When people think of going to the pain center, they often think of just taking painkillers like painkillers. This is a stereotype, and unfortunately, the abuse of prescription drugs in the United States has never increased in the past decade, and this situation will not disappear soon.

The true multidisciplinary integrated pain management center includes not only drug management. This includes interventional pain management, physical therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation, chiropractic therapy, spinal decompression therapy, anesthesia operations, and potential natural therapy and/or psychopathic pain relief methods. Through the appropriate combination of pain management services, patient outcomes can be maximized, allowing patients to return to work, engage in more social activities and return to life. Isn't that all it is?

Patients with pain are different, and effective treatments should be personalized. If a patient has 10/10 back pain, is unemployed, or even has difficulty walking, passive treatment such as ice, heat, electrical stimulation, and painkillers and injections may be initially practiced. Subsequently, acute pain is expected to decrease substantially, so that more aggressive treatments, including physical therapy, can begin to further reduce pain.

However, if the patient experiences chronic pain at a severity of 6/10, it may be sensible to begin physical therapy for a few weeks to observe its effect, and if there is not enough improvement, the injection can be made.

There are many benefits to providing a multidisciplinary approach. Injection and physical therapy can reduce the need for painkillers. Chiropractic treatments can alleviate pain and have proven to be very effective in combination with physical therapy for acute low back pain. Spinal decompression therapy has been shown to be effective in pain in the back, neck, arms and legs in many studies and allows many patients to avoid surgery. It may not just be a treatment that can relieve pain, but it may be a combination of two or three different disciplines.

The provider should not loosely assess the spine problem. Many times, patients have received several treatments, but have not worked with different providers for a truly detailed assessment.

Having a medical provider from a different training background to treat patients in a coordinated manner is the most modern and advanced method available. As chiropractic and naturopathic physicians gain more mainstream acceptance, medical and osteopaths are increasingly recognizing the benefits of their disciplines. Good communication between various types of doctors [MD, DO, DC, NMD] seems to be very beneficial when dealing with back pain, neck pain, sciatica, radiculopathy, chronic headache and fibromyalgia.

A comprehensive collaborative approach that encompasses multiple disciplines can improve patient outcomes. The treatment combination works well and should be considered when deciding which pain management center is right for you.

What is a multidisciplinary integrated pain management center? was originally published on Spring