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What is an Interventional Pain Medicine Specialist?

A Pain Medicine Specialist is a physician who is specifically trained to perform a comprehensive assessment of the origin of a new or chronic pain complaint and design a multidisciplinary approach to treating the pain complaint while addressing the underlying cause if possible. An Interventional Pain Medicine Specialist additionally incorporates advanced procedural techniques such as injections and implanting devices to help facilitate pain relief.

How are Pain Medicine Specialists trained?

Pain Medicine Specialists can come from a variety of different primary training backgrounds such as Anesthesiology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), Family Medicine, Neurology, or Psychiatry. My primary training is in PM&R with subspecialty training in Pain Medicine. As a PM&R trained Pain Medicine physician, I can evaluate and treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons.

What is a typical first appointment like?

During the initial appointment you will have a comprehensive assessment that includes listening to the physical complaints and limitations, having a physical examination, a review of current treatments, review of imaging studies and other diagnostic tests or ordering of new tests. These actions are necessary to establish a diagnosis. From that an individualized treatment plan can be developed.

I don’t want to take medicines for pain, why should I see a Pain Medicine Specialist?

Contrary to popular belief by patients and healthcare providers, the field of Pain Medicine was not established for the explicit purpose of prescribing opioid pain medications. Opioid pain medications do have their role, but they are not recommended as the primary treatment in most painful conditions.

What kind of treatments should I expect?

A patient’s individualized treatment plan can include, but is not limited to, a combination of the following: exercise recommendations, physical therapy, injections/procedures, bracing, and non-opioid analgesics. Other disciplines are also considered such as occupational therapy, psychotherapy, acupuncture, and manual medicine. Our training also allows us to determine if a referral to a specialist is needed such as a Neurologist. This also includes the knowledge to know when a surgical consultation is warranted over a non-surgical treatment approach for certain conditions.

How can I be prepared for my initial appointment?

Unfortunately, the burden of paperwork still exists in healthcare. Arriving 30 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time is recommended as this allows for the completion of paperwork, obtaining vital signs, and other tasks to be completed prior to being seen. I respect the value of your time and plan on entering the exam room at your scheduled appointment time.

Do you have any special interests?

Some Pain Medicine Specialists concentrate upon specific areas such as Pediatric Pain or Cancer Pain. I have a special interest in Spine and Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic medicine with a focus on interventional procedures.