5 Benefits of Seeing a Pain Management Specialist
There are certain disorders and diseases that every individual develops at some point in their lives. Pain is one such condition. Although it’s a common health issue, pain has the power to disrupt one’s life. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 20% of American adults are currently suffering from some form of chronic pain.
As you may experience pain due to different reasons, proper diagnosis is crucial for successful pain management. Ideally, you should visit an experienced pain management specialist to enable quick diagnosis and treatment of your pain. Read on to find out how the specialist can help you.
Top 5 Advantages of Seeing a Pain Management Specialist
1. They Have Additional Certifications and Training
Pain management specialists typically require additional certifications and training to obtain the title. These make them better equipped to help patients experiencing pain compared to the primary care practitioners. Thanks to these certifications, pain management experts know how to deal with different kinds of pain and their underlying causes. A pain management specialist can treat chronic pain as efficiently as acute pain.
Patients feel safer when they know that the specialist they are visiting is trained to manage pain. They appreciate the fact that these specialists work as part of medical teams that include doctors and physical therapists. All these eliminate the possibilities of wrong diagnosis and ineffective treatment.
2. They Have Access to Specialized Tools
A pain management specialist always has access to multiple equipment designed to achieve an accurate diagnosis and administer effective treatment for the pain. Your general physician may also use certain tools, but those are most likely capable of managing basic health concerns.
Thanks to the advanced pain management tools, there are a few treatments that only a pain management specialist can offer at his or her clinic:
- Spinal Cord Stimulation: During this procedure, technicians send low-intensity electrical pulses into the patient’s spinal cord using an implanted device. The primary job of the pulses is to stop pain signals from reaching the brain, which automatically eliminates the sense of pain.
- Peripheral Nerve Blocks: As their name suggests, they are designed to block nerves and stop them from transporting pain signals to the patient’s brain. This procedure is mostly used to treat back pain.
- Joint Injections: Pain management specialists use this tool as a substitute for surgery. It offers amazing results to those suffering from osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.
3. They Ensure That You Don’t Need to Take Too Many Medications
It’s a common habit of humans to consume over-the-counter pain relief medications without consulting a doctor. They tend to take these medications for years without visiting a specialist and addressing the real cause of the problem. This habit prevents them from getting permanent relief from the problem. What’s more, overconsumption of painkillers can lead to a series of debilitating side effects.
When you visit a pain management specialist, you will not need to take painkillers for a very long time. As the doctor diagnoses the health problem causing the pain, he or she prescribes therapies and medications. You will experience pain relief automatically when those medicines and therapies start working.
4. They Teach Pain Management Techniques
Patients suffering from pain due to degenerative conditions like arthritis benefit a lot from visiting a pain management expert. The expert teaches them ways to manage the pain. They help them lead a healthier life by implementing dietary changes, performing stretches and mobility exercises, and taking anti-inflammatory drugs and pain medications. On some occasions, the expert may also advise you to take steroid injections. Additionally, regular visits to a chiropractor or physical therapist also help.
5. They Teach How to Avoid Future Injuries
One of the most common causes of pain is injury. You may incur a painful injury due to several reasons. These include accidents, falls, trips, lifting excess weight, etc. The job of a pain management doctor doesn’t end just by treating your injury and offering you complete pain relief. He or she will also teach you how to avoid future injuries. This step is particularly crucial for the elderly, who are always at high risk of incurring injuries from falls and trips.
If you want to know more about effective pain management, get in touch with Magnet Health NY. This will let you visit a highly qualified pain management doctor, who can treat the underlying cause of your pain and offer you quick pain relief. The pain may occur due to arthritis, a neurological problem, a muscle injury, or for any other reason. The doctors at Magnet Health will be able to treat it effectively.