What Does a Pain Doctor Do?
A pain doctor is a specialist with a high-level of training and experience diagnosing and treating acute and chronic pain. The field of pain management has grown so much over the years and continues to become increasingly complex. This makes it even more important to work with a pain specialist. A pain management specialist:
Performs specialized testing for diagnosing chronic pain conditions
Prescribes and manages treatments and medications for unique and chronic pain conditions·
Handling procedures such as nerve blocks and spinal injections
Coordination of additional care, including physical therapy and rehab, psychological consultations
Yes, your primary care physician is knowledgeable in a wide range of health and physical issues. But they have not received the same level of training on specific, pain-related conditions that a specialist has received.
After medical school, a pain doctor completes additional residencies, internships and fellowship training specific to the management and treatment of chronic pain. This additional training deepens the specialist’s knowledge of chronic pain as well as the interventional procedures intended to reduce pain and increase quality of life.
A pain management specialist works with you to develop an individualized management and treatment plan for your pain condition.