The Impact of Pain Management Clinics on Your Health

Pain is a common symptom of many injuries, conditions, and diseases. It can be short-lived and go away once you heal (acute pain), or it can last for months or even years (chronic pain).

Pain management clinics help people cope with chronic pain by providing a variety of treatment methods. These treatments include:

Medications

Pain clinics aren’t just about procedures or medications; they’re also there to help with mental health problems such as depression or anxiety. Some treatments may include group therapy to learn more about your condition and share coping skills with other patients.

A pain management St Augustine FL, doctor will take a complete history of your problem and run tests to discover the cause of your physical or psychological discomfort. They will also prescribe medication for the pain, ranging from over-the-counter options like paracetamol to more vital prescription medicines.

Some medications may be habit-forming, so you must follow your doctor’s instructions carefully. You should always ask about side effects and avoid taking more than recommended. They will also encourage you to improve your lifestyle and may recommend solutions from the realm of alternative medicine. A TENS machine, for example, is a small device that sends pulses of electricity to your nerves and can relieve pain without the side effects of most medications.

Physical Therapy

A physical therapist (PT) is a medical professional who works to help you move more freely and improve your strength and flexibility. They use techniques like therapeutic exercises, manual therapy, electrical stimulation, and hot or cold therapy to support symptoms caused by nerve, bone, and muscle issues.

They will conduct a comprehensive assessment of your pain. This includes screening to determine if your symptoms meet diagnostic criteria and an examination to determine the cause of the pain. They will develop a care plan to reduce pain and teach you how to manage it daily.

PMPs shift the clinical agenda from focusing on a patient’s pain control to teaching them how to function and live well despite their pain. To do this, a patient must accept that their pain will remain and have the willingness to practice demanding physical and psychological self-management techniques. The result of this is a better quality of life and improved functioning.

Counseling

Medications, physical therapies, and counseling are essential in pain management. Counseling can help you learn to cope with your chronic pain by changing the way you think about it. This can also reduce your stress levels, which often affects how you handle pain.

Treatment aims to reduce your pain and improve your quality of life, whether short- or longer-term. Pain clinics are designed to do this through physical, behavioral, and psychological treatments.

A physician may refer you to a pain management clinic after performing tests on the body to evaluate pain intensity and location. These tests can include an X-ray or radiograph, a CT scan to reveal the condition of bones, and an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to evaluate soft tissue such as muscle and ligaments. Your doctor can also do a neurological exam to see what functions the pain affects. This can include a test to determine your reflexes, balance, and walking ability.

Alternative Medicine

Finding a pain clinic offering non-pharmacological treatment options, including physical therapy and relaxation techniques, is essential. These can help ease pain and anxiety. They may also be beneficial for those who refuse to take opioids or cannot tolerate them.

Those who use alternative medicine rely on therapeutic modalities with little scientific support, and many have a holistic philosophy of health. In addition, those who use alternative therapies are more likely to have had a transformational experience, and they tend to be classified in a value subculture as cultural creatives.

However, people who turn to alternative treatments only sometimes improve with time. They are more likely to be opposed to conventional medical care, and they are more likely to report poorer overall health status. Moreover, they are more likely to believe that their health problem is psychosomatic and will resolve on its own. These beliefs interfere with treatment and sour clinical relationships.