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Pain Management Specialty

Confused about Pain Management…!!!

You are not the only one…!!! With the many practices that claim to be “Pain Management Clinics” you don’t know which provider to go to, and when to seek help, what do they do, what to expect,……Read more about what you should look for in choosing you provider…..

So many practices that claim to be “pain management clinics”, from all different educational and training backgrounds, and to add to the confusion some are not even in the medical field…!!! Some of these clinics only prescribe dangerous combination of medications, which has led to an epidemic in our community, state, and nationwide.  These “Pill Mills” have destroyed many lives and families. Unfortunately many of these clinics have given the field of  pain management a bad reputation.  

And now a days, lots of people from non medical background claim their ability to help pain patients.

With all the confusion and information provided by people, unfortunately, not all fellowship training programs provide the variety of patients and encounters needed to cover all aspects of Pain Medicine. 

Origin:

Pain Medicine is a specialty that providers can join from different backgrounds, and training. But the specialty is relatively new, started in 1978, and the first ones who started treating pain patients are anesthesiologists. 

Why Anesthesiologists are considered the leaders in the Pain Management specialty? 

Physician Anesthesiologists are medical doctors specializing in anesthesia, pain and critical care medicine, and they provide or guide nearly 90 percent of the anesthetics used in the more than 100 million procedures performed every year in the United States. 

With 12 to 14 years of education and 12,000 to 16,000 hours of clinical training, these physician specialists are the experts in managing pain. In addition, physician anesthesiologists have the extensive education and training to evaluate, diagnose, treat and manage the entire spectrum of medical conditions and patients’ needs. They also diagnose and treat potentially life-threatening complications that can happen suddenly during surgery while under Anesthesia. 

Anesthesiologists deals with all stages of Pain, at start with acute surgical pain phase, to various kind of Chronic Pain conditions. Years of research by physician anesthesiologists have led to the development of techniques and protocols that make Anesthesia and Pain Control measures safer and more effective than ever. This research is ongoing to make sure Anesthesia and Pain care continues to advance. Physician anesthesiologist works with your surgeon to develop and administer the Anesthesia and Pain care plan for your procedure, that starts before your surgery and extend beyond the Operating Room. 

Dr Beshai, Anesthesiologist specializing in Pain Management with two Board Certification by the American Board of Anesthesiology - in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. 

In 2011, Dr Beshai graduated from the Pain Management Fellowship Program at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. He is bringing lots of experience and passion to provide the most advanced pain management care to help patients through their sufferings.……read more about Dr Beshai background and education.

What does a Pain Management Specialist do?

A pain management specialist is a physician with special training in evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of all different types of pain. Pain is actually a wide spectrum of disorders including acute pain, chronic pain and cancer pain and sometimes a combination of these. 

Pain can also arise for many different reasons such as surgery, injury, nerve damage, and metabolic problems such as diabetes. Occasionally, pain can even be the problem all by itself, without any obvious cause at all.

As the field of medicine learns more about the complexities of pain, it has become more important to have physicians with specialized knowledge and skills to treat these conditions. 

An in-depth knowledge of the physiology of pain, the ability to evaluate patients with complicated pain problems, understanding of specialized tests for diagnosing painful conditions, appropriate prescribing of medications to varying pain problems, and skills to perform procedures (such as nerve blocks, spinal injections and other interventional techniques) are all part of what a pain management specialist uses to treat pain. 

In addition, the broad variety of treatments available to treat pain is growing rapidly and with increasing complexity. With an increasing number of new and complex drugs, techniques, and technologies becoming available every year for the treatment of pain, the pain management physician is uniquely trained to use this new knowledge safely and effectively to help his or her patients. 

Finally, competent pain management specialist plays an important role in orchestrating a treatment plan that involves specialists from various fields, integrating all means together to achieve a certain goal.….to learn more about our comprehensive pain management clinic

Myths & Facts about the Specialty:

There are many confusing and contradicting information delivered by different providers, the media, communities and friends that have left the pain suffering patients challenged and confused about the facts related to the specialty.

Here I would like to present to you some of the most common Myths surrounding the Pain Management Specialty and the Facts about it

  • Pain management is meant only as a last resort for treating chronic problems when everything else fails.

This is the number one myth of pain management. As with all medicine, prevention is the key. However, when pain does occur, the best chance of alleviating pain permanently is to address it early on and aggressively. This not only allows you to return to your normal activities pain free, but also prevents your pain from becoming a chronic problem. In addition, studies suggest that in cancer patients, who receive treatment for their pain during the end of life, better pain control increases not only the quality of life, but can also increase the life expectancy.

Click Here to Read more about Myths and Facts in Pain Management

What should I look for in a pain management specialist? 

The most important consideration in looking for a pain management specialist is to find someone who has the training and experience to help you with your particular pain problem and with whom you feel a comfortable rapport. Since many types of chronic pain may require a complex treatment plan as well as specialized interventional techniques, pain specialists today must have more training than in the past, and you should learn about how / where your pain physician was trained and whether he or she has board certification in pain management.

The widely accepted standard for pain management education today is a fellowship (additional training beyond residency which occurs after graduating from medical school) in pain management. Most fellowship programs are associated with Anesthesiology residency training programs. There are also fellowship programs associated with neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation residency programs. The fellowship consists of at least one year of training in all aspects of pain management after completion residency training. When a physician has become board certified in their primary specialty and has completed an accredited fellowship, they become eligible for subspecialty board certification in pain management by the American Board of Anesthesiology, The American Board of Psychiatry and The American Board of Neurology, or the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. These three are the only board certifications in pain management recognized by the American College of Graduate Medical Education.

In addition to learning about your pain physician’s training and board certification, you also should ask whether they have experience with your specific pain condition and what types of treatments they offer. Do they only perform procedures or do they use a multidisciplinary approach to manage and control your Pain? Who do they refer to for other treatment options such as surgery, psychological support or alternative therapies? How can they be reached if questions or problems arise? What is their overall philosophy of pain management?

Important things to look for in a pain management clinic:

  • The Doctor had his training in an ACGME accredited Pain Fellowship Program www.acme.org
  • The Doctor is Board Certified with a degree that is recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties www.abms.org , which is the highest accreditation a physician may receive in the field of pain medicine.
  • A clinic which practices a multidisciplinary approach through a comprehensive plan consisting of different treatments models.
  • A clinic that can safely offer interventional as well as non-interventional treatment.
  • A clinic that focuses on specific goals to control your pain, and its effects on your life.

At Mission Advanced Pain Management & Spine Center, we bring to our patients years of experience backed up by solid education and academic background. 

Contact Us today to Schedule your appointment and start on the right track for healing….!!!

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