The Importance of a Consultation for Your Chronic Pain

At Integrated Spine and Pain Care, our team uses a patient-centered, custom approach to chronic pain relief and management, tailoring each treatment plan to the symptoms, lifestyle, health, and goals of the individual patient. That process starts with an initial pain consultation.

Chronic pain: The basics

Pain can be divided into two main types:

• Acute pain comes on suddenly and typically resolves with healing
• Chronic pain often develops slowly, lasting six months or more

Acute pain is usually associated with a specific injury or event. Chronic pain can begin as an injury or it may be triggered by another cause, like an infection or arthritis. In chronic pain, the painful symptoms persist even after that initial cause has healed or resolved — sometimes for months or even years afterward.

Chronic pain can also be associated with pain “syndromes,” like fibromyalgia or chronic regional pain syndrome. In these cases, you can develop pain even without a precipitating injury or illness.

In addition to pain and discomfort, chronic pain can cause other symptoms like:

• Sleep problems
• Changes in appetite
• Fatigue and lack of energy
• Depression and anxiety

Persistent or recurrent pain can also prevent you from taking part in activities you enjoy, leading to social isolation. Plus, increased inactivity can lead to other problems, like weight gain and obesity.

Why your consultation is so important

Because chronic pain can have different causes and affect people in different ways, it’s imperative to make sure your treatment plan is customized based on your unique, individual needs. That’s where the initial consultation comes in.

It’s your consultation that forms the basis for our custom approach to pain relief. We know that when it comes to chronic pain, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all treatment plan. Your consultation enables our team to gather important information so we can ensure your treatment plan is focused not only on your current symptoms, but also on preventing those symptoms in the future.

Consultation basics

During your consultation, our team asks detailed questions about your symptoms as well as your current health, your medical history, and your lifestyle and activities. We’ll also discuss your overall treatment goals.

Next, based on your needs, we’ll probably order additional testing, like X-rays or other diagnostic imaging studies, lab tests, or nerve conductions studies. Once we’ve gathered in-depth data about your condition and your symptoms, our team will tailor a treatment plan to help you find — and maintain — meaningful pain relief.

Getting treatment for your chronic pain

As pain management specialists, our team is skilled in an array of treatment options for chronic pain. Depending on your needs, your plan might include one or several of these options:

• Physical therapy and therapeutic exercise
• Oral medications
• Epidural or facet joint injections
• Nerve root blocks
• Nerve ablation
• Ketamine infusion

In some cases, our team may recommend a minimally invasive procedure to place an intrathecal pump or a spinal cord stimulator to help deliver pain medicine or block nerve signals that trigger pain.

No matter what’s causing your chronic pain, one thing’s the same: The sooner you seek treatment, the sooner you’ll feel better. To learn more about chronic pain management at our practices in Farmingdale and Deer Park, New York, call or book an appointment online today.