Muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatory medicines, and opioid pain medications can also help with chronic pain and swelling.
- Alternative therapies like acupuncture and body massages can alleviate pain symptoms in the past. Acupuncture is a technique that regulates the flow of energy in the body by inserting small needles into precise places on the body to stimulate the nerves, muscles, and connective tissues. Acupuncture supposedly increases the body's natural painkillers.
- Counseling or psychological treatment can help patients deal better with mental health issues like feelings of hopelessness, despair, depression, and anxiety that are commonly associated with pain. Non-drug methods like cognitive behavioral therapy and biofeedback can help manage and cope with chronic pain by reducing discomfort.
How can you treat chronic pain?
Apart from those above, several other methods exist to tackle chronic pain. Some of them are:
Surgical implants: Doctors recommend surgical implants in case standard medicines and physical therapy fail to relieve pain. The main types of implants to control pain are:
- Intrathecal Drug Delivery or infusion pain pumps—Also called spinal drug delivery systems, these implants are known to significantly reduce pain using a fraction of the dose required with pills. Since the amount of medicine is low, the side effects are fewer than those of oral medications.
- Spinal Cord Stimulation Implants—The two types of spinal cord stimulation systems are partial and totally implanted units. The latter one is the most used. Specialists use this method especially for back and limb pain where they transmit low-level electrical signals to specific nerves or the spinal cord. This blocks pain signals from hitting your brain.
TENS: Expanded as Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation therapy, here too, electrical stimulation is used to diminish pain. It is known to mask pain like diabetic neuropathy. However, it's not effective for chronic low back pain.
Bioelectric Therapy: It can treat many conditions, such as back pain, muscle pain, headaches and migraines, arthritis, TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder, diabetic neuropathy, and scleroderma.
When to see a pain management specialist?
Pain management specialists craft detailed plans to alleviate patients' agony, help them recover, and make them feel better physically and mentally. You must visit a pain management specialist near you if you experience the following:
- Pain that worsens over time after treatment, and it doesn't get better.
- Sleeping problems due to pain.
- Feeling depressed or anxious.
- Pain and discomfort that hinder your daily activities.
- Sharp internal pain that could indicate severe issues like bowel perforation or ruptured appendix.
- Pain is located in the jaw, neck, back, shoulders, or chest and is accompanied by other symptoms, such as shortness of breath, weakness, vomiting, nausea, or cold sweat.
Find top-rated specialists for pain management near you in Atlanta, Georgia
Pain left untreated can have physical, psychological, social, and economic consequences and, as a result, impact the overall quality of life. Untreated chronic and acute pain can also put you at a higher risk for respiratory conditions, sleep disturbances, decreased immunity and mobility, as well as heart issues. Since pain can be complex to manage on your own, you may want to consider seeing a pain management specialist who can help create a treatment plan tailored to your needs.
If you want to see a doctor immediately but don't have the time to visit a clinic or hospital, you can now consult one right from the comfort of your home. Zocdoc helps you find the best healthcare professionals for pain management near you within just a few minutes. To schedule a virtual or in-person session, simply follow a few simple steps. Visit the Zocdoc website and enter your condition or symptoms, location, date you'd like to schedule the appointment, and your insurance plan. Click on "find," and you'll see a list of top-rated pain management specialists near you. You can schedule an appointment 24 hours in advance, on the same day, post work hours (after 5 p.m.), or even on weekends, depending on your provider's availability. To check a doctor's availability, click "Book Online" and "View all availability."
You can choose a pain management doctor near you based on criteria such as gender, time of day, hospital affiliation, distance, languages spoken, and whether they treat children. Additionally, you can filter the results to show providers that accept your insurance. You can select your plan from the search bar filters or update your insurance information on your Zocdoc account. Alternatively, you can take a picture of your insurance card and upload it if you’re searching from a smartphone or tablet. Check out Zocdoc’s insurance FAQs to learn more.
To help you make a quick decision, Zocdoc also displays each provider's medical background, including their clinical training, experience, awards, certifications, licensures, and specialties. Doctor profiles also list verified patient reviews and an FAQ section where you can find out whether they accept new patients, common reasons patients see them, wait time, and office location.
All bookings on Zocdoc are fast, free, and secure!
Statistics for conditions treated by pain management specialists in Georgia
According to data from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), in 2020, nearly 22.6% of all adults in Georgia have arthritis. The overall prevalence of arthritis was found to be higher in women (25.4%) than in men (19.6%). An estimated 50% of adults in Georgia engage in limited physical activity due to arthritis. In 2019, the BRFSS also reported that nearly 31.6% of adults with doctor-diagnosed arthritis have severe joint pain. Additionally, an estimated 46.8% of adults with arthritis have heart disease, and 35% have diabetes.
Pain management specialists help treat pain resulting from chronic conditions like kidney disease, heart disease, cancer, and autoimmune diseases like lupus. According to the BRFSS, an overall 3.2% of adults in Georgia had chronic kidney disease in 2020. The incidence of end-stage renal disease (kidney disease) was 4800 cases per one million residents.
Similarly, according to a report by the Georgia Council on Lupus Education and Awareness (GCLEA), the incidence of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in Georgia is 92.1 per 100,000 population, which is the highest reported rate in the United States. The Georgia Lupus Registry (GLR) data also states that lupus disproportionately affects women, i.e., the female-to-male ratio for the incidence of lupus is 9:1.
In 2016, the Georgia Brain and Spinal Injury Registry recorded an estimated 27,840 Traumatic Brain Injuries, including 20,488 emergency cases and roughly 7,352 hospitalizations. Georgians aged 10 to 19 accounted for roughly 21% of all traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries during that year.
Sources
Cleveland Clinic[1]
Cleveland Clinic[2]
Cleveland Clinic[3]
Spine-Health
American Society of Anesthesiologists
Spine Universe
Healthline
Stanford Medicine
Harvard Health Publishing
Mayo Clinic[1]
Mayo Clinic[2]
Mayo Clinic[3]
WebMD
National Library of Medicine[1]
National Library of Medicine[2]
Georgia Council on Lupus Education and Awareness
Georgia Department of Public Health
National Spine & Pain Centers
