Q: Why was I sent to a pain management clinic in the first place?

A: You were probably referred to a pain clinic because prior treating physicians felt your pain problem warranted the level of care a specialist could provide.

Q: What type of training does a pain management doctor have?

A: Pain Management specialists usually have a primary medical specialty, such as   anesthesiology, neurology, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, or internal medicine. They have usually sub-specialized into pain medicine either though focusing their practice in pain medicine, or through formal fellowship training in pain medicine. Many pain specialists achieve board certification by taking a national exam.

Q: What are the goals of a pain management program?

A: The primary goal of a pain program is improving quality of life. This is done through reducing pain, but a focus on the ability to function with some pain is probably as important as reducing pain.

Q: How long will I be treated through the pain clinic?

A: As long as you are making gains, and are complying with pain clinic policies, you will be treated through the clinic.

Q: Why isn’t my pain completely gone after treatment?

A: It is unrealistic to assume all human pain and suffering can be eliminated. Human pain has been around for a very very long time, and the miracles of modern medicine have made our ability to treat better. Still, most people can expect some pain will persist after treatment through a pain clinic.

Q: Why are certain medications chosen over others?

A: The goals of medication management in a pain clinic include finding an effective combination of medication, without causing side effects or addiction. While this sounds easy, it is often quite challenging. Sometimes providers will use the side effects intentionally (e.g. by dosing sedating medication at bedtime). If  a patient has a risk of addiction, addictive medications will probably be avoided.

Q: Why are certain injections chosen over others?

A: Most pain injections have specific uses. Your doctor knows you may not be able to have more than a few injections in a given period of time. Therefore all effort is made to use the injections in the most effective manner, each time you receive one. Having said this, some problems do require more than one injection to improve overall relief.

Q: Why am I being asked to see a psychologist?

A:  Pain impacts lives in many ways. Depression and anxiety are very common in patients with pain, as are other psychological problems. You are being asked to see a psychologist to try to address these other problems, as a means to help reduce your pain and improve you life in general. You also be asked to see a psychologist to assess your risk of future or current addiction to medications.

Q: Will I be able to work with this pain?

A: One way to improve quality of life is to earn a steady income. A goal of our clinic    then is to keep people working. We understand that pain that is in fair to good control usually will allow a person to continue working. We also may help by recommending resources available to people to help change jobs when necessary.