Whether acute or chronic, body pain can be devastating for everyone who aspires to live a functional life. Unfortunately, chronic pain is a reality for so many people, especially those who fall in the age bracket of 50+ and for those who are actively pursuing sports.
Today, opioids are regarded as the quick way out for the treatment of pain without people realizing the adverse effects of this remedy. In the long run, effective pain management with proper professional help from a pain management doctor who specializes in dealing with Chronic Pain Management without opioids is the best solution. This blog discusses how to manage pain effectively without resorting to opioids.
ROLE OF PAIN MANAGEMENT DOCTORS
Pain Management Doctors treat patients with pain in a variety of settings such as tertiary, secondary, and primary care. This often includes inpatient, outpatient, and pain interventional work, providing continuity of care, often in collaboration with the referring medical practitioners, other medical specialists, or allied health care professionals.Pain management doctors carry out some or all of the following when managing a patient:
- Complete assessment of the patient (including physical complaints, functional limitations, psychological status, and the occupational and social impact of the pain)
- Physical examination
- Review of investigations
- Ordering of new investigations
- Designing a management plan
- Communication with all pertinent healthcare professionals
- Forward referral to other healthcare professionals if suitable
- Prescription of medication, and performance of interventional procedures
- Referral for physical or psychological examination
- Applicable discharge and follow-up plans
TYPES OF PAIN TREATED BY PAIN MANAGEMENT SPECIALISTS
- Acute pain occurring during tissue damage and repair - for example during sudden illness, surgery, trauma, and burns. The pain normallysubsides with tissue healing.
- Chronic pain which continues after healing or is the result of ongoing damage and includes spinal pain, post-traumatic pain (e.g. after amputation or surgery), pain involving the central or peripheral nervous system (e.g. post-stroke pain, complex regional pain syndrome, diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, and sciatica) and pain associated with other chronic diseases such as angina, arthritis, endometriosis, headache, and pancreatitis.
- Cancer pain caused by cancer or associated with the treatment.
MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO MANAGE YOUR PAIN WITHOUT OPIOIDS
The three ways you can help safely manage your pain:
- Work with your doctor to make and follow a plan
- Set realistic goals to return to an activity that pain prevents you from doing
- Choose low-risk pain relief options
Many options work better and have a reduced amount ofrisks and side effects than opioids.To find effective treatment options, talk to your doctor about managing your pain safely and he will help you understand non-opioid pain management options. Discuss the following points with him:
- Your health history
- How your activities have been impacted by pain
- What you hope to gain from managing your pain
Having meticulous discussions with your doctor about your pain management and function goals can help your doctor identify the best treatment with the lowest level of risk.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SAYING NO TO OPIOIDS
As suggested by Dr. Kinjal Sohagia, a widely known Pain Management specialist in Virginia Beach, many options for pain management do not include prescription opioids. His pain management center at OPMSM is fully equipped with state-of-the-art technologies that offer a wide range of treatments and therapies for spinal procedures, sports injuries, and vertebral and disc-related problems. Dr. Sohagia is always focused on establishing a positive doctor-patient relationship that leads to a quality life.
Dr. Sohagia is not accepting patients whose sole desire is an opioid refill. His office uses the Virginia Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to monitor and reduce the risk of prescription drug misuse. Patients showing misuse of medication(s) or attempts of refills by numerous physicians are immediately discharged from their practice.
As a leading pain management and sports medicine physician, he helps educate and empower patients to make their key health decisions. Dr. Sohagia is also well-known as a specialist in Pain Management in Virginia Beach city in Virginia for exclusive services that treat every kind of joint problem like neck pain, back pain, spinal stenosis, sports injuries, hip, foot, and ankle conditions, and various Neuropathy treatments.
In his opinion, the list of non-opioid treatments for pain is extensive which includes medications such as NSAIDs, acetaminophen, corticosteroids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and topical medications. Physical therapy, chiropractic therapy, acupuncture, TENS unit, and behavioral therapy are some other treatment modalities in vogue. Interventional pain management procedures include peripheral nerve blocks, joint injections, trigger point injections, epidural steroid injections, and radiofrequency ablations. More invasive neuromodulation procedures such as SCS therapy, DRG, and peripheral nerve stimulation can also be considered for intractable pain.
He says; ‘Given all the headlines about opioids, you may believe they’re the strongest pain drugs available. And you’re likely concerned about taking something known to be highly addictive. But trust me, opioids are not a silver bullet for all kinds of pain. Non-opioid alternatives can be even more effective.He added; ‘The modern approach to pain management at OPMSM involves combination therapy that attacks it from different angles. This is your guide to the best non-opioid treatments for all acute and chronic pains. You may be pleasantly surprised by just how effective non-opioids can be.’
DEVELOP A PAIN MANAGEMENT PLAN SANS OPIOIDS
Now that you know some of the options that may help you meet your pain management goals, work with your doctor to make and follow a pain management plan. Here are some things to remember when making a pain management plan:
- Be open to dealingwith pain minus opioids
- Be informed and know your options
- Talk to your doctor about which options may work for you
- Follow up regularly with your doctor about your pain and whether your plan is working or not
- Realize that it can take time to ease your pain
FINALLY…
Dr. Kinjal Sohagia, MD, is an Interventional Pain Medicine Specialist in Newport News and Virginia Beach. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Along with his extensive experience in a variety of different procedures, he has a special interest in regenerative medicine, back pain, and overuse injuries. He offers autologous stem cell treatment options to his Sports Medicine and Pain Management patients.