When you visit a doctor and he says he is referring you to another physician or specialist, it is natural to get worried. Most people assume that being referred by a doctor means that something is wrong with them. But if you have been referred to a pain clinic, it could be because your own doctor cannot find a reason for the pain. This is not unusual.
Why Your Doctor Has Referred You?
As mentioned, referrals to pain clinics often come when a doctor cannot find an obvious cause for a person’s pain. The experts at pain clinic KindlyMD explain that pain management doctors are excellent at getting to the root cause of pain and are considered specialists in their field. They are usually qualified in fields such as neuroscience, psychiatry, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, or psychology and will continue their study with a fellowship in pain medicine.
Pain management doctors work closely with individual patients to identify the root cause of their pain. They know that pain is different for everyone and as such there is not one single solution that will be effective for everyone either. Personalized treatment plans are created for the individual based on information that is gleaned at the initial and subsequent appointments. The plan can be amended as necessary to ensure that the patient is always getting the best treatment for their individual circumstances.
In some cases, your doctor might be aware of the reasons for your pain, but your pain may not be responding in the way that your doctor would like. Traditional doctors will often prescribe medication in the first instance, but sometimes something as simple as a change in diet or lifestyle can be a better option. Pain doctors will try to get to the root cause of the pain, and they may try different methods before opting for medication. This is particularly useful for those who have previously had addiction issues and want a different way of managing their pain.
If your pain is the result of a traumatic event, your doctor might refer you to a pain clinic where you can get treatment for the pain as well as therapy to deal with psychological damage.
What are the Benefits of a Pain Clinic?
The personalized treatment plan provided by most pain clinics is one of the biggest benefits. Knowing that your plan has been created especially for you around your needs is a big advantage when it comes to managing pain.
Pain doctors are concerned with more than just lessening the pain that you feel. They are more focused on understanding the reason for the pain and providing therapies and treatments to prevent it from continuing. This might mean changes to lifestyle with the introduction of more or different forms of exercise, changes to diet to affect weight, and physiotherapy to correct poor posture.
Pain doctors will be up to speed with the latest research and technologies for pain management. You may be able to access treatments that would not be available from your own general doctor. The doctors at a pain clinic have been fully trained in managing pain and can perform various treatments like spinal and nerve blocks.
Conclusion
You might be worried that a referral to a pain clinic is an ominous sign, but the reality is that this referral could change your life. Pain clinics are staffed by fully trained doctors who specialize in the treatment and management of pain. They utilize a variety of approaches that have all been designed around the specific needs of the patient in question.
