Following a workplace injury or an auto accident in New York, you are likely to experience at least some pain. But you don’t have to put up with that pain—a pain management specialist can help.
As the name implies, the primary goal of a pain management specialist is to help you manage your pain. They deal with chronic or short-term pain, including pain from accidents or diseases. They treat pain with various causes, including damage to tissue, nerve injuries, or a combination of the two.
Some common causes of pain include bruises, lacerations, and broken bones. Some accidents can also lead to headaches, back pain, or limb pain. It is also prevalent for work-related injuries to include sprains, strains, fractured vertebrae, or herniated discs due to lifting or pulling heavy objects.
During your first visit to the pain management specialist, expect them to ask you a series of questions about your pain. They will want to know what the pain feels like (throbbing versus stabbing, etc.), its frequency, its duration, and if anything seems to trigger it. If you haven’t already had them done, they may also take CT scans, MRIs, or X-rays.
Pain management specialists can provide a range of treatment types depending on your situation. These can include providing or recommending:
Explore some of the ways that a pain management specialist can help you following a workplace injury or car accident in New York.
Because the ultimate goal of a pain management specialist is to eliminate their patients’ pain, they will want to find the source of the pain and then treat it directly. This helps ensure that you experience long-term relief.
While diagnosing and treating the cause of the pain, the doctor will provide shorter-term pain management treatments.
As with any other specialist, a pain management doctor will customize your treatment to help treat your specific symptoms and their causes. For example, they may suggest physical therapy to improve your strength and flexibility. Or they may provide massage therapy to boost blood circulation and relieve muscle pain. Or they may indicate a back or neck brace to help your soft tissues heal.
They will handle some of these treatments themselves and will refer you to other specialists for others. Pain management specialists often work with physical therapists.
Most of the treatments that a pain management specialist directly offers or recommends to you will be non-invasive. This is especially important, as surgery comes with significant risk, so it is best to try other treatment methods first.
In addition to focusing on non-invasive treatments, pain management doctors will also typically try those that do not involve medications you may become dependent on, at least at first. For example, they may suggest you start with over-the-counter medicines or prescription NSAIDs. There are also some anxiety and anti-depressant medicines that can help reduce pain. Beta-blockers are also a common option, especially at low doses. Topical pain relievers are also a popular option. In the case of nerve pain, your specialist may suggest some anti-seizure medicines. Pain management specialists may also prescribe you opioids, but only for a short time and in the case of severe pain.
Depending on the type of injury, you may not be able to avoid the same motions that caused your injury in the future. This is especially true in the case of workplace injuries from repetitive movements or muscle strains. In those cases, you may not have the option to quit your job to avoid the motion. So, your pain management specialist can give you methods to prevent and deal with future pain.
The most important reason to visit a pain management specialist in New York after an injury is to help you return to your normal daily activities or as close to that as possible. It is frequently not possible to complete daily tasks if you are in extreme pain. By helping you overcome the pain, you will be able to return to your everyday life.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment with an experienced pain management specialist near you.
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