Medically Reviewed by Dr. Bennett Ezekiel, MD, MPH
Just about everyone will experience pain at some point in their lives. It’s unfortunately an inevitable part of being a human being with a body. However, pain is usually just a sign that something is not right or that your body has some need that is not being met. For those who only experience pain momentarily or sporadically, it can be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t take over your life.
But there are some injuries or conditions that can make pain a bigger part of your everyday life, either for a short time or chronically over a long period of time. For these pains, it’s best to listen to pain management doctors — this is their specialty.
What Does a Pain Management Doctor Do?
Pain management doctors, despite their specialization, still wear many hats and perform a variety of duties in their practice. In addition to the administrative work that all doctors are required to do, your pain management specialist is certified to:
- Make official diagnoses based on your description of your pain, other symptoms (like numbness and tingling) you may present with, and the frequency or average level of pain you report
- Prescribe medication based on these diagnoses
- Perform certain procedures such as injections or sometimes recommend surgery
- Send relevant information to your other doctors, such as your primary care doctor, physical or occupational therapists, and other specialists
- Orchestrate your medical team toward treatment or management of your pain
- Develop a personalized treatment plan based on your individual needs
- Make recommendations for lifestyle changes that can help limit your pain
A pain management doctor’s overall goal is to improve patients’ quality of life by reducing and managing chronic or acute pain in a safe, effective, and sustainable way.
Pain Management Training & Education
Doctors who choose to specialize in pain management complete many years of training before they can call themselves pain management doctors. Most pain management doctors complete not only medical school, but also stringent and intensive residency and fellowship programs about the many specifics of what pain management requires. These doctors, if they seek certification, are also required to take exams for specialty medical boards and can then to be approved by the board to be certified as pain doctors.
Types of Pain Treated by Pain Management Doctors
Pain occurs in many forms. Sometimes, it lasts only a moment. Sometimes, it can last days, weeks, or years. Some people have conditions that give them chronic pain that persists throughout their life. How a pain management doctor helps you depends on the category of pain that you are experiencing.
Acute Pain
Some pain is acute. This refers to the type that flares suddenly but dissipates quickly or only persists so long as the condition or injury that causes it. It can be severe, but it also has a time limit. Common causes of acute pain are broken bones, burns, infections, car accidents, muscle strains, and other similar injuries. Pain management doctors may prescribe medications, physical therapy, or simply rest to treat acute pain.
Chronic Pain
The other primary pain category is chronic. This refers to pain that gradually worsens or persists for long periods of time. Sometimes, chronic pain can last decades. This is the main category of pain that pain management doctors treat and can be the result of conditions like arthritis, back pain, disc injury or fibromyalgia. Treatment plans might include similar methods as acute pain (medication and physical therapy) or additional interventional procedures like nerve blocks, epidural steroid injections, or spinal cord stimulation.
Pain Management Options
Many people, when they picture pain management, may visualize a bottle of pills or a deep massage. This can cause a certain amount of wariness when considering reaching out to a pain management specialist for support, especially as the national opioid abuse epidemic in America worsens. While these can be options for treating and managing pain, prescribing medication and ordering alternative therapies are only a part of what a pain management doctor does. Your treatment plan will be specific to your needs and circumstances, and the doctor will talk you through common options such as:
- Recommendations to take over-the-counter medications like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or aspirin
- Prescription of stronger medications (such as muscle relaxants or nerve pain medication) that help with pain management and cannot be purchased over the counter
- Physical therapy, including recommended exercises and techniques developed with your physical therapist
- Minimally invasive injections for pain management, including epidural steroid injections and nerve blocks
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy for some forms of psychosomatic pain
- Other forms of treatment from trained therapists for muscle pain, like electrical stimulation therapy or dry needling
- Alternative therapies such as acupuncture or chiropractic therapy
- If appropriate, surgical interventions
Preparing for a Pain Management Doctor
If you haven’t been to a pain management doctor before, it might seem a little intimidating to prepare for. Thanfully, it’s very similar to any other doctor you’ve visited:
Documentation
If you have any information about your medical records, previous lab results, prescribed medications, or other documents that you think could help you and your doctor make more informed decisions about your treatment, you should bring that information to your appointment.
Prepare Questions
In your busy everyday life, questions about your condition, pain, or treatment may come up. Frequently, these questions may pop into your brains at any other time other than when you are actually visiting your doctor. Because of this, consider keeping all of your questions in one handy place so that when you think of one, you can jot it down and ask your doctor at your next appointment.
Pain Journal
A pain management doctor makes a conclusion about a diagnosis primarily based on your reports of your symptoms. If you can’t explain what your symptoms are, your doctor won’t have the information they need to make a correct diagnosis or to begin building a treatment plan to actually provide you relief.
A pain journal is a place to collect information about the pain in your day-to-day life, as well as other information that may help you and your doctor discover patterns that could be causing or alleviating your pain:
- When you experience pain, write it down and rate the severity.
- You can also rate your average level of pain at the end of each day, which can be more manageable for consistent record keeping.
- Be descriptive of your pain, whether it’s more like a sharp stabbing pain or a constant dull pain (and track where in your body you feel it).
- If possible, write down the time of day your pain occurred, as well as the length of the pain.
- Try to make note of any patterns you observe — did the pain worsen after exertion? Did it get better on a day when you were made sure to drink a lot of water?
- Note your mood as well, as stress and anxiety can worsen the pain.
What Happens at Your First Pain Management Appointment?
During any medical appointment, a nurse will begin by collecting information about your vitals, such as your blood pressure and temperature. Once your doctor joins you in the exam room, they will probably start by asking a lot of questions. This is the point at which you can share your pain journal, documentation, and questions. After the initial conversation, your doctor may make a few suggestions or they may decide they need more information. If you need further testing, this can be completed the same day or a different trip, depending on the situation.
Keep in mind that it may take more than one visit for your doctor to give you a diagnosis or make a solid treatment plan. Every person’s body is different and most pain conditions are complex, so doctors must be careful and thorough in their diagnoses.
Common Tests for Pain Management
If your pain management doctor requires more testing, you may be referred for the following kinds of tests:
- Imaging (x-rays, MRIs, or CT scans)
- Lab work (collecting tissue from your body, usually blood, to examine)
- Studies of your musculoskeletal system or nervous system (e.g. how fast your body receives messages from your nervous system can tell doctors about how your nerves may be impacting your pain)
- Pain surveys (assign a numerical value to your level of pain)
- Neurological exams (identify any potential abnormalities with specific nerves or the way they send messages to the rest of your body)
Seeking Pain Management
There are hundreds of conditions or reasons that you may experience pain, and the benefit of a pain management specialist is that they are trained to recognize many of them. Working with a pain management doctor can help improve your quality of life and help you live with less pain day-to-day.
If you are experiencing chronic pain or pain that does not respond to interventions like over-the-counter medications, rest, and heat or ice, it may be worth your time to talk to a pain management doctor. Our team is highly experienced in helping chronic pain sufferers get relief with tailored treatment plans that address the root cause, within your treatment preferences.
Set up an appointment with one of our pain management doctors today
